Vis culture final

Vis culture final

The topic of this final blog essay will be the visual influence of consumerism culture in Japan, with special attention shown to Vending machines. When I think of japan, in the planets since, I can’t help but recall images of places like Akihabara, or other booming entertainment districts.

The anime fanatic in me remembers the gigantic gundam images and manga shops in the background. But the scholar in me views the whole image as a statement. The action, fantastical chaos, and billion watts powering everything served to remind me of the messages conveyed: watch this new anime, come into this store, buy this, see these girls as maids and buy more stuff etc. the rampant consumerism of japan is something that can arguably be seen in every culture. However, as one classmate’s observed, “They don’t waste any space, event he sides of the buildings have ads on them,” that sets it apart for me. As I am merely a college junior in America, my views and opinions may be obscure or off base but, here are my findings after having digested many visual sources as well as articles and personal appoints of the subject. 

Vending machines

When considering aspects of Japanese visual culture, it was hard to choose what exactly would be a good topic for my final. With all of the aspects of visual culture discussed in class, It was made even more difficult. Therefore, I went back through my blog as well as the courses to examine older subject matter, which I might had forgotten about, or hadn't paid due attention to. And so I found it, one of the most bizarrely immaculate images I first observed when entering this course, the Hello Kitty vending machine. Apart from the idea of “Mizenko sensei probably has one in his basement,” the idea of was just mind-boggling. Living in America, outside of going to cons or theme parks, the most intricate vending machines I see on a daily bases is the “Red Box” rental unit. And so, I wanted use this as an opportunity to to find out the reason for such a difference between cultures, as well as enthuse over the unique innovation of some of the most amazing vending machines I've seen.

So to begin, the vending machine (自動販売機- Jidō hanbaiki) is abundant in japan, as there are about 5.52 million the highest ratio of vending machines to landmass among any other country. However, the earliest vending Machin is thought to be originated in Alexandria, Egypt 215 B.C. the basic design implies a coin operated holy water delivery system. For Japan, the first cigarette vending gadget was introduced in 1880, by the painter and inventor, Tawaraya Koshichi placed in (now Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture). Years earlier, Koshichi also invented Japan’s first vending machine. It was called, “an automatic stamp and postcard dispenser,” a wooden machine which also functioned as a mailbox. it is said that it was based off of karakuri dolls (wind up dolls), yet was advanced enough to dispense change as well as display prices and restock notices. Needless to say, Koshichi took out a patent on this as he did other inventions.

Later on in 1950, Japan fully embraced vending machines with the coming of the “Fountain-style Juice Dispenser.” This was juice dispenser, similar to the oldest model found in Egypt. At that time, the usual rare was only 10 yin per cup. In the years to come, as the demand rose, so did the amount of machines.

1964	240,000
1970	1 million
1973	Just over 2 million
1984	About 5 million

Total number in U.S as of Feb 2015- 4,640,000

So, why are vending machines so popular in Japan? As noted earlier, Japan (like other countries) is an extremely consumeristic society. The combination of its rich economy and current societal structure actually perfectly facilitates the setting for so many. First off, as we have seen in this class, Japan has a history of employing a certain esthetic; one which relies on smart design and strategic placement to get the most out of an area, as well as accommodate the land mass. In countries like the U>S and Germany, the annual revenue generated by companies from vending machines scales anywhere between $64,350,000- $72, 350,000 per year in modern day.  A deciding factor in placement of these structures is placement. A lot of the time, machines are vandalized, stolen or broken into, thus inhibiting the maximum options of placements. Japan however, is said to have a far less severe vandalism issue, as well as a generally lower crime rate. Therefore, it is possible to place sneaker vending machines in the middle of a bustling city street with significantly less concern for someone breaking into them.

The work schedules of most salary men and students in Japan, there was a growing need for food on the go. This was especially prevalent around the 70’s and early 2000’s. As such, companies increased production of readily accessible foods. This meant that the myriad vending machines were flooded with new cheap, fast food for all the busy myriad people of the cities.

Another piece I red insinuated that Japan’s pride through technological advancements. This kind of thinking can especial is seen through thing like the touch-screen animation vending machines as well as the apple vending machines. In addition to the convent and quick access to foods, the advancements in vending technology has also allowed for fresh foods to be available on demand

. However, the machines themselves are a trigger. As we discussed in classes, signs are certain things present in advertising that can convey meanings; either conscious or subconscious. In the case of the over 5 million machines in Japan, there are over 5 million signs and messages being transmitted into the populous. In the case of the Hello Kitty machine, It can be broken down as two separate signs. The content of the machine is produced by a company the company wants people to buy it. Additionally, the machine itself is recognizably Hello Kitty. With the Kitty being such a big idol on its own, it will attract people to the content. Vending machines even go so far as to offer extravagant high priced prizes, as  I found in one video series on youtube, a man spent over 10000 yen on a machine trying to win a prize. Practices such as this are perpetuated by the rampant amount of machines, as well as ads on said machines; effectively transforming certain parts of residential places into gambling districts.

bibliography:
 http://kotaku.com/why-vending-machines-are-so-popular-in-japan-1682336996
http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/indepth/cultural/hj/vendingmachines.html
https://www.marketingsociety.com/the-library/advertising-japan-what%E2%80%99s-so-funny

http://www.infoniac.com/hi-tech/latest-invention-vending-machine-with-large-see-through-display.html
Gordon, Andrew D. 2012. Consumption, consumerism, and Japanese modernity. In The Oxford Handbook of the History of Consumption, ed. Frank Trentmann, 485-504. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. Accessed May 8, 2015 9:53:28 PM EDT