Japan, Quality, Finish - understand-culture

The Hidden Lining

A haura is the lining of a haori, the jacket worn over a kimono. A paper by Ōmori Masao of Kyoto Saga University of Arts describes how splendid designs came to be hidden in it. In the Edo period, sumptuary laws kept people from wearing showy kimono. One of the fashions devised under them was to hide splendid designs in the lining and in the underrobe.

The haura cannot be seen while the jacket is worn. Others see it only when the jacket comes off. The paper calls this the beauty of uramasari, the lining that surpasses the outside.

Under the Lacquer

Making Wajima-nuri, the lacquerware of Wajima in Ishikawa Prefecture, takes about 124 steps, divided among specialized craftspeople.

Before the lacquer, the weak parts of the wooden body, such as the thin rims of bowls and plates, are reinforced with cloth. This is nunokise. The base coat mixes lacquer with ji no ko, a diatomaceous earth that is Wajima’s own. Only then come the middle and top coats and the decoration.

The Knot on the Envelope

A Japanese gift envelope is tied with mizuhiki, a decorative cord. Mitsukoshi Isetan explains that its shape carries a meaning. A musubikiri, a knot that does not come undone once tied, is for things that should happen only once, such as a wedding or a recovery from illness. A bow that comes loose with one pull and can be tied again is for celebrations that may come many times, such as a birth or seasonal gifts.

Takashimaya’s gift wrapping guide shows the rule in use. A wedding return gift takes a red and white musubikiri of ten strands. A kokorozashi, a gift of thanks for condolences, takes a black and white musubikiri of five strands.

New Bills

Money given as a wedding gift in Japan should be in crisp, new bills, pinsatsu. A financial guide explains that new bills express a celebration of a new beginning.

For money given at a funeral, the rule is reversed. New bills are avoided, because they have to be prepared in advance and could suggest that the death was expected.

Smart Wrapping

On June 5, 2006, the Japan Department Stores Association created sumāto rappingu, smart wrapping. It declared the fifth of every month Smart Wrapping Day. In February 2007, the Ministry of the Environment announced an event that asked people to accept simple wrapping for Valentine’s Day chocolates. Its slogan was: Aijō wa tappuri, hōsō wa hikaeme ni. “Plenty of love, modest wrapping.”

Takashimaya calls a department store’s wrapping paper and bags, which show at a glance where a gift was bought, the face of the store.

Mirror Polish

Grand Seiko polishes the cases of its watches with zaratsu kenma, Zaratsu polishing. The company explains that the surfaces are polished into a smooth mirror without distortion, and that the edges where flat and angled surfaces meet are made sharp. Its design principles say that each surface should, as a rule, be a mirror, with as little distortion as possible.

A craftsman profiled on Seiko’s site says that an error of a single micron ruins the surface.

The Sound of a Closing Door

Honda paid attention to the sound of the closing door on its kei car, the N-ONE. In a statement quoted by the news site Norimono News, Honda recalls the saying ii kuruma wa doa no shimaru oto ga chigau, a good car has a different door-closing sound. It adds that the sound may also be a barometer of quality.

Another Honda statement in the same article says that even in a kei car, the sound of the door is one of the points that affect customer satisfaction, although it cannot be expressed in numbers.

Points Off for the Ruler

In February 2026, Shūeisha Online reported on elementary school tests that had drawn anger on social media. On a Japanese test, a pupil had matched three characters correctly with the games they wanted, but lost one point for each line, with the red-pen note “use a ruler.” On a science test, the answer “It lights up” lost points because it had no full stop.

An elementary school teacher in the Kanto region, in their thirties, explained the practice: “If something we mention in ordinary lessons is not done, we mark it with a triangle and a deduction, or with a cross.” The tests also teach the basics of working life: “Write carefully what others will look at, and use what you have learned.”

Starting the Résumé Again

For a handwritten rirekisho, the standard Japanese résumé form, the job site doda gives clear advice about mistakes: “Correction tape and correction fluid are absolutely not allowed. Rewrite it from the beginning.”

The career site of Mynavi agrees: “Basically, correcting a résumé is not acceptable. As a rule, rewrite it whenever possible.”