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need help on reasearch paper

2 May 2010
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I'm not sure if this is the appropriate section to post this question...

Hi guys. I'm a student at George Mason University in the U.S. I have a research paper I'm doing about Japanese global influence. My focus is the influence on modern interior design, specifically modern furnishings.

My argument is that the Japanese aesthetics has a significant weight on the influence of modern design. Bauhaus, essentially the founder of modern design correlates with the modernization of Japan in which they opened their borders for the world. Bauhaus was founded about the same time, or after.

Additionally, my theory is that the philosophy of 'zen' has been localized in the Western interior design and furniture in the form of minimalism. People in the west (and the world) appeal to this because minimalism offers calm and peace in the chaotic world we live in.

Can I get your thoughts on this subject? I would really appreciate the help. Thanks!

P.S. I just found out about Muji. They are trying to compete with Ikea and Crate and Barrel, with minimalism as one of the marketing strategies. It's become big in Europe apparently. They're here in the U.S.

Dirk
 
I'm doing research in Japan and have done some other projects as well, so while I'm not covering that field, maybe I can help a "little bit."

Your argument, and "theory" seems unsupported. Minimalist in what time and place? What design are you talking about? Interior design? Architecture? Everything? You aren't specific enough. You need to define this.

As for Zen... is this VIA Buddhism? Most people aren't serious practitioners of any religion, and while they might follow the religion, you're going to have a hard time saying they are influenced by it heavily in any form, let alone one specific aspect that you don't see in society much.

You need to clearly state these (or at least your definition of them) concepts, and support them BEFORE you start making an argument.
 
I'm doing research in Japan and have done some other projects as well, so while I'm not covering that field, maybe I can help a "little bit."
Your argument, and "theory" seems unsupported. Minimalist in what time and place? What design are you talking about? Interior design? Architecture? Everything? You aren't specific enough. You need to define this.
As for Zen... is this VIA Buddhism? Most people aren't serious practitioners of any religion, and while they might follow the religion, you're going to have a hard time saying they are influenced by it heavily in any form, let alone one specific aspect that you don't see in society much.
You need to clearly state these (or at least your definition of them) concepts, and support them BEFORE you start making an argument.

I guess I need to research minimalism more. I did find a mention in how it is deeply influenced by the Japanese. I suppose in the time period when it was established until the present in the West/European region.


Interior design is what I'm talking about, in that minimalism is found in modern interior and furniture. I posted a question regarding if people associate zen and minimalism with modern furnishings, and the common consensus is yes (however, there's not enough people who partook in the question for it to be significant. It's still pending.)


The Zen part, I'm trying to argue does come from Buddhism. Some people see it as a religion, some people see it as a philosophy. But my argument is that the West appropriated it in such a way that it was reduced to nothing more than a visual style, where the philosophy has been somewhat extracted. And its been appropriated in the form of minimalism.


Modern furnishings is very minimalistic and it resembles the furniture in traditional Japanese tatami rooms(The traditional Japanese interior is influenced by Zen philosophy).
So "minimalism" is being marketed along with modern furnishings, along with "Zen".

I recently found an apparently big company by the name "Muji" (aka. Mujirushi Ryohin). One of their marketing strategies is "minimalism". They've already established themselves in Europe, and of course Japan. They're being recognized in the states now.


I think this has implementations that people respond to minimalism which goes alongside modern furnishings. They are actually attempting to take on furniture company giants Ikea and Crate and Barrel. Ikea being a globalizing company which is best know for their modern furniture.


So basically, ordinary Westerners ,by which I mean, none-Buddhist/zen practitioners who are attracted to what modern furnishings offer, which is a minimalistic appearance, which conjures up feelings of calm and peace amidst the chaos of the world outside the home.

Thanks a lot for the suggestions. :)Does my theory or argument, whichever seems appropriate, make sense now? If not, I would gladly accept your thoughts. This is the first time I've ever done a research paper, so I'm not quite sure how to go about it, or what makes a research paper excellent.
 
I think you need more correlating evidence to support a theory of direct influence. The term "zen" has definitely been pilfered by western design (with a dissapointing lack of understanding), but has it actually been a source of inspiration and influence, or has the term been adopted to be applied to pre-existing modern design aesthetics?

Personally, I see "zen" being used interchangeably with "minimalist," but I don't see that as being evidence of specific design influences. I also see "zen" misappropriated as a term for styling that looks Asian or Japanese.

I love Muji, although i find it a bit ironic that their brand is built on the concept of "no-brand," the meaning of 無印, offering good generic products on the cheap, but as a result, their "no-brand brand" has built quite an identity for itself. I don't think their design sense at Muji is directly influenced by your concept of "zen design" in the way you are alluding to. I also don't think they see themselves as competition for Crate and Barrel or Ikea. Some of their design looks Ikea-esque, but their markets only tangentially overlap; Muji does a little bit of everything and Ikea concentrates on furniture and household goods.

I think if you want to look into this further, you're going to have to narrow down what you mean by Zen, clarify how it influences Japanese design, then how Japanese design influenced/influences modern design. It's easier to show a correlation between actual Zen and modern design indirectly than relying on how the word is used in western design, which I think would lead you to false conclusions. You also need to look into the mechanisms through which they've influenced one another. Is there a design dialogue at play here? You mention that the Bauhaus was founded around the time Japan modernized, but does that actually have anything to do with design or is it just coincidental? What kind of modernizing are you talking about? The Bauhaus operated from 1919 to 1933, Japan was mostly modernizing its military at this time...

