Why don't Japanese give expensive gifts?

I am writing a novel "Immigration", in which there is a Japanese named Watanabe, a white-collar worker, who is a typical Japanese I was familiar with during my stay in Japan. In fact, I drew a sketch for him in my notebook, and its central word was "exquisiteness". Exquisiteness is not just "small". It is one-sided to understand the taste of Japan as "small". Rather than saying that the Japanese like "small", it is better to say that the Japanese talk about "essence", which is to the extreme, and will never stop until it is perfect, that is, "cleanliness". People in China like to laugh at the Japanese and call them "Little Japan". They are proud of their vast territory and large population. They don't know that although Japan is small, it can be used very effectively and scientifically. There are not many local products, but the materials are extremely rich and of high quality. Unlike China, almost no food is reassuring. Even in the army, they only have self-defense forces, but their weapons and personnel are excellent. Unlike us, military helicopters have to land on flat ground during an earthquake. If there is a war between China and Japan, will Japan provide you with airport parking? As for people, as we all know, the Japanese are one of the countries with the highest national quality in the world. Unlike China, they are either illiterate, hooligans or fart people. The so-called numerous people are just a group of livestock and reptiles. Japanese exquisiteness focuses on substance, unlike China's emphasis on ostentation and extravagance. It is said to be extensive, but it is actually shoddy. I said that the Japanese attach importance to material things, and many people will definitely come out to oppose it. For example, as I said earlier, Pingjiang is not a good student. In his History of Studying in the East, he just wrote the opposite example. He quoted China Wulin expert Guo's criticism of Japanese kendo: "There are too many archery equipment in Japan, which is unclear. It doesn't really make sense. The technique of drawing bows and arrows is slightly different and it is another genre. " Another person named Huang said more profoundly: "If you master a lot of skills, you won't be divided into different schools because you can't control yourself. Actually, it's just a form. What is the difference in spirit? " They are all people with a little knowledge, deliberately do sth unconventional or unorthodox, and set up a portal in different places. "Where is the essence? Obviously it is pure formalism! Not only China people, but also West Renye Fang has a similar view. Roland barthes, a Frenchman, used "boxed" as a metaphor for Japanese cultural characteristics in his Symbolic Empire. The essence of Japanese culture is like a traditional Japanese handicraft-lacquer box. From big to small, one box is put into another box. Although there is nothing in it, the box is beautiful. He called it "an extreme artistic creation", namely the art of packaging. He said: "people carefully use that kind of production technology, using the interaction of cardboard, wood, paper and ribbon to meticulously draw geometric figures on it ... Because the production is perfect, this kind of skin is often made repeatedly, and you can unpack it endlessly. This kind of skin delays people's discovery of the contents, which are usually irrelevant, which is precisely a feature of Japanese packaging, that is, the contents are insignificant and out of proportion to the luxury of the skin; A piece of sugar, a bean cake, an ordinary souvenir, packed in it as dazzling as a treasure. In this way, the gift seems to be a box, not the contents. "Many people who have dealt with the Japanese have had similar experiences: accepting gifts from the Japanese, watching them, it is quite weighty, and opening them is a layer of packaging; Open the package, another layer of packaging; Open the package again, or a layer of packaging; Finally, I saw a gift, but it was a small fan, or a pair of chopsticks, or a handkerchief. It is true that packaging is more important than gifts, and form is more important than content. As roland barthes said, gifts are boxes. But wait a minute, fans or chopsticks are not unattractive, including the cake mentioned by roland barthes. There is no unattractive Japanese product. Roland barthes feels normal. I think it may be because his expectations were too high. He thinks that since it is a gift, it should be more expensive. However, the Japanese don't give expensive gifts, which has nothing to do with Japanese meanness or Bart's greed. If you want to blame it, it can only be attributed to Bart's culture. By the way, the lacquer box mentioned by roland barthes is not unique to Japan, but also exists in China. Japan was handed down from China. It's just that westerners don't know it, just like the thought of oriental painting reminds me of Faust painting. There are many bodiless lacquerware in my hometown. I also brought some to the Japanese when I went to Japan. As a result, I was embarrassed to take them out in Japan. People do the same thing much more beautifully. This is a Japanese product. Roland barthes should see the same kind of products, even if only as packaging. A nation whose packaging box can be made so beautifully, can the gifts inside be made without exquisiteness? But some people still disagree. That's what I wrote about Mr. Watanabe. As a Japanese, he has the most say. He is deeply immersed in this delicious food, which is an overwhelming net and the wind that permeates his pores. Yes, it's the content, which makes him want to stop. It has become a law that goes deep into the bone marrow and cannot be crossed. " If the water is too clear, there will be no fish. "We can imagine how Watanabe died in this environment. Everything was carefully packed, and he simply lived in a