Beyond Coolness: Unravelling Euro-American Perceptions of Contemporary Japan

Abstract

Japan has enthralled the world with its impressive manufacturing capacities and rich culture for many years, leading it to become somewhat of a fixation within Euro-American nations. Throughout its transition from Postwar ruin to industrial powerhouse, the nation has been the subject of a range of flattering and offensive orientalist depictions which have significantly shaped foreign perceptions. With its contemporary re-invention as an international trendsetter in the wake of devastating economic collapse, Japan has become a purveyor of all things cool and trendy, eliciting an unequivocal attraction to its more quirky and uniquely different cultural attributes. However, this latest obsession with coolness represents an attraction which grossly simplifies the complex realities of modern Japanese culture and society, while exemplifying a superficial depiction fundamentally detached from the daily workings of the nation itself. What are the implications behind the promotion and consumption of a “cool Japan”? Is it an effective means to promote enduring and more meaningful connections with Japan's culture, or does it merely further contribute to the perpetuation of warped narratives and stereotypical orientalist depictions?