【会場】
　燕三条地場産業振興センター　リサーチコア７階　マルチメディアホール
　（三条市須頃１丁目１７番地）

【テーマ】
　「日本のものづくり推進力～品質だけでは生き残れない！これからの企業のあり方～」

【講師】
　川口　盛之助　氏　アーサー・Ｄ・リトルジャパン アソシエートディレクター
日本のものづくり推進力～品質だけでは生き残れない！これからの企業のあり方～

第４２回ＮＩＣＯクラブセミナー「日本のものづくり推進力～品質だけでは生き残れない！これからの企業のあり方～」>

御茶ノ水ソラシティ・カンファレンスセンター

4月17日（水）
16:00～17:30

日経BP未来研究所主催

現在新しい近未来予測のレポートを執筆中の川口盛之助氏
(アーサー・Ｄ・リトル　アソシエート・ディレクター) による
メガトレンド・セミナー

http://solacity.jp/cc/LP/

http://adlittle.com

主催　Innovation Management Seminar 2013　
世界で戦う日本企業の競争力（組織・モノ・コトづくり）
テーマ　価値とイノベーションとテクノロジーの未来
日時　　平成25年2月4日( 月）　13：00～
場所　〒100-0004
東京都千代田区大手町2-2-2 アーバンネット大手町ビル21F LEVEL XXI　（レベル　２１）
価値とイノベーションとテクノロジーの未来~

主催　(一社)表面技術協会 将来めっき技術検討部会
テーマ　日本のものづくりと将来めっき技術
日時　　平成25年1月22日(火)　10：30～
場所　　回路会館　地下会議室（東京都杉並区西荻北3-12-2）

将来めっき技術検討部会　第11回例会
テーマ：日本のものづくりと将来めっき技術~

2012年映像情報メディア学会冬季大会（12月18日）
東京理科大学　森戸記念館

特別企画４『どうする日本のモノづくり～半導体事例を中心として～』
12月18日（火） 地下1F　第1会場 

付加価値の行方と電装技術の未来
川口盛之助（アーサー・D・リトル アソシエートディレクター）15:45-16:35
全体の案内~

各部門の案内~

特別企画４の案内~

Have you been paying attention to your local Japanese clothing store mannequins lately? With big, sparkling eyes, their anime-style faces are better placed in a Tezuka Osamu manga novel, rather than your local fashion store! Given how the real-world inspires manga, it is interesting to see this inspiration go full circle and return to life!

The model series shown here, “Charamore 2”, were produced by “Heiwa Mannequin”, a relatively recent emerging company who first produced this range back in 2002 from its design studio based in Kawaguchi City, Saitama Prefecture.

The domestic mannequin industry emerged in the 1920s out of the repairing of foreign imports. Since then it independently evolved in its own way through symbolic designs and characterisation. Thinking about Japanese manufacturing more widely, let’s explore the hidden symbolisation in the industry.

Mannequins influenced by society

Go to Akihabara and you’ll witness manga characters jumping out of their 2D worlds. Forget Thunderbirds - these are 2D characters morphing into actual 3D figurines, often life-sized versions. So what is the difference between mannequins and figurines? Figurines and their clothes are designed together to seamlessly fit, but a mannequin is designed to style any clothing so can’t deviate from the true body shape in the way some figurines do.

Originally, mannequins were inconspicuous by design. Selling clothes was their purpose. Even so, they are as fundamental to the clothes shop as the printer is to the office, or the assembly robots to the car manufacturing plant. Needless to say mannequins are well tuned to the influence of society. In 2002, when anime mannequins first appeared, Akihabara’s “moe” culture was breaking through. Heiwa Mannequin’s chance to exploit this trend arrived via a commission from a famous children’s clothing manufacturer.

In an attempt to understand this relatively new scene, the designers used research funds to build a figurine collection to better understand the culture. Around this time, they also began to receive multiple assignments for anime character mannequins, from TV events to pachinko parlours. Their experience and newfound knowledge of the industry was quickly put to good use.

2D Symbolisation of the human figure using CG

The greatest characteristic of these anime mannequins is undoubtedly their symbolisation of 2D style into life-life, recognisable 3D expressions. If you think about how when visual information is sent to the brain when looking at things, it mostly consists of deformed characteristics that are later reconstructed in the mind. To see how this works, consider how, despite technology, hand-drawn portraits are more useful to the police as facial composites.

In 2000, the police established a database for searching such portraits on file. The advantage of the hand-drawn portrait is arises because the unique characteristics remembered by the witness are then reflected by the artist. This makes it easier to identify the individual at speed.
Interesting CG techniques were being developed around the same time. Take “cel-shading” (or “toon shading”), a rendering technique to give fully 3D models a 2D style (2000’s Jet Set Radio was one of the earliest video games to take this style to market). In the anime world, it can be used as a technique to help personify via 2D symbolisation the anime characters while the underlying models are built in 3D.

This overlaps with Japanese mannequin history. In the beginning the industry was about advancing symbolisation of the human body. To tell you the truth the mannequin face is not based on Japanese or Western face, but the result of original modellers simply trying to create what they perceived to be most beautiful. All modelling detail including make-up is done by hand, not with a computer, an approach which appears to be highly valued throughout the rest of the world too. These aesthetics have helped influence competitors across Asia and Europe. Even if those outside Japan are not necessarily anime-style, they have ridden the influence of anime’s growth.

Products more real than real

With these 2D stylised 3D mannequins growing in popularity, you would be qualified in commenting on their unnatural likeness. In the anime and manga world, object characteristics are distorted much like how a caricature is. With symbolisation it’s all about representing reality, not recreating it. Manga can be a treasure box of implications for manufacturing - after all, our anime and manga industry is the world leader, both in terms of quantity and quality.

If we apply this symbolisation culture to Japan’s future manufacturing, consumer robotics is an obvious destination. First appearing in 2000, Honda’s Asimo has amazed people around the world. Both at the time and through its continued development, Asimo is the most advanced bipedal consumer robot in existence. And the face?

Covered by an astronaut-style helmet, Asimo has no facial expression. But rather than a shortcut solution, the issue of humanoid faces is a serious challenge to the development team. Even with all the trials conducted with humanoids’ emotional impact on human beings, a simple solution has yet to be found. Giving robots a face increases affinity up until a point, beyond which we reach the “uncanny valley” - the hypothesis that describes how our emotional response to a robot’s appearance will go from empathy to revulsion before returning to empathy as the robot’s appearance approaches perfect human likeness. The dilemma of not being able to distinguish humanoid and human is one for the future, and until the technology catches up, current models stop short of that “uncanny” line.

Like with the contrast in the humorous but grim-faced C-3PO, when you mistake a mannequin with a real person, you may freak out. Particularly children, more familiar with cartoon characters (like Doraemon in Japan), will burst into tears.

Symbolisation infused Anime faces entering the home

In order to overcome this “uncanny valley” phenomenon, look at our country’s proud symbolisation techniques with anime. The process of adapting these 2D worlds into realistic 3D models perhaps hides the answer to this issue.

