[wetwater]

This is a classic case of "Thing in japan". Yes 'wakaba' mark is cool. But the exact same point can be made about a big red L . Far more ubiquitous. Also there are beautiful medieval crests on British Fire engines. I doubt that purely wordless, symbolic system was truly the ultimate pinnacle of operational clarity.

[quadrifoliate]

I would love to read your article about the beautiful medieval crests on British fire engines, too! No joke, feel free to link something in reply to my comment as well if you have existing articles.

I feel like there has been a lot of unnecessary pushback about 'Thing in Japan' articles on the internet. Guess what, there are cool things everywhere; including Japan. Write about the ones you know about!

[unpopularopp]

>I feel like there has been a lot of unnecessary pushback about 'Thing in Japan' articles on the internet. Guess what, there are cool things everywhere; including Japan.

That's the point of the whole meme. People think it's interesting because of Japan not because of the content itself is interesting.

Did you know there are 12,000 Zabka stores in Poland and they are almost as ubiquitous as konbinis? Guess what, no gives a fuck because it's not Japan but an eastern European country https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%BBabka_(convenience_store)

[moondowner]

"no gives a fuck" is a bit dramatic

there are memes about zabka on social media as well (i've personally seen some on insta and tiktok), maybe not in the same scale, but there are.

[murderfs]

There are over 12,000 7/11s in the United States, and probably hundreds of thousands of competitors (certainly if you include gas station stores). The thing that's different about Japanese convenience stores is that, 24/7, they sell food that's incredibly high quality compared to what you can get in American convenience stores at extremely low prices, and that doesn't seem to be the case for Zabka?

[Symbiote]

I think what stands out is that American 7/11s sell particularly low quality food.

Americans focus on Japan, but they could make the same comparison with many other countries.

Maybe because it's OK to be worse than Japan (it's Japan! The orient! The mystery!) but embarrassing to be worse than Poland.

[kalleboo]

And you do see a bunch of articles and videos online about Buc-ee's

[cwmma]

If you write an article about Zabka stores and what's unique and interesting about them I'll probably read it.

[mock-possum]

I think the point is more that nobody thinks weeb content is good except for weebs.

Or, if you like, it’s still all just orientalism.

[freetime2]

IMO the author kind of opened themselves up to it when they said:

> And still, in my life here in the United States, words are still needed to convey meaning.

As if the US doesn’t have easily identifiable police and firefighters. Or handicap placards/license plates. Or public transportation logos (such as the NY MTA logo).

I think Japan does a pretty good job with signage in general and some of it is interesting to read about. Some things like the newbie sticker might be worth adopting elsewhere. Other things like the old people sticker might be considered age discrimination in other countries.

But framing it like only Japan knows how to use symbols or “read the air” is just dumb.

[wlonkly]

And the American symbols symbolize what they signify, too. A stylized wheelchair to indicate physical mobility. An ear with a line through it to indicate deafness. Less poetic, maybe, but the point is to communicate.

[dcrazy]

The U.S. does tend to use words where other cultures often use iconography. Road signs are a prime example.

[Symbiote]

Yeah, these are not good symbols, except the help mark. None of them have any meaning, they must simply be learned.

I recognize some of them, from seeing them in Japan, but I thought they meant some kind of taxi.

A symbolic ear would be better to designate deafness, a walking stick age.

[pegasus]

> these are not good symbols. None of them have any meaning, they must simply be learned.

They are excellent symbols – for the society they arose in, which was at the other extreme end to the fragmentation, atomization, and attention span erosion we are experiencing today. In their case, choosing esthetics over learning curve totally made sense, because the learning curve was not a concern for them. Our society OTOH cannot afford such niceties.

[kazinator]

You might think, but those symbols could also be stigmatizing. Or personally offensive.

Imagine being a 75-year-old who runs ultramarathons, having to have a walking stick on their car.

A hearing impaired person may not want to be symbolized by their less-than-well-working body part.

[Symbiote]

The symbols used in Europe are ears. (Not on cars but in general.)

I doubt the deaf people care, though I also don't doubt at all that some virtue signallers are highly offended on their behalf.

[walthamstow]

The most obvious British example is pub boards. Everyone was illiterate so they only knew pubs by the image on the board, e.g. Rose & Crown

[pegasus]

If all you see there is something "cool", you're missing the more rewarding depths. These symbols speak of a society which was at the other extreme end to the fragmentation, atomization, and attention span erosion we are experiencing today. This allowed them to elevate esthetics to a point we couldn't afford to today. I'm thinking here mainly of those ancient Mon[1] symbols – though something of their spirit lives on in the modern symbols also discussed in the article. Contemplating these evocative designs can help us build a bridge to a societal context that's otherwise almost incomprehensible to us.

