> What is HackersNews and tech’s romantic obsession with Tokyo / things Japan?
The real answer is hard to pin down, but I've got a few guesses. It all started in the 80s, when Japan started mass-producing electronics and was poised to become a sort of computer-based superpower. They got to live this out in the following decade, investing heavily in the tech sector and integrating western/global culture into pretty much everything they were exporting. The 90s also saw the rise of the internet, and with Japan being so small it was relatively easy to connect the majority of the population. This gave Japan a pretty considerable presence across the world, with the rise of imageboards and IRC. Combined with their pop-culture presence, the country enjoyed quite a bit of western attention regarding everything from anime to J-Pop.
From here, things get considerable more subjective. I think Japan's fetishization of other cultures hit a boiling point in the 2000s, and with the rise of domestic western tech corporations like Microsoft and Apple, Japan was sorta strongarmed out of the room. Despite this, their cultural influence can be seen in a lot of the so-called great minds of our generation. Steve Jobs was infatuated with Japanese culture, and famously built a zen garden on his estate after seeing one in a real-life trip to Japan. Celebrities like Kanye West and Brie Larson normalized anime and Japanese culture even further, to the point of near-assimilation with today's youth.
Thank you for this. I really appreciate this response and was the kind of thoughtful and serious intellectual response I was looking for.
Most of the other arguments were to the tune of 'the fact that you took a picture indicates it's interesting. You tell us' without addressing the question. I quit FANG, turned down hedge fund offers, and moved Japan for very different reasons than most people, so my personal answer isn't that informative here. Architecturally, there are much more interesting buildings, so that's not the complete answer here.
A good example of the phenomenon I'm addressing is reflected by the show Billions. Arguably, Tech and finance arguably have more in common than other with any other professions. In Billions, there were more subtle elements of Japanese admiration, but in a more studied and sophisticated way, especially by the character Wags.
The real answer is hard to pin down, but I've got a few guesses. It all started in the 80s, when Japan started mass-producing electronics and was poised to become a sort of computer-based superpower. They got to live this out in the following decade, investing heavily in the tech sector and integrating western/global culture into pretty much everything they were exporting. The 90s also saw the rise of the internet, and with Japan being so small it was relatively easy to connect the majority of the population. This gave Japan a pretty considerable presence across the world, with the rise of imageboards and IRC. Combined with their pop-culture presence, the country enjoyed quite a bit of western attention regarding everything from anime to J-Pop.
From here, things get considerable more subjective. I think Japan's fetishization of other cultures hit a boiling point in the 2000s, and with the rise of domestic western tech corporations like Microsoft and Apple, Japan was sorta strongarmed out of the room. Despite this, their cultural influence can be seen in a lot of the so-called great minds of our generation. Steve Jobs was infatuated with Japanese culture, and famously built a zen garden on his estate after seeing one in a real-life trip to Japan. Celebrities like Kanye West and Brie Larson normalized anime and Japanese culture even further, to the point of near-assimilation with today's youth.