If you scale up to life-size the proportions of any character, like Chibi Maruko-chan, you will not end up with human proportions. At Heiwa Mannequin, when making character mannequins, the designers made subtles changes to the original 2D faces and bodies. With their 3D conversions, such adaptation hints at overcoming the “uncanny valley”.

Whether you say we watch too much TV or read too many comics, the growth of the anime and manga industry since the 1960s has impacted every Japanese individual. Given this crystallisation of culture, you’ll know about moe-kei.

Moe can be loosely defined as a kind of love or passion for fictional characters. To what extent this moe aesthetic (“moe-kei”) is apparent or not, comparing Japanese to foreign markets you can see this definite trend. You can say this was also the aim of Heiwa Mannequin’s modelling team. Even if most young people watch too much anime and read too much manga, adapting to this reality and their view of the world is surely the destiny for this company.

Understanding the changing outlook of a generation of young people brought up on anime and manga surely will impact on our collective ability to cope with and bridge the real-virtual gap from merging human traits with robotics technology. Surely, the worry of confusing identity between humanoids and human beings will disappear altogether. Can you envisage a future dominated by consumer robots with anime faces? You never know.

Morinosuke Kawaguchi: Fashion stores bursting into life
Translated from the original Japanese by Tom Roseveare

Find the Japanese original of this article online on Nikkei BP: 洋服売り場が“萌えて”いますマネキンに見る「日本的記号化」の強み

With NTT Docomo phones, we previously saw technologies that could accentuate a user's style and how the wearable computing revolution could benefit pioneering manufacturers willing to innovate.

It's worth acknowledging the design evolution that traditional wearables took, such as glasses and wristwatches, to appreciate the trend in wearables. From 13th century eyeglasses to 16th century pocket watches, both developments evolved significantly over time and we have seen the same accelerated change with the modern smartphones.

Mobile phones: the second generation of wearables

The smartphone has arguably replaced the wristwatch for many. The proliferation of apps has fueled a similar trend for multiple functions: alarm, clock, wallet, personal ID, keys, mirror, memo, TV, camera, music: it’s not difficult to say “there’s an app for that”.
Mobile phones have heralded a new generation of wearable technology, weaving together multiple mechanical and electronic innovations. Visual style inevitably overtakes functional innovation the more these devices evolve. Docomo’s D702iF, combining functional convenience with beautiful design, made particular efforts to inform and influence the elegant movements of its female target users.

According to Osanuma-san, the design-focused D702iF managed to sell well. Despite the seemingly inevitable trade off of design versus function, continual modularisation of the internal components enabled the team to better reconcile the two. It goes without saying designer phones are not designed to be mass-market or cheap devices, but the D702iF impressed in the marketplace.

There are many examples of product design attempting to influence consumer behaviour. Asahi Soft Drinks’ “Gyugyutto Shimikomu Collagen Water” spearheaded a trend for more elegant, thin PET bottle designs. Whilst Asahi tried to sell the health and beauty benefits to drink-conscious female consumers, the elegant design also reinforces its feminine appeal. Easier to hold in smaller hands, more discreet in shape and colour, and easier to slip into a handbag. Like the difference between picking up a sophisticated wine glass and grabbing a beer glass, the designers almost subconsciously knew how to fuse feminine elegance into their product design. Such long and narrow designs, through highlighting and accentuating female form, are synonymous with femininity across a range of modern day products.

Product design and masculine cool

So what about male-inspired product design? The Zippo lighter is still considered an influential and iconic which definitely influences a guy’s behaviour. Younger men cannot deny the ethos of cool associated with the ritual of effortlessly flicking and lighting up a Zippo. Why do we do this? The reality is men treat life as a series of small challenges, looking for opportunities to showcase our abilities to those we want to impress.

When parking a car, the driver will reverse with one arm behind the passenger seat and the other fine adjusting the steering wheel. This is a chance to showcase to a female passenger spatial awareness and athletic ability! There are countless opportunities to bolster one’s reputation and signal one’s prowess. Those with genuine talent (in sports and arts) are fine, but normal people will likely have nothing but these smaller opportunities. Even if you try and then mess up, you’ll be mortally wounded at the loss of face - it’s just how we are.

Successfully launching “smaller battles”

You will be familiar with the All Blacks’ Haka dance that precedes each rugby game, Bruce Lee’s nunchaku routine or Western gun-spinning. Such macho showmanship or signalling goes hand in hand with two-sided contests. But reality of our modern, comfortable lifestyles is better defined by “small battles”. In our increasingly automated lives, chances to differentiate ourselves are decreasing. In this wearable computing age, how can a man showcase his abilities? Several years ago a new trend amongst younger men came into being - flicking back their phone handsets against the side of the leg, simultaneously opening the handset. A resemblance not just to the gunman drawing his holstered weapon, but also the Zippo “flick”.

If you look at Nintendo’s Wii console, you can imagine the bravado with which the Wii Remote (and the Nunchuk) controllers are used competitively. To ensure reliable control during gameplay and protection against being dropped, Nintendo made significant innovations with shock and impact resistance to ensure long-term durability. This shows the true worth of our engineers and when it comes to these kind of developments, nobody does it better than Japan.

Another factor is Japanese people’s love of ceremony and formalities. From tea ceremony and flower arrangement to judo, form and aesthetics are paramount to us. From our morning Radio Taisou exercises to our evening gathering toasts (“kanpai!”) and hand-clapping (“tejime”), we are fond of these customs. Their sense of familiarity reinforces a sense of relief and peace of mind, not to mention social harmony. It seems sensible to consider how ceremony could be applied to the mobile phone - perhaps this is why the flip phone continues to remain quite popular here in Japan? It feels as though whilst durability and material innovations are inevitable in industry, the difficulty is more pronounced in producing for the traditional male Japanese target market.

The style of Japanese men

We previously summarised the efforts of Japanese product design in influencing movement and behaviour with “hidden audacity”. Typically, Japanese people’s attitude compared to Westerners tends to be more inward-looking. From the Meiji era onwards, the Western style of marching was introduced to our armies, before which the “namba aruki” style was widespread and almost universal by some accounts (here the right arm and right leg move forward at the same time). Such self-conscious pomp and majesty is markedly different to the idea of a traditional inward-looking mindset.

Japanese clothing also echoed this evolution in attitude. The long-standing tradition of wearing kimono and its associated style of movement has survived well to this day. After putting on “zōri” (sandles), the default walking style is shuffling, short steps. Within this history of Japanese femininity and elegance, it’s not easy to discover such charateristics in Japanese men.

When it comes to contests, technique and sportsmanship eclipse anything else, where competition through beauty and style is more important than victory itself. Even before judo’s Olympic debut, the Ippon has always been considered the archetype for victory as it is by modern Japanese athletes.
In kendo, etiquette and courtesy is written into the rules. If you pose after winning a point, the point can be revoked for inappropriate behaviour. In this way, showing respect and competing with honour are expected. Such dignity and suppressing audacity is a traditional characteristic in the Japanese male.

