Begin Japanology
Season 6 Episode 14 - Stationery
Japanese stationery goods are popular all over the world. Most stationery goods used today are originally Western in origin, but Japanese companies have continued to churn out new and improved versions. The ballpoint pen, for example, first came to Japan along with post-WWII US occupation forces, but in the decades that followed the Japanese pioneered water-based ink, erasable ink, gel ballpoints, and ballpoints that can write even when facing upwards. One stationery fad sweeping Japan right now is "girls' stationery": cute, stylish products, like decorative masking tape, that appeal to female consumers. Some Japanese people use pens in a way that has nothing to do with writing: they spin them! A man known as the "father of pen spinning" gave a previously informal pastime a formal public identity. On this edition of BEGIN Japanology, our theme is stationery. We'll explore the technology, design appeal, and sense of fun in Japanese stationery goods.
Episodes in Season 6
Sumo
28 min
Bathroom Scales
28 min
Enka
28 min
Small Factories
28 min
Japanophiles - Azby Brown
28 min
Japanophiles - Ernst Seiler
28 min
Japanophiles - Yasokichi Konishiki
28 min
Ume Plums
28 min
Storehouses
28 min
Wagyu
28 min
Uniforms
28 min
Rice Cookers
28 min
Burial Mounds
28 min
Stationery
28 min
Bread
28 min
Pine Trees
28 min
Parcel Delivery
28 min
Pro Wrestling
28 min
Strawberries
28 min
Calculators
28 min
Television
28 min
Lake Biwa
28 min
Expressways
28 min
Beer
28 min
Japanophiles - Mike Harris
28 min
Japanophiles - Karl Bengs
28 min
Japanophiles - Kenny Omega
28 min
Shakuhachi
28 min
Convenience Stores
28 min
Used Books
28 min
Women's Nylons
28 min
Remote Islands
28 min
Characters and Mascots
28 min
Grapes
28 min
Makeup
28 min
Ukiyo-e
28 min
Buses
28 min
Parties and Gatherings
28 min
Conveyor Belt Sushi
28 min
Pets
28 min