condom. Daily necessities have their sets, suits are placed in cabinets, and there are dust-proof covers; Walkman tape recorders also have sets; The watch has a watch cover; Books have book covers; Business cards, combs, umbrellas, mirrors, monthly tickets, telephone cards and bank cards all have condoms; Even if I give you the invoice, it will be covered with plastic film. Not only that, but also an invisible setting-he is the monitor and wants to be the monitor; He is engaged in business and sales, and he wants to enter the business; He is a man and wants to be trapped by men; He is a husband and father, and he wants to be trapped by him. He is wearing a suit, and his hair is not messy, as if he were wearing a hood. Raise your hand, be polite to others, walk straight, do things seriously and speak appropriately. He carries a handbag with all kinds of covers: pens, paper and books. Lunch is also packed in a set of boxes. After eating, it's still the same box. No residue was spit out. Cover the box and take it away, just like when you brought it. What he sees is also a mask-like face, which belongs to superiors and subordinates, customers and service personnel. Those faces are cold in nature, just like the masks of drama. Even his wife spoke to him in a falsetto. Because she realizes that she is an adult, she speaks in a falsetto ... so he likes to go to bars after work. He stays in the bar at night, where he can change people, pull his tie hard and widen it. She will lose her temper with the plastic film of the invoice. He will blow up the plastic bag, tighten the hole, and then slap it and let it burst. He pulled his feet out of his shiny leather shoes and shook them on his toes. Sometimes he simply takes it off and suggests that the girls in the bar take off their shoes and mix together, and then hide and seek with their feet under the table. He deliberately pinched a woman's feet with his toes to make her scream, but he pretended to be puzzled and looked at others. I feel very happy when I am drunk and can open my crotch pants in the street and pee in the car. He is drunk, and when he is drunk, he has privileges. Sometimes he takes women to hotels. The last thing he can't stand is using condoms. It's like taking a shower in a raincoat! He is particularly empathetic to this American metaphor. Women will help you put on the condom, and some will gently coax you. He felt that he had been framed by the other party, more like a prisoner being handcuffed by the police honestly. He is always waiting for an opportunity to quietly pull it out. " Better not use this condom! He said, "I hate AIDS, but I hate condoms more! """The Japanese are getting bigger and bigger, but things are getting smaller and smaller!" He often said, "The whole Japanese archipelago can be put in your pocket!" He took out an electronic account from his pocket, which contained information about the Japanese capital and prefectures. Not only that, but also information from all over the world. He suddenly released his hand and his electronic account fell to the ground: "The earth exploded!" " "But the earth didn't explode. Japan is an orderly country. His breakthrough can only be virtual. He is bound by this law. After a crazy night, I still have to accept that rule the next day, although I don't think so. So we see that form is indeed greater than content. Although Watanabe did not admit this bondage, they all obeyed, and they obeyed very well. So we see the absolute obedience of the whole Japanese society to the rules. Otherwise, we will be expelled from Japanese society. When the form is big enough to devour the content, how terrible the scene is. So we see that even if there is heresy, it will soon decline, be castrated, assimilated and purged. Even if someone insists on his inner independence, can he insist on geometry? The heart will wander, which is unreliable. At this point, China people who are trying to keep the "bottom line" but are decreasing step by step must feel the same way. Even faith is the product of collective consciousness. If it is identified as "heresy" by * *, few people can be calm without beating drums. The law is clear and easy to master. As long as it meets certain indicators, even if it is only a qualified procedure, it can be recognized and feel at ease. Even if it is murder and arson, it can be civilized as long as the language is clean. Even if you rape an enemy woman, you can do it calmly as long as there are lofty reasons (I wrote in Immigration that Japanese soldiers gang-raped women in occupied China, lined up, stood at attention, saluted the chief executive, then got into the tent and took off their pants. Come out to salute afterwards, just like performing a solemn task). As long as the logic of "retaking Asia from westerners" is clarified, we can invade other countries across the border. Even if it is confirmed as a crime, it can be washed away through a ceremony. In fact, in addition to the "morning bath", the Japanese also have a ceremony to wash their sins, that is, bathing and fasting, and then going to the shrine to hold an embarrassing ceremony. After this ceremony, people who have committed crimes are innocent. For the Japanese, if they commit a crime, they can be acquitted after one or more "morning baths". So there is no innocence, no sin, and the so-called Japanese "cleanliness" is just "emptiness" in a sense. Void is an extremely terrible thing. You don't ask the content, only the form. Everything can become this form, including violence. In fact, cleanliness itself is a hotbed of fascism. Hitler slaughtered in the name of cleanliness. Isn't "revolution in the depths of the soul" a kind of "cleanliness addiction"? Everything is in the name of cleanliness. What a natural and just reason! Cleanliness, how many sins fake your name! In the pursuit of cleanliness, there are many hidden dangers of violence.