Lessons for wearable devices

Even in times of victory, it is important to recognise our ability to respect our opponents. Even if this mindset is not so common these days, this calm and collectedness has a relevant application to how we use modern wearable devices.
With regards to the characteristics and customs that survive from the old, traditional Japanese arts and crafts, there are still ways to uncover the Japanese male’s characteristic behaviour.

NTT Docomo’s D702iF designer, Ikuta-san said, “The more one understands Japan’s traditional arts and crafts the more one realises how to attain that higher level. Taking the modern “kawaii” and “moe” trends from Shibuya or Akihabara, the strengths of our traditional industries can complement and empower these design concepts as they circulate throughout the world and gain greater social acceptance”.

Like the phone that could uncover and accentuate femininity and elegance, wearable devices can similarly uncover male style and characteristics. When it comes to manufacturing, understanding our traditions and our past will surely teach us some lessons.

Morinosuke Kawaguchi: How beauty of form appeals to the Japanese man
Translated from the original Japanese by Tom Roseveare

Find the Japanese original of this article online on Nikkei BP: ニッポン男児の心をとらえる様式美とはNTTドコモのケータイに見る「日本的仕草」の表現（その2）

Picture the scene at a Japanese tea ceremony, with nothing but the sound of a whistling pot to break the calm concentration, its vapour slowly rising. An elegant lady receives an urgent call on her mobile (“keitai”). What is the polite thing to do?

You may know the familiar regime: slowly picking up the phone trying to subtly take the call with one hand, perhaps trying to shield the phone call with the other. Such politeness is firmly rooted in modern Japanese culture, where it is common to apply both hands, adding a nuance of warmth, respect and dignity. Take the exchange of business cards (“meishi”) with both hands, accompanied by a bow, as a common example.

In our ongoing look at the Japanese manufacturing industry, let’s focus on this concept of movement and user interaction.

In the production process, mechanics is central. With ongoing technological development, innovation in mechanics can help manufacturers influence consumer behaviour more than ever before.

For example, take the mobile phone, which is an intrinsic part of daily life. Influenced by the concept of Yamato Nadeshiko (a metaphor for the ideal Japanese woman), manufacturers began to focus on the ideal mobile phone for a woman. In 2006, NTT Docomo came up with the D702iF. It was developed by Mitsubishi and designed by fashion designer, Momoko Ikuta.

Appearance was crucial. How could they make a woman look beautiful through the phone she uses? The development team came up with several innovations. With curved casing (christened “Marquise Line”), the smaller form factor offered a more comfortable grip alongside a sleeker profile during calls. Handset colours were offered in four traditional Japanese shades, known to complement the skin. The design goal was a phone that both exemplified and complemented the beauty of a Japanese woman - usability and visual appeal followed, somewhat inevitably, allowing the device to really influence user behaviour.

The history of clothing shares this design order. Originally created to protect against cold or trauma, comfort and visual style very much came at end of the design process. Ikuta-san confirmed to me in interview this phenomenon.

Obsession with detail

Technological advances have paved the way for functional innovation, with improved usability often the driver behind this. It is true for most daily necessities, not just consumer electronics. Japanese manufacturing has progressed from pursuing function to focusing on usability. How easy a device is to use, how intuitive an interface is and how quickly common actions can be performed. If intuitive usability requires instinctive, visual appeal, it is likely the pursuit of one can achieve the other.

Take another example. “Auto-closure” was developed to automatically close vehicle doors completely. This innovation was originally developed for ambulances, where time is precious and a slammed door could disturb a patient’s blood pressure. Over time, this same technology was adopted into everyday vehicles such as Toyota’s Lexus and many more since. It is distinctly Japanese to absorb new features wherever there is potential use. Hitachi and Mitsubishi Electric began to equip their refrigerators with this feature. This extra functionality symbolises Japanese manufacturers’ commitment to the consumer’s quality of comfort.

With Hitachi’s refrigerators, auto-closure could prevent leakage of cold air from a half-open door. Both functional and energy efficient, there were obvious usability gains too, if you consider the obstacle to the average consumer that is the heavy door to an increasingly large, modern refrigerator.

The difference between Western and Japanese style can be described by an extra elegance or subtle audacity embedded in Japanese design. Consideration of this is essential in developing effective design. The Japanese style attaches greater importance to modesty and subtlety and is conveyed in the product designs so far discussed.

Japan’s strength in identifying harmony

Ikuta-san’s work on the D702iF project was her first experience of consumer electronic design. From her haute couture background, where handwork is key, it is easy to see how the experienced seamstress relies on the designer for an accurate concept, while the designer relies on the seamstress to bring the illustrations to life. Ikuta-san was surprised by the determination of the technical staff at Mitsubishi Electric and by their incredible attention to detail. They were determined not to compromise on effort or loosen their control of any part of the project until they themselves were satisfied with the end result. You can see how this harmonious approach differs to the specialisation approach of the seamstress and the designer.

Ikuta-san highlights the risk presented by the modern trend of division of labour in the production process. Leveraging Japanese people’s strength in thoroughly investigating every angle, team members can understand, relate and work better together, forming a kind of workplace harmony. Regarding future development, I can see the benefit of paying equal attention to all intrinsic parts of the manufacturing process: planning, design, development and production. In doing so, we can achieve this harmony.

Looking to the future, the next era of handheld devices is likely to be dominated by “wearable computing”. What started with the Walkman and the mobile phone will continue as the distance between ourselves and our devices will become ever minimal. It is not just a functional consideration or desire to stand out, but component dimensions will continue to shrink allowing us to achieve new standards in miniaturisation. Just like Docomo’s Marquise Line, perhaps our future coats and jackets, with their buttons behaving like switches, could allow us to achieve a more seamless, natural usability? Understanding the production process and realising the renewed focus on usability and style will surely benefit the profitability of Japanese manufacturers going into an increasingly competitive global marketplace.

Morinosuke Kawaguchi: A phone to enhance your style
Translated from the original Japanese by Tom Roseveare

Find the Japanese original of this article online on Nikkei BP: ご主人様を魅力的にする道具とは
NTTドコモのケータイに見る「日本的仕草」の表現.

The Essence of “Cool Japan”

Personification is a source of Japanese pride. Honda’s research into visibility and road safety prompted motorbike design choices including a kabuki-inspired chassis and lighting. Did this discovery herald a new era of aggressively-stylised vehicles and intimidating road traffic? Exploring the trend of personification, we can answer this question.

Terrorism’s Impact on Fear

Post 9/11, motorbikes modelled on such fearful, intimidating designs seemed to perform very well in the marketplace. The climate of fear had created a demand for rugged, “Survivor”-style vehicles. Let’s look at Dodge’s flagship SUV of that era, the Durango. With the accentuated, formidable front wing design, it resembles the stocky, macho build of a predatory beast rather than just a means of transportation. This superiority in build likely intimidates other road users and benefits the driver in potential collision situations.
Yet this intimidation represents a problem. Once we realise the interconnected nature of road users, it is essential to consider and manage our influence on others. Consider the intimidating motorbike with improved visibility. If another driver feels antagonised and provoked into responding aggressively, the probability of an accident will increase irrespective of improved visibility.

