Now that Japan is turning into this robot-controlled, anime-obsessed, superflat place, a lot of people are nostalgic for the good old days. We honor that nostalgia via quirky high-tech dioramas of the Showa era, like the Showa era living room with a working TV that I wrote about in 2006, and this brand new speaker system that has a diorama of 1955 Ginza on top of it. It's a Ginza that not only replicates the past perfectly, but lights up with LED lights, emits sound effects, and well, if you play some Japanese 50s music, you'll take yourself right back to the post-war. Pretty neat. The latter is actually a product you can buy, albeit for $2000, come April 10th.
Press release (Japanese) via Gizmodo
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January 27, 2009
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About
Lisa Katayama's personal blog.
My Bio
- I write articles about culture, technology, and human rights for Wired, Popular Science, Fast Company, and the New York Times Magazine. I also produce radio segments for PRI's Studio360 and am a Correspondent for Boing Boing, one of Time Magazine's five most essential blogs of 2010.
In 2008, Chronicle published my book: Urawaza: Secret Everyday Tips and Tricks from Japan.
I am also the founder of The Tofu Project, a boutique program that helps Japanese entrepreneurs and creators think deeper, tell better stories, and go out into the world in a much bigger way. We work with companies like Mixi, Japan Airlines, and Salesforce.com.
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My Dad was stationed in Roppongi, Tokyo Japan from 1954 until 1956, and took tons of photos when he lived there. I am in the process of scanning them, and he has many photos of this area of Ginza. Here is one...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/78769414@N00/1906146926/in/set-72157602926431813/
I am uploading more pictures soon. Until then you can browse all my Dads photos from that time here...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/78769414@N00/sets/72157602926431813/
Posted by: Dak Roland | January 28, 2009 at 07:33 AM
@Dak Roland: Cool! Would you mind if I posted those pics on the site?
Posted by: Lisa | January 28, 2009 at 11:06 AM
Those pictures are great. Thanks for sharing the link. It's nice to see shots from over 50 years ago and how things have changed and how some things haven't.
Posted by: vagrant | January 28, 2009 at 11:55 AM
Lisa, feel free. I have many more to come, and it looks like some aren't showing up because my Flickr Pro account expired. :( Once I get the money together, I'll renew it and those pics should show again. Please Credit the picture to my Father, John Kenney.
Posted by: Dak Roland | January 28, 2009 at 04:10 PM
It's a Ginza that not only replicates the past perfectly, but lights up with LED lights, emits sound effects, and well, if you play some Japanese 50s music, you'll take yourself right back to the post-war. Pretty neat.
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It's a Ginza that not only replicates the past perfectly, but lights up with LED lights, emits sound effects, and well, if you play some Japanese 50s music, you'll take yourself right back to the post-war. Pretty neat.
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