> It is pretty beautiful how such small, centuries-old traditions seem to abound in Japan, where the condition of the west seems to be a state of persistent impermanence.
Orientalism at its finest...
First of all, "the west" is not a single monolithic block, but dozens of countries, each one with its own peculiarities.
Second, Western countries also have plenty of traditions, in the case of Europe going back centuries or even millennia. The thing is that the environment you grew up in doesn't seem fancy to you, it is just normal life.
Third, some Japanese people care about traditions, some do not, same as Western people. Heck, to me it seems like Japan lives in a state of permanent consumerism, always catching the latest popular anime or idol group.
Consumerism in Japan is absolutely wild. Still a bit of a culture shock for me. In the city I lived in Canada you had to go out of your way to shop. Here in Tokyo, it feels like every station has 10 malls literally right next to each other selling every variation of things you want. I'm bombarded by ads everywhere, I actively try to avoid areas like Shibuya and Ginza since it's just a consumerist hellscape. It must be incredible if you love shopping though.
You try carrying your bags miles from a suburban mall to the nearest train station or bus shop in a typical American city, and you'll quickly understand why Japanese train stations are hubs of economic activity...
Obviously, any dense enough city is quite different from American suburbs. Heck, I am from a 100k city in Spain, a country where even tiny villages are quite dense and you can find shops everywhere, and I am shocked that in rural Japan where I live now it is American-style urban sprawl and you need the car for everything.
In any case, my original comment about consumerism was about the constant barrage of new products that you see here. Go to your nearest konbini and there is always some ad about some new product, any popular enough manganime will trigger a deluge of merchandise, you have the million gachapon with the most ridiculous shit... I hope you get my point.
Orientalism at its finest...
First of all, "the west" is not a single monolithic block, but dozens of countries, each one with its own peculiarities.
Second, Western countries also have plenty of traditions, in the case of Europe going back centuries or even millennia. The thing is that the environment you grew up in doesn't seem fancy to you, it is just normal life.
Third, some Japanese people care about traditions, some do not, same as Western people. Heck, to me it seems like Japan lives in a state of permanent consumerism, always catching the latest popular anime or idol group.