Harmony in nature

Given their speed and lack of protection, motorbike riders are clearly vulnerable. In a collision with a car or SUV, they would be worse off. For this reason, improved visibility at the expense of heightened tension is not sufficient. One of Honda’s researchers, Koichi Maruyama, claimed the reverse trend is preferable: “Like a truck, strong vehicles with more gentle traits and characteristics are almost certainly more desirable”.
If we consider harmonised traffic in comparison to nature, we commonly see large, strong animals with calm figures, alongside smaller creatures with unique markings and warning signs. Evolution has proven this approach to survival. Natural harmony is the equilibrium for the peaceful co-existence of different species. Applied to traffic harmonisation, this means the coexistence of all road users in a functional way.
Let’s explore the ways we self-assert our physical presence without alienating those around us. Full consideration of the interaction between ourselves, each other and our surroundings can better harmonise them, leading to the development of improved interfaces. Widening our consideration of personification of human traits beyond just fear, let’s consider the smiling, happy face of a baby. An emotional ploy or not, adults fall for the irresistible cuteness and charm every time. Such “baby schema” were discovered in 1973 by Konrad Lorenz, Nobel Prize winner in Physiology or Medicine. Can this effect be applied to product design?

Phenomenon beyond cute

Such schema work to create an irresistible impulse to adults that can be applied to products. Creating a first impression that effortlessly draws in the consumer is an important design skill. In Tokyo, cute childlike characters and mascots adorn the streets, waiting to catch your attention. Round faces, large eyes and cute features are fundamental design rules here.
Adopted by young, trendy Japanese people, this “kawaii” cute culture is now a global movement, far more popular than its Shibuya/Harajuku origins could have predicted. Hello Kitty is now a global brand, worn by supermodels and celebrities, shunning its childlike, young girl image in favour of a more adult, sophisticated “Cool Japan” association. Cute aesthetics have influenced the Japanese car market. Nissan’s 2005 Pivo is perhaps the most extreme example, a cute kei car aimed at the modern, young, urban woman. But even the Honda Civic of 1973 or the Toyota Prius of 1997 were both quintessentially cute by design.
Given the rising elegance of the European car market and the growing macho design of the American car market, Japan needed to exploit the concept of harmonisation through consistently cutifying its designs. The idea of baby schemas has positively influenced Japan’s manufacturing output and can continue to do so. Today’s Shibuya girls would definitely agree the original Civic was incredibly cute for its time.

Nissan’s Pivo concept car（Pivo）

Flood of cute characters

Walking through Tokyo’s Shibuya and Harajuku, the global mecca for cute culture, the streets overflow with cute characters. Yet we have already arrived at a stage where cute culture has spread around the world, where cute aesthetics are weaved into manufacturing at every corner.
Through Honda’s research into traffic harmonisation and f-MRI analysis, we can analyse Japanese manufacturing to see the influence and potential of such trends as “personification” and “harmonisation”.

This is the English translation of the second article in Morinosuke Kawaguchi's column for the Nikkei BP, 初出日経ビジネスオンライン２００７年2月1９日
世界共通語になった「カワイイ」の威力
ホンダのバイクに見る“ジャパンクール”の本質（その2）
This is actually the second part of the article「怖い歌舞伎顔」は、なぜ目立つ, published on January 22nd, 2007, titled:
「怖い歌舞伎顔」は、なぜ目立つ
ホンダのバイクに見る“ジャパンクール”の本質
「自動車や魚の絵を描いてみてください」――。こう言われたらどんな絵を描くでしょうか。横から見た絵ですか?　それとも、正面から見た絵でしょうか?

Find the Japanese original of the 2nd article online here
and the first article here.

KAWAII'S GLOBAL RISE
Author: Morinosuke Kawaguchi
Translator: Tom Roseveare

The Essence of “Cool Japan”

Following Honda’s research into the “face” of improved road safety, let’s explore product design more widely. Like the safety-improving front lights that mimic the eye, personification is a source of pride for Japan so we will explore the origins for this trend. Continuing with road safety, did the advent of the scary, fearsome face herald a new era of two-wheeled aggression? Did the highway become an intimidating, stark environment?

Terrorism’s Impact on Fear

After 9/11, American motorbikes with intimidating designs sold well. Raphael Crotel, psychologist and marketing consultant at Daimler Chrysler, explained how demand rose for rugged, “Survivor”-style vehicles. The most symbolic development, the Dodge SUV, Durango, featured an accentuated front wing design, resembling the stocky, macho build and jawline of a predatory beast. Not only does the Durango reinforce the driver's survival instinct, sheer intimidation communicates its likely superior outcome in a hypothetical collision.

Top: Dodge SUV, Durango, current model
Bottom: Custom-made concept from 2004’s SEMA Show, the “Durango Dude”

Even the calmest of drivers have been enraged by road situations and could not say they have never felt aggression. This trait is a part of life. How about the flood of argumentative commentary on a blog post or forum? Whatever the means, mankind's interconnectedness and how we manage our influence on others are the reasons. Honda's researchers were aware of this. Even for the intimidating bike with improved visibility, a driver can react, feel antagonised and be provoked to respond aggressively to the extent that accidents would conversely increase.

Nature’s influence on harmony

Given their speed and lack of protection, motorbike riders are obviously vulnerable. In a collision with a car, they would be worse off. Given the development of more intimidating SUVs, does the impact of Honda’s face help guarantee a rider’s safety or not? Does the feigning weaker rider, cause the stronger driver to take care or just invite tension?
One of Honda’s researchers, Koichi Maruyama, claims the reverse trend is preferable: “Like a truck, strong vehicles with more gentle traits and characteristics are almost certainly more desirable”. In any collision, the likely winner will be the most intimidating, the smaller loser will instead resort to assert itself creatively. If we consider harmonised traffic in comparison to nature, we commonly see large, strong animals with calm figures, alongside smaller creatures with unique markings and warning signs. Evolution has proven this approach to survival.
“Complete harmony” can be thought of as the equilibrium for the peaceful co-existence of different species. If we can apply this to traffic harmonisation, the relative prosperity of Japanese people, not to mention all road users (drivers, passengers, cyclists and pedestrians), can be improved.
Let’s explore the ways we self-assert our physical presence without alienating those around us. Full consideration of the interaction between ourselves, each other and our surroundings can lead to the development of improved interfaces and better harmony. We should widen our consideration of personification of emotions beyond just fear. Consider the smiling, happy face of a baby. An emotional ploy or not, adults fall for the irresistible cuteness and charm every time. Such “baby schema” were discovered in 1973 by Konrad Lorenz, Nobel Prize winner in Physiology or Medicine.

Phenomenon beyond cute

Honda researchers knew about this phenomenon. Whether we are talking about babies, kittens or puppies, these schema work to create an irresistible impulse to adults that could be applied to product design. Creating a first impression that effortlessly draws in the consumer is an important design consideration. In Tokyo, cute childlike characters and mascots adorn the streets waiting to catch your attention. Round faces, large eyes and cute features are fundamental design rules here. Adopted by young, trendy Japanese people, “kawaii” culture is now a global movement, far more popular than could be predicted from its Shibuya and Harajuku origins.