What makes a good research paper? Good research. You have a lot of reading and digging to do; I recommend avoiding drawing foregone conclusions before you complete your research, but instead let your research tell you the facts. It's okay to start with a thesis, but realize that this thesis can and should change as you learn more about the subject; don't just look for materials that corroborate it.
 
My argument is that the Japanese aesthetics has a significant weight on the influence of modern design. Bauhaus, essentially the founder of modern design correlates with the modernization of Japan in which they opened their borders for the world. Bauhaus was founded about the same time, or after.
Additionally, my theory is that the philosophy of 'zen' has been localized in the Western interior design and furniture in the form of minimalism. People in the west (and the world) appeal to this because minimalism offers calm and peace in the chaotic world we live in.
Can I get your thoughts on this subject? I would really appreciate the help.
You might be interested in having a look at a book called "Japanese homes and their surroundings" by Edward S. Morse. There's a discussion of the influence of Japanese aesthetics on Western taste. The book dates from 1886. According to Morse, the "Japan boom" had a great influence on interior design at that time.
 
Thanks nicegaijin and Ben Bullock,

Ben Bullock, I did actually know about Morse's book. It was mentioned in one of the articles. He basically said that Japanese style is none like other, and is practically what should be an exemplar of 'Modern'. He loved their sense of style, and a lot of Western commentators felt similarly.

nice gaijin, there was significant Western influence influence on Japanese interior as well during the Meiji Restoration. Moriya Nobuo, along with the Minister of Education and other organizations urged Japan to change their interior and houses to a more Western-style. He believed that Westernization meant modernization, so a 'chair-living' as opposed to 'floor-living' was aggressively campaigned for. Thus there was a rapid modernization of Japan.

However, those from the West, having read Morse's book already (probably also wanted to copy the type of style) was appalled when they saw what Japan had become. The Western influence was found to be garish in appearance. Most notably, Bruno Taut, one of the important figures in Bauhaus was one of the Westerners that shared the vilification of Western influence/"modernization" of/on Japan. Expecting Japan to still have the 'soothing', untouched aesthetics when he visited in 1933, interestingly enough was when Bauhaus ended.

Additionally, there is a direct connection of Japanese influence on the Bauhaus. Isamu Noguchi was seen as the father of modern Japanese design. He was one of the furniture designers from the school of Bauhaus. But this is long after Bauhaus has begun. So I don't know how much weight that would hold. I could however look at earlier Bauhaus design before Noguchi started working with them. I don't know how successful that would be.

Also, with the questionnaire I mentioned earlier, most of the responses about the question "do you associate Zen with Japan?" was yes.

As for Muji, I've seen on message boards and even articles comparing it to Ikea, and it's being connected to the Bauhaus-style, and minimalism. I agree with you on how it is contradictory in how their 'non-brand' marketing made them a brand.

As for Zen influencing Japanese design, I have read a book written by Boye Lafayette which dissects the elements of their design. He connects Zen's wabi,sabi, and shibui principles as influences on their design, especially in Japanese tea houses. He stated that sabi, when applied in modern terms means eliminating elements that are unnecessary, and leaving the most essential only. This is reflective of the minimalism in traditional Japanese interior. The author is quite knowledgeable about Japanese culture. He is supposedly an expert on the matter studying the country since 1949, and has also a direct connection with Japan.

So, I don't know if this connection is concrete enough. Maybe I need to stay with a theory instead of an argument. My paper is due on Saturday, and as of now, I don't have enough data to support an argument. I can only go with the trend I see from the 14 that participated.

So to summarize my theory Meiji Restoration --->Japonisme--->Bauhaus--->modern design + minimalism= modern furniture today associated with minimalism and minimalism is associated with zen, which is associated with Japan. I'm aware of how unstable the connections I made. So hopefully my data will support it, or even if it doesn't support it. I just need adequate data.

Is it bad to not find an argument in your paper, and just a theory? Because there really isn't enough time for me to get all the data.

Thanks again for your help guys.
 

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I didn't know ZEN had influenced modern European furniture and returned to Japan to influence MUJI. Very interesting.
 
I think you must know The Book Of Tea by Kakuzo (Tenshin) Okakura.
THE BOOK OF TEA
http://www.webmtabi.jp/200807/theses/yokohama_okakuratenshin_thebookoftea00_en.html
It is famus that his book broadly influencd the West.

Antonin Raymond
Czech architect, known as a fater of Japanese modernism. He was also influenced by Japanese Zen design. Antonin Raymond - Wikipedia

Lamy 2000
German Pen Mfg. The president said "Every country has certain characteristics, but one of the most interesting ones is that the Lamy 2000 model is the best seller in Japan, and often sold out. According to a famous Japanese designer, the simple designed Lamy 2000 model was well received among Japanese." "We are planning to launch a new project with Japanese designer, aiming to combine Bauhaus and Japanese traditional Zen concept."
http://allabout.co.jp/mensstyle/stationery/closeup/CU20060220A/index4.htm
(This article was Feb 2006)

Good luck.
 
Thanks for the info on Antonin Raymond and Lamy 2000, Astroboy.

I also read The Book of Tea in aesthetics class. Very complicated to follow. But really interesting.

I don't know if your comment on Zen, European modern design and Muji association was sarcastic. Can't really tell.

But I'm not trying to connect Muji with the European influence. Only that it plays on the "minimalism" attraction of people in the West, using it as part of a marketing strategy. Of course Japan already has minimalism integrated in their culture.

Also, my theory needs to be proven more, it's very weak right now. So I might have to change it.
 
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Thank you everyone who helped me on my research paper. I earned and A on it and for the class. I truly appreciate the feedback from everyone, thanks again!
 
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