Japan’s Zakka: What’s in a Word?

Articles April 16th, 2007

More Than a Consumer Fad, It’s the Art of Finding Savvy in the Mundane : Japan’s Zakka: What’s in a Word?
By Kaori Shoji International Herald Tribune

Tuesday, May 15, 2001

For once, the Japanese word for a fashion phenomenon sounds as hip as it deserves to be: zakka. It’s the term for everything and anything that spruces up your home, life and outlook.

It could be a wooden clothespin by an obscure company in New Hampshire, it could be an empty tomato-paste can saved for planting basil. Zakka is the art of seeing the savvy in the ordinary and mundane; it’s also the act of paying hard cash for such things as can openers in “skeleton pink” (think iMac translucence), just so one’s friends will know they’re dealing with someone who pays extra for a minor sensory pleasure.

On one level the zakka boom is just another in a series of consumer fads, but on another it’s plugged into something spiritual. The Japanese are not into self-expression, but the zakka boom shows they are quite willing to let floor cushions do the talking for them: expensive floor cushions, made by a particular manufacturer, selected with loving attention and displayed just so.

Read more: International Herald Tribune

2 Comments to “Japan’s Zakka: What’s in a Word?”

Barbara | April 19th, 2007 at 1430hrs

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keymistress | May 4th, 2007 at 1223hrs

Thanks for your support, Barbara!