Nissan’s Pivo concept car（Pivo）

We have entered an age where supermodels and celebrities wear Hello Kitty (“Kitty-chan”). Despite originally being a low-valued brand and accessory for young girls, it has recently come of age, perhaps along with its core audience. Whilst the modern brand is still quintessentially youth-oriented and feminine, the modern Hello Kitty possesses adult traits and association.
Nissan’s 2005 Pivo was developed around cute aesthetics, squarely aimed at the young, urban woman. Nissan’s design lead, Shiro Nakamura, originally announced, “The world has called on us to develop the cute aesthetic. Nissan’s March also evolved to be cuter and cuter, and our competitors’ followed.” Both BMW’s Mini Cooper and Mercedes Benz’s Smart Fortwo came to be known as cute cars for urban citizens. Witnessing this trend, the Japan car industry knows it should be dominating this space.
Honda’s Civic CVCC launched in 1973 as the first international car to clear America’s Clean Air Act. The CVCC (Compound Vortex Controlled Combustion) certainly shocked the industry at the time, proving to be the masterpiece to resurrect Honda’s ailing four-wheeled business.
Toyota’s Prius launched in 1997. Despite being the first hybrid vehicle to reach the marketplace and becoming the industry’s flagship hi-tech environmental car, it was also really rather cute.

Honda’s Civic CVCC, on sale in 1973.

Given the rising elegance of the European car market and the growing macho design of the American car market, Japan needed to exploit the “complete harmony” concept through consistently cutifying its designs and features. The idea of baby schemas can definitely positively influence Japan’s manufacturing output. I’m sure today’s Shibuya girls would agree the original Civic was overtly cute for its time.

Flood of cute characters

Walking through Tokyo’s Shibuya and Harajuku, the global mecca for cute culture, the streets overflow with cute characters. Yet we have already arrived at a stage where cute culture has spread around the world, as cute aesthetics are weaved into manufacturing at every opportunity.
Through Honda’s research into traffic harmonisation and f-MRI analysis, I will analyse Japanese manufacturing to see the influence and potential of such trends as “personification” and “complete harmonisation”.

This is the English translation of the first article in Morinosuke Kawaguchi's column for the Nikkei BP, 初出　日経ビジネスオンライン２００７年１月２９日「怖い歌舞伎顔」は、なぜ目立つ, published on January 22nd, 2007, titled:
「怖い歌舞伎顔」は、なぜ目立つ
ホンダのバイクに見る“ジャパンクール”の本質
「自動車や魚の絵を描いてみてください」――。こう言われたらどんな絵を描くでしょうか。横から見た絵ですか?　それとも、正面から見た絵でしょうか?
Find the Japanese original online here.

The Fearsome Kabuki Mask & Honda Bikes
Author: Morinosuke Kawaguchi
Translator: Tom Roseveare

Why does the Kabuki “Fearsome Face” stand out?
Honda Motorbikes: The essence of “Cool Japan”

"Draw a picture of a car or fish". If asked, what kind of picture would you draw? Most readers would draw an image from the side. For a car, that's the side with the door, or a fish with its head on the left and its tail fin on the right.

It's actually a different outcome to that achieved by a young child. Instead, you will see them drawn from the front. Whilst a car works well, the frontal image of a fish may appear to adults rather unique, right? In truth, it is a completely natural viewpoint.

When we recognise things, an object’s face fulfills an important role. According to research by Professor Betty Edwards, at California State University, from the age of 10 the brain starts to process images as symbols in an attempt to optimise cognitive processing. Identifying characteristic angles of a figure helps conserve cognitive activity. When we otherwise attempt to recognise objects, from their complete visible exterior, our mind processing levels increase greatly. This outcome is “images seen from the side”.

Just from intuition over theory, we can assume that when drawing a face, a child’s view of the world omits basic elements of construction and logical steps. When we become adults, we better understand these faces as we interact more. Essentially, when people come across unnatural likenesses, the mind works to make the process of association easier.

Even as an adult, the strength of the child within me is a merit of Japanese manufacturing, and it is indeed a strength. The purpose of this column is for Japanese manufacturers to better evaluate their products and uncover their true Japanese essence. Through leveraging best practice examples of our manufacturing, I intend to introduce our people and culture’s true spirit and way of thinking. Today’s keyword is “face”.

The Meaning of a Motorbike’s “Angry” Impression

Modern people live surrounded by various tools. Furniture, food, clothing and industrial goods have in some way become a point of contact for human beings, with their user interfaces.
Products with more function and greater appeal have diversified so now, more than ever, products that are easier to use and understand, ones with “face”, are seeing stronger demand. This is not limited to machinery, but also daily necessities, everyday items and packaging too.

Honda’s prototype motorbike designed to improve safety, the Honda ASV-3’s face. ASV-3 was part of the Ministry of LITT automobile safety project (Photo: Yamanishi Eiji)

Try studying the front expression of Honda’s ASV-3 prototype model, originally announced in September 2005. How do you feel? It is a fairly striking appearance. No matter who you are, Japanese or otherwise, you can sense the angry expression. In truth, the bike’s face is designed to improve awareness of the bike’s presence for other road users, in order to prevent accidents. This is the main purpose of the design.
Such a bike, when surrounded by four-wheeled vehicles on a highway, has a weaker presence. It becomes important to protect oneself by maximising your visibility and your visible presence. Ten years previously, the Honda researcher, Kazumitsu Kushida, alongside his team of senior researchers pursued this relationship between a bike’s front expression and its visibility, in a bid to see if it was possible to use an angry expression effectively.
The front of a bike or car came to be the most important design decision in influencing a product’s image. The designer, through trial and error, who explored ways in refining this concept, concluded a conspicuous “fearsome face” was the most intuitive approach. Looking at sports bikes, such motorbikes (with their conspicuous, striking faces) are certainly here to stay. As a symbol of strength and speed, the design is a sign of fearless, high-performance and cool audacity. The designers knew men would instinctively desire this kind of bike.

Sharp-edged powerful stare (Photo: Yamanashi Eiji)

The interest in the Honda research, through exploring the intuition behind a fearsome face, proved a theoretical point. With regard to a designer’s intuition, there is an element of concealed justification, beyond which we must recognise the importance of engineering as a theoretical basis.

The Honda research group’s work improving safety was pioneering. The conspicuous “fearsome face” concept was also verified in medical use with measuring devices. With ”f-MRI” (Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging) equipment, brain activity from situations where subjects witnessed these bikes was analysed, and the connection between bike design and visibility thoroughly investigated.
As a result, the prototype vehicle with the “face” design came into being. With unique diagonally-slanted eyes right up to the edge, alongside the motorbike’s front lights, a striking, powerful image of the eyes is recreated. This prototype vehicle is said to be twice as visible as comparable, popular motorbikes.

Making maximum use of a person’s cognitive ability

With the human mind, specific brain cells are designed to help recognise facial expressions. Even up until now, computers around the world find image recognition of facial expressions an arduous task. Yet people can quickly recognise them, simultaneously understanding an expression’s true meaning.

