Book review

“Local products that are the pride and joy of Japan but not yet known outside of Japan”

This book is almost like a catalogue for purveyors of quality merchandise who are inclined towards uncommon, less frequently owned possessions. Double walled titanium decanters that have the tactility of fabric; light, reusable plates made from lacquered paper; an iPhone case with LEDs powered entirely by the phone’s ambient radio waves. Alongside the ultra-modern are elegant examples of the functionally beautiful such as truly ready to wear apparel, warm timber furnitures and clothing hangers hand crafted from a single piece of solid beech. Intangible but indelible eating and sightseeing experiences are also presented.

The Wonder 500 defines itself as a regionally-driven Cool Japan project designed to discover “local products that are the pride and joy of Japan but not yet known outside of Japan” and promote these worldwide. To this end, 500 remarkable products from all 47 Japanese prefectures are detailed in this book and also on the project website: https://thewonder500.com

The visual presentation of this book is immaculate. Given the subject matter it would not look out of place if hard covered with ebony or velvet however this edition settles for a tasteful utilitarian black, lightly embossed. Both covers are virtually free of text and even the script on the spine is a black relief. Inside, the page composition varies appropriately. Travel experiences are given breathtakingly vivid, edge to edge photographic spreads. For products, the page layout switches to large amounts of attention isolating white space and a clean, uncluttered view of the subject.

A problem soon emerges though. It is not difficult to find goods of interest. Actually buying something however is another matter. Pricing isn’t included in this book or on the project website. Links to the product’s vendor are available but these are sometimes an informational website and clicking on “buy” or “shop” will direct you to a page with physical store addresses. It’s understandable to want to avoid hard pricing and perhaps the intended audience was importers rather than retail consumers. Encouragingly, for items where pricing could be sourced, the cost seemed to vary somewhere above casual affordability but below unattainably expensive. International shipping then becomes the next hurdle.

The project website is available in four languages and many vendor websites are bilingual. Every country should produce a Wonder 500.

Shelf: 603.8 WON
Storybook discovering the undiscovered : a collection of Japan’s finest goods, foods, and travel experiences.
supervisor Noriyoshi Ikejima.
Tokyo : The Wonder 500™ Project Management Office, 2015.
608 p. : col. ill., maps ; 22 x 22 cm.
Language notes: Parallel text in English and Japanese.

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