Another thing I found fascinating: the way the symbol that marks a fire truck doesn't employ the red color we would expect in the West, and is instead based on the shape of an ice crystal. A bit like an amulet to ward evil away, there's some kind of atavistic magical function still afoot there.

[1] the wikipedia page linked from the article is worth a read: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mon_(emblem)

[dkdbejwi383]

This is just the trope of the "wise and mystical oriental"

[pegasus]

Plenty of these tropes have some truth behind them, even if that truth often gets flattened into a caricature of itself in popular imagination. Then you get the anticaricature caricature (reverse snobbery) where people knee-jerk label everything that rhymes with that trope as a caricature, convinced that's enough to dismiss an argument.

Btw. medieval Europe, or classical Greece, just to give two non-Eastern examples, also had many of the characteristics I mentioned in my comment: a strong communal spirit and shared symbolic life which connects one to a coherent and poetic view of the world. But pointing out ways cultures very different from ours might have been superior in some senses to ours is one of the most triggering moves, especially on a techie-oriented forum like this one.

[aa-jv]

Hey, I mean this seriously: you might be a racist misanthrope.

[khazhoux]

I think you meant to reply to the parent comment instead?

[latexr]

Those terms seem incompatible. Either you’re a racist and hate certain slices of humanity or you’re a misanthrope and hate all of it. Doesn’t make much sense to hate all and part of it. What exactly did you mean?

[raldi]

I've never heard of a big red L but I've known about the Japanese new-driver icon for decades.

[crossroadsguy]

These things are very local then. That big RED L is the only thing I know about new drivers, learners etc. I even googled what the GP said and I've still no clue what was being talked about.

In fact most of the symbols talked about in the article seemed of no meaning to me except looking unique and different and sometimes even nice.

[Towaway69]

But is ‘Learner’ the japanese word for beginner? English speakers might well have an association with ‘L’, Learner and a car but other language groups might not.

Interesting to read such a colonial comment in 2026 - the British Empire is long gone.

[Tor3]

That "L" wasn't used in my European country until recently, and when I saw it the first time I didn't really get what it was supposed to mean. I was guessing that it could be something indicating that the driver didn't have a license and was practicing with someone (something which you can do legally, if the other person is above 25 and has had a license for multiple years, and in areas which are not trafically complicated). But I was thinking it could also mean that the driver had just got the license, but that sounded strange to me as well.. having never heard about any license divisive system being introduced.

I realize I in fact still do not know what the "L" is supposed to mean, in my country.

[aa-jv]

This is a classic case of "open misanthropy".

People can love the Japanese for their unique characteristics and they can love the Japanese for the things they appropriated from other cultures. Just like the British.

Fact is though, in many ways, Japanese culture is a lot more caring, considerate and kind than the British.

>I doubt that purely wordless, symbolic system was truly the ultimate pinnacle of operational clarity.

Agreed, but only because Brits aren't really good at designing things for longevity, whereas the Japanese are great at it.

[billyoyo]

This seems rather blatantly anti-british? Feels like you're taking your point too far the other way.

How exactly is Britain not a country good at designing things for longevity? It is probably amongst the countries in the world that goes to the most effort to protect its architectural history, and also has some world class modern design schools.

The government also has a unified design system that makes using government digital services really easy.

why is critiquing Japanese design "open misanthropy" but you're more than happy to critique British design?

[pegasus]

I would agree, having visited GB a few times in the past, one thing that is apparent is how solid things are built. Mailboxes, yellow cabs, medieval cathedrals.

[aa-jv]

Its only necessary to point out that the British are the worlds' masters at cultural appropriation and, as well, cultural degradation ... Curry, Reggae, Tea ... Near endless supply of degraded colonies, reaped economies, ruined cultures deemed inferior by the British ruling class .. and this "its not cool, its just Japanese" refrain sure does align with that imperialist view ...

[billyoyo]

I'm not sure any of those things (curry, reggae, tea) are examples by themselves of cultural appropriation. The first two are artefacts of groups who came to Britain and became part of it - British Indians and British Caribbeans are celebrated as part of Britain today.

As for the British imperialism - I completely agree that the British empire was a disgusting imperialist and racist project that destroyed economies and cultures.

Not to 'whatabout' but it's worth pointing out in the context of this discussion, that the Japanese Empire was at one point a disgusting imperialist and racist project as well, that similarly destroyed economies and cultures.

I think the Japenese designs are interesting, I am not the original thread commenter. I do however agree that there is a lot of 'Orientalism' that still goes on in the modern day, which is itself a form of xenophobia (it is highlighting Japanese culture as something exotic, and others Japanese people, who are just people same as me and you).

I'm not sure why a discussion of Japanese design required you to attack modern British design practices, and conflating criticisms of Orientalism with being imperialist seems a stretch.