The original design closely imitated human likeness（left photo）。At night the eye quickly becomes defined with lights turned on（right photo）

Alongside other effects, we have evolved to recognise fearsome expressions quickly, because of the impact they could have on our own existence. Whether a wild animal under attack, or opposing soldiers at war, there is no difference in their ferocious expressions. Even these days, if a boss entered a meeting room under a cloud of anger, the tension in the meeting would quickly rise.

In the world of user interfaces that connect mankind with machines, there are cases where facial recognition of some individuals exceeds that of computers. Recently however, computers are improving. For example, take a look at PIN security systems at apartment entrances. An alternative method now allows the user to identify images, scenes or people on a screen, in lieu of personal identification. In place of a PIN, you can select, for example, your kitchen, high school teacher and/or favourite actress to gain access. Through leveraging people’s private knowledge to the maximum, the development of more gentle interfaces can be greatly expanded.
During Honda’s “fearsome face” research development, there was internal amusement over their work’s likeness to “Thomas the Tank Engine” aesthetics. However, as if to justify their efforts, European bike manufacturers quickly started to research into the same areas.
This field became a pioneering research territory, as global automotive manufacturers began to finally pay attention to this new approach. Japan was likely the first to share these pioneering results to the rest of the world. We Japanese people began to consider this personification approach or culture was now a genuine, serious phenomenon.

Symbolising the recent “Cool Japan” phenomenon, both Japanese manga and anime have show incredible strength at spreading across the whole world. Less GNP, more GNC (Gross National Cool), Japan has garnered much praise and recognition. Given this background of spreading our culture, such personification faces a low threshold. Of course, personification is not a uniquely Japanese characteristic, yet our humanizing approach is gaining global attention. In everyday life, you will uniquely see such characters and mascots overflowing in our society.

A kabuki face that stares at people and the neighbourhood (Tokyo crime-prevention sticker)

On commuter train doors, Hello Kitty stickers with warning signs, “Protect your fingers, keep away from the doors!” are immediately brought to your attention. These Kitty-chan images show her fingers bandaged, as an additional visual warning. Even the Self-Defence Force or police headquarters have their own mascot. Smiling faces everywhere! Drug abuse, anti-organised crime, human rights protection, the elimination of AIDS, even with more serious campaigns their essence is sometimes omitted in favour of a cute, colourful mascot character. Towns can have a fairy-tale quality to an outstanding degree, despite the reality of the outside world.
This phenomenon has not just started recently. For example, our traditional customs include memorial services for old needles. Needles that have endured overuse with tough fabric, are shown what true softness is by putting them in tofu. Like the needle, we can emphasise with objects with harsh exteriors, and always appreciate our ancestral spirits. Japanese people have a very low threshold for connecting with friends and others, even motorbikes, radios and mobile phones!

Even the Honda researchers who developed the “face” concept, from the emotion of the conventional Noh mask’s shadows, personification or humanising culture can simply be considered “creating an advantage, by weaving this artistic approach into our work by default”. Honda’s bipedal walking robot, Asimo, is also a symbolic example born of our humanising culture. In our world, where God presented mankind with living things, a humanoid robot walking around the living room feels like a kind of defiance to our Gods.

The strengths of those raised in a humanised environment

The “fearsome face” research Honda worked on is a proud development for Japan, symbolising our research and development prowess. There was a great feeling of accomplishment for those involved in the research, to see the benefits of the research being used.
Like the remote control with too many buttons, or the bulky computer manual, all too often in the pursuit of efficiency, the appearance and shape of items become disconnected from the natural, human-centric design they aspire to.

The research team at Honda Research & Development that developed the “ASV-3” (Photo: Yamanashi Eiji)

For those of us born and raised in Japan, when we look overseas we can see the incredible impact of our humanised culture around the world. “I like Gundam and the Mobile Suits look so cool. So what about motorbike designs?” With such thinking, the “fearsome face” motorbike design influenced by kabuki style is born.
Next time, I will try to explain why kabuki is considered so cool. As we explore, I’ll leverage and best illustrate Japanese people’s strengths and abilities in this way.

Like this, I have a great sense of where Japanese manufacturing is going. As part of the Japanese manufacturing debate, I will investigate items such as skill transmission, efficient production and production techniques. As a popular topic in the news, it is always a relevant debate. Of course, it is increasingly important ‘what’ Japan should be making and which industries Japan should be specialising in. At that point, I feel that as adults our “inner-child” approach to humanising commodities and technology will become a great strengh in Japanese engineering and manufacturing.

Morinosuke Kawaguchi will be presenting his Subculture-inpsired Innovation Model at Creatives Unfold 2012 Bangkok, the greatest design event in Thailand! Check out this photo ! U see MK? He is on the far right!

Creatives Unfold 2012 Bangkok is Thailand's greatest design event & Morinosuke Kawaguchi will be presenting his subculture-inspired innovation model there in September.

Morinosuke Kawaguchi is represented by Hong Kong's prestigious speakers bureau, Speakers Connect!
Would you like to invite Morinosuke Kawaguchi for a lecture and/or workshop? Please contact us here and we will be happy to refer you to Speakers Connect or you're welcome to contact them directly!
http://www.speakersconnect.com/morinosuke-kawaguchi/

Please rate and leave a comment about the lecture on the TED website.

Geeky-Girly Innovation

Morinosuke Kawaguchi is an award-winning author whose books have been translated into four languages and they influence thinking and practice not only in Japan but in other countries as well. His seminal book: “Otaku de onnano ko na kuni no monozukuri” (English title: Geeky-Girly Innovation: A Japanese Subculturist's Guide to Technology & Design) was awarded the prestigious Nikkei BP BizTech Book Award 2008 in Japan, given to books that contribute to the advancement and development of technology and management. It was translated into Korean and Chinese in 2009. In Taiwan, it was listed as number one among the top ten “Great Technology Management Books 2010”. That same year Taiwan's Small and Medium Enterprise Administration, Ministry of Economic Affairs and South Korea's KITECH, the Korea Institute if Industrial Technology, studied the book to be applied in their countries’ technology and innovation strategies. The Thai translation was published in 2011 and the English version in 2012.

Available at yes24.com

Analyzing everything from super-toilets to cute character stationery goods, from Kabuki to manga and anime, from bikes to robots, this visionary book by leading Japanese innovation strategist Morinosuke Kawaguchi supplies a road map for the future of international technology and design. The Japanese have leveraged the childlike, feminine, cute aspects of their otaku (geek) culture into top-tier products for world markets. What does this mean for the human/object interface? How can we personalize and pleasurize design? According to Kawaguchi, the answers lie in our entertainments, innocence, and obsessions.

1. Principle: Humanize, Personify
2. Principle: Customize
3. Principle: Compulsion
4. Principle: Manipulation
5. Principle: Sociability (Lubricant Joint)
6. Principle: Be more shy
7. Principle: Long life
8. Principle: Dramatized life
9. Principle: Ecology
10. Principle: Miniaturization

WIRED about the book:
“As much a deeply inspiring tour of Japanese subcultures as it is an indispensable and riveting guide to how business and technology can benefit from them. Kawaguchi’s landmark bestseller elegantly explores how the marriage of otaku geek culture to modern industrial design can help shape the next generation of world-class technologies.”
—Nate Lanxon, Editor, Wired.co.uk

More blurbs for the English translation can be found here.

