"Tell everything, Nothing to hide (cover)!!!" The south magistrate 'Saemon-no-jo Tooyama' bluster out a threat to the criminal drugged on the court. The criminal is trying to tell a lie to hide his crime. Finally he remember and find that the tattoo on his sorlder of the magistrate `Tooyama` had seen everything and lose his resistance to the judge. His crime, which he tried to hide, has been discovered at last.
Packaging or covering is an action to hide and protect the contents. And Discovering or Un-Packaging means to open the contents and discover the truth. The words "Tell everything, Nothing to hide" struck the criminal's heart strongly and the truth was discovered.
Almost of all book shops kindly offer to customers to make instant covering over the books the customer bought. I do not know when this commercial habit started nor fixed, but it is a good habit, I think, to read books in the public space like in the train, to hide what kind of book he is reading. That used to be the habit to protect the book, when books were very precious things and hard to buy, in old age.
Furoshiki(rapping cloth) is a great invention in Japan. Very simple square cloth can be used as a rapping cloth to the various shaped things. The way to do has been transmitted from generation to generation. But it is rather pity that this habit is getting unpopular among peoples today. And the Western rapping way has taken over. The ways was changed, but the mind of rapping never changes.
The Juni-hitoe (a ceremonial robe of a court lady) is another way to rap (human body),
compared with the Furoshiki way to be done by single cloth. The aesthetic of court ladies at that age was reflected to the Juni-hitoe. She wears twelve single cloths with different colors and try to express the beauty of changing seasons and her noble taste towards things and matters, in order to compete her beauty with other ladies in the court.
We, in Japan, have so-called "Package Tour"service for travel, set up by travel agency,with full course menu of visiting at limited budget and schedule. And many people take it depend on its service contents. This is just the art of Packaging.
The origin of the word "Travel" comes from "Trouble" in English, I heard. The travel in the old age was much dangerous and risky that means almost Adventure. But nowadays through the package tour planned by the professionals, Everyone can enjoy his travel more easily and safely. People, whose aim of travel is same, get together and travel together where no danger nor confusion exist. Package means to pack something with shape and form. Package tour sells a packed information of certain regions, done by the expert through their intelligence.
From the ancient age, Japanese is very good and skillful at pack everything through his Aesthetic. The Makunouchi Bento (Japanese lunch box) is a compact lunch system to be set for enjoying the traditional theater play. Square box is divided into four sections, and each section has its splendid meals from mountains and sea and very delicious to be tasted and very beautiful to be seen. Each combination and competition are tremendously excellent to enjoy.
Harmony is never born without high level of Aesthetic, It needs excellent intelligence and sensibility. In order to get it, one has to make efforts to learn by himself.Harmony is a crystal of beauty. We are living in the age, which always needs high level of integration, in the past, present or the future. In our Thea century, the crystal of beauty is found in "simplicity". Package design has got a civil right and recognized by everyone to be an actor as well as a products itself of the package. This is the age, the package can sell itself because of its design. Products today need its way of being paced and also a harmony with its environment.
WE are facing at the age of discovering the and enjoying the way to pack, from the age of hiding the contents. There must be the package to fulfill everyone's lifestyle and value, in other words, the package to be an efficient tool to play and enjoy oneself in his life.
AS selecting the goods reflects his sense and aesthetic, so packaging does his sense of intelligence. Package is the Pandra's box to each one. Whenever one opens the box, full of real intelligence are found. This is the age when we are living.
S.P.C.NEWS vol.4 1987
In our Thea century, the crystal of beauty is found in "simplicity".
What will it be in the next Century?
Thanks Mr. K. Fujimoto for English Translation fujimoto@gk-design.co.jp
Think Visually, Act Graphically!