Sekai ga zessan suru "Made by Japan"

amazon.jp/479736307X

Morinosuke Kawaguchi's second book, "Sekai ga zessan suru "Made BY Japan"" was published in Japan by Softbank Creative in 2010.
As Japan's manufacturing sector is struggling, the question becomes how to regain profitability in a competitive world where younger economies are catching up in terms of sophistication and manufacturing quality. In his second book “Sekai ga zessan suru [Made by Japan]” (The World Acclaimed [Made by Japan]), Morinosuke Kawaguchi points out ways how Japan can advance from the "Made in Japan" way of manufacturing that built its economy to a “Made BY Japan” approach to escape from the red ocean in manufacturing. As other advanced economies are already facing similar problems, this book can be a useful guidebook for them on how to deal with such challenges. Kawaguchi's advice is to watch Japan closely as it is the economy with the fastest spiral into an aging, luxuriously weak society with all the resulting demands for new products and functionalities.

Watch the book presentation in either English and Japanese:

Kawaguchi provides five product planning visions to survive the next cycle that also reflect the country’s strengths in innovation and technology:

1. Vision: Synergy of Technology and Subculture
2. Vision: Products are our partners and user-finishable products
3. Vision: Designing for spiritual satisfaction
4. Vision: Motivation to rescue the weak
5. Vision: Finding your own direction: Look around us (Not rule the world)

His referrals to Japanese subculture make it easy to understand how culture and innovation are linked, and the methodologies he applies are a guide to everyone on how to leverage their own cultural uniqueness in technology and innovation.

Articles and columns

Morinosuke Kawaguchi's articles are published by several Japanese business magazines and websites, with some of them reaching more than 100,000 page views per day.

• Nikkei Business Online
• TechON Web column serialized in Nikkei
• DIME Shogakukan magazine
• Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun

Some of these articles were summarized in English and are available in the Innovation Treasure Box section.

Back to About Morinosuke Kawaguchi

Recognized as a leading authority on innovation and strategy, he is an expert in the management of technology, intellectual property and design. He assists companies in a wide range of industries, including the telecommunications, electronics, automobile and healthcare fields.

Before joining Arthur D. Little in 2002, Kawaguchi worked at the Kansai Research Institute, Inc., a Japanese technology consulting firm which was originally connected to the Stanford Research Institute. At KRI, he focused on evaluating the marketability of manufacturing technologies, building technology strategy and setting intellectual property strategy.

Prior to becoming a consultant, he worked at Hitachi Ltd, Japan’s biggest electronic equipment and machine manufacturer. For 15 years at Hitachi, he worked in the factory, where he gained experience in product development, as well as materials and production technology research and development for their office automation equipment, household appliances, and heavy industry equipment businesses. At Hitachi Inc. he wrote over 35 patents and was awarded one Gold and two Bronze Awards as the principal writer of strategic patents, among them the influential patent for the "bacteria-free washing machine" in 1994.

Morinosuke Kawaguchi is an award-winning author whose books have been translated into four languages and they influence thinking and practice not only in Japan but in other countries as well. His seminal book: “Otaku de onnano ko na kuni no monozukuri” (English title: Geeky-Girly Innovation: A Japanese Subculturist's Guide to Technology & Design) was awarded the prestigious Nikkei BP BizTech Book Award 2008 in Japan, given to books that contribute to the advancement and development of technology and management. In Taiwan, it was listed as number one among the top ten “Great Technology Management Books 2010”. That same year Taiwan's Small and Medium Enterprise Administration, Ministry of Economic Affairs and South Korea's KITECH, the Korea Institute if Industrial Technology, studied the book to be applied in their countries’ technology and innovation strategies. More about his books and columns

He writes regularly for various business publications and as of March 2012, has published over 150 articles. Since January 2007, he has been writing a biweekly column for the Nikkei BP website, called 川口盛之助のニッポン的ものづくりの起源 Morinosuke Kawaguchi's Theory of Japanese Monozukuri. (monozukuri means “making things” and it signifies excellence in technology, engineering and art) Page views are sometimes 100,000 a day, making it the top page of Nikkei website, which is Japan's most influential and biggest site for business people. Since August 2007, he also has a column on 技術経営戦略考 Technology Strategy for the Nikkei TechOn website, geared towards engineers. Page views are 50,000 a day.

He is a sought-after bilingual lecturer in Japan and abroad and a popular commentator for television and print media. Morinosuke Kawaguchi's versatility is unparalleled: he's eloquent on innovation and strategy, and well-versed on Japanese young people's subculture. From 2008 until December 2009, he wrote 22 articles for DIME magazine, which is similar to WIRED, titled 川口盛之助のアニメ的ものづくり論 Morinosuke Kawaguchi’s Theory of Anime-Inspired Design and Engineering. In 2011 he hosted his own weekly television show, titled Sunday Break, on Tokyo MX TV. This fun entertainment program featured the members of Marblee, a group of Japan's cutest and hottest bloggers, trendsetters, designers and models of the fashion magazine, ViVi. Together with Morinon, as Morinosuke Kawaguchi was called on the show, they introduced the best of Japanese subculture from books, music, fashion and more.

Kawaguchi is dedicated to education and is a visiting professor at the postgraduate program at the Tokyo Institute of Technology and at Doshisha Business School's Global MBA course in Kyoto. He lectures both in Japan and abroad at universities, business schools, and makes keynote speeches at international conferences. He also holds company seminars and workshops. His references include Harvard University Graduate School of Design, HULT International Business School, University of Arts London, IED Istituto Europeo di Design, EOI Spain's School for Industrial Organization, Tokyo Institute of Technology, University of Tokyo, TEDxTokyo, Toyota, Nissan, NTT, NEC, KDDI, and many others. More about his lectures, including testimonials

He graduated from Keio University’s (Tokyo, Japan) Faculty of Engineering with a Bachelor's Degree in Applied Chemistry in 1984. He received a Master of Science in Chemistry from the University of Illinois at Chicago (USA) in 1992.

Born in Ashiya, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, he was a competitive athlete from age 10 until his mid twenties. At one point he was Japan's fifth-fastest sprinter, with 10.4 seconds for the 100-meter dash. Today he still works out regularly and maintains a strong interest in the world of sports. Morinosuke Kawaguchi lives in Tokyo and is married to journalist and TV reporter Judit Kawaguchi.

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Kawaguchi lectures at universities, business schools, and conferences and holds company seminars and workshops. His references include Harvard University Graduate School of Design, HULT International Business School, University of Arts London, IED Istituto Europeo di Design, EOI Spain's School for Industrial Organization, Tokyo Institute of Technology, University of Tokyo, TEDxTokyo, Toyota, Nissan, Uniqlo, NEC, and many others. Here are some testimonials about him:

"Our president, Mr. Tadashi Yanai, has read Morinosuke Kawaguchi's books and invited Mr. Kawaguchi for a lecture in our Tokyo headquarters. We live broadcasted the presentation to our offices in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Bangladesh and France so our international teams could also learn from Mr. Kawaguchi's highly creative and unique viewpoint. Mr. Kawaguchi is able to both distance himself from Japan and at the same time squeeze out the essence of Japanese culture in order to come up with new business ideas. This is exactly what a multinational company like ours needs. Thank you! "
Naoki Otoma, Group Executive Vice President, Fast Retailing, Japan

"In his lecture, Morinosuke Kawaguchi made me realize that Korea has an amazing opportunity at its hand to recognize its own style of innovation. Morinosuke's culture-based approach is perfect for us to find our core competence and our position in the world market. I bought Kawaguchi's books for my offices around the world because they are not only fun to read and make us more creative, but they are full of hints on the winning strategy business people are looking for to have real competitiveness."
KyungChun Jang, CEO of FunctionBay, Inc., South Korea

“Morinosuke gave a great presentation on some of the hidden strengths of Japanese design for Swedish policy makers in innovation and growth. His ideas and insights are inspirational, forward looking and well worth paying attention to in Japan, Sweden and elsewhere... and his lectures are fun too!”
Anders Karlsson, Counsellor Science and Innovation, Embassy of Sweden, Tokyo, Japan

“Morinosuke has a real sense of the future trends and what will spark them. This sense is the same one many innovators use during their creative processes.”
Patrick Newell, Co-founder, TEDxTokyo, Japan

"Morinosuke Kawaguchi has a very distinctive knowledge of cutting-edge technology and its characteristics. That allows him to connect technology and appealing product innovations across many industries. I enjoyed his lecture and got inspired and entertained at the same time."
Lorenz Granrath, Representative, Fraunhofer Representative Office Japan

"Morinosuke's great talent is to make his audience see and understand, as if for the first time, Japanese customs and commonplace objects. By analyzing human behaviour and interaction, he demystifies the processes which spark creative innovation. Always fascinating!"
Heidi Potter, Chief Executive, Japan Society London, U.K.

"Professor Morinosuke Kawaguchi is a phenomenon. He has deep and wide knowledge of innovation, technology, design and culture and he is able to present any material in an entertaining fashion that is uniquely "Morinosuke style". He is blessed with everything that a person wishes for and yet so few are lucky to have: an incredibly unique mind that creates fascinating content, wonderful writing ability that makes reading his books such a pleasure and a presentation style which makes him a world-class entertainer. I know him as a selfless and giving person who is always willing to discuss ideas with fans, students, or anyone who attends his lectures. I respect him very much and I feel lucky to have learnt from him through his books, lectures and workshops. I don't call living people geniuses often but Professor Kawaguchi is definitely one genius I am lucky to know. Thank you for giving knowledge so freely to everyone. If we could clone Professor Kawaguchi, we would like a few of him in South Korea. "
Jin H. Choi, Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, South Korea

“Whether you are looking for technological, business or cultural solutions, Morinosuke Kawaguchi's innovative strategy sparks creativity across disciplines!”
Jennifer Anderson, Head of Communications and Events, Japan Society London, U.K.

"Morinosuke´s lecture at EOI was to us like a breath of fresh air, spreading all these fantastic new ideas. One normally thinks that reality is the way it is and nothing can be changed, however, all of the sudden a person comes and shares ideas that make your mind upside down and helps you see things in a complete different way! That´s what Morinosuke did!! Arigatoooooooo!!"
Eva Curto, Director of International Affairs, EOI-Business School, Madrid, Spain

"Morinosuke gave a very engaging and enlightening presentation at the DIJ Business & Economics Study Group on June 13, 2011. It attracted by far the largest audience of our study group and the audience feedback was unanimous that his talk was truly amazing and entertaining. We all learnt a lot!"
Dr. Florian Kohlbacher, Head of Business & Economics Section German Institute for Japanese Studies (DIJ), Tokyo, Japan

"We had our first SDL DITA Day 2012 in Japan. We received a lot of positive feedback on the event and also on Morinosuke's lecture. There is a huge potential market here for us and his keynote presentation gave the audience lots of hints for innovative thinking so important to companies that want to stay in the race and win, too. Morinosuke showed us a different view of the world and Japanese products. It was a wonderful presentation with stories of new technologies and ways of content creation for our clients' products that our audience probably hase never heard of or thought about. I personally enjoyed his lecture immensely and from their feedback, we know that the audience did, also."
Yoshio Fujimatsu, SDL Sales Director, Japan

“Morinosuke Kawaguchi's innovation model is a breakthrough. Whenever I listen to him lecture, I get inspired."
Dr. Eiichi Yamaguchi, Professor, Graduate School of Policy and Management, Doshisha University, Kyoto, Japan

"Morinosuke Kawaguchi's lecture is amazing! It's the best way to understand how "subculture" from Japan can inspire innovative products."
Pedro Medina, Director of Cultural Affairs, IED Madrid, Spain

Morinosuke Kawaguchi's TEDxTokyo Toilet Talks in Japanese:

Morinosuke Kawaguchi's TEDxTokyo Toilet Talks in English:

Back to About Morinosuke Kawaguchi

Book blurbs

Book blurbs from the English edition "Geeky-Girly Innovation: A Japanese Subculturalist's Guide to Technology and Design":

“As much a deeply inspiring tour of Japanese subcultures as it is an indispensable and riveting guide to how business and technology can benefit from them. Kawaguchi’s landmark bestseller elegantly explores how the marriage of otaku geek culture to modern industrial design can help shape the next generation of world-class technologies.”
—Nate Lanxon, Editor, Wired.co.uk

“A must read for those who want to know why Steve Jobs was so fascinated with Japan. He found the essence of ‘craziness and creativity’ in Japan, which is what this book is all about.”
—Hirotaka Takeuchi, Professor, Harvard Business School

“Today’s Japanese are geeky, girly, and ultimately childish—and that’s to be celebrated. So says Morinosuke Kawaguchi in a voice as conversational and offhand as that of a pal in a riverside cafe. He ascribes such traits to Japan’s long stretch of peace, prosperity, and self-imposed isolation, and he sees them behind the genius of Japanese innovations, from Tamagotchi virtual pets to heated toilet seats to hushed hybrid cars. This book will raise howls of indignation and charges of ethnocentrism among those who find mere wafts of nihonjinron incendiary. More power to it.”
—Roland Kelts, author of Japanamerica: How Japanese Pop Culture has Invaded the US

“Kawaguchi’s book is not just about how to make more innovative and appealing products. It also provides a compass for developing a manufacturing strategy in a highly competitive world. Kawaguchi’s message inspires a unique approach to product design and customer needs alike that is still largely untapped.”
—Nobuyuki Idei, Founder and CEO, Quantum Leaps Corporation; Chairman of the Advisory Board and Former Group CEO, Sony Corporation

“A masterpiece that depicts in detail and analyzes the essence of the word ‘ otaku,’ used to describe oddballs and nerds. When I finished this book, I felt at peace with the fact that I’m also an otaku .”
—Dr. Kazuhiko Nishi, former board member and vice president of new technology, Microsoft,1979–85

Back to About Morinosuke Kawaguchi