Japan's "artisan spirit", the most precious thing in this world is to keep an initial heart.

There is an embroidery craft in China, which started in the Han Dynasty and reached its peak in the Southern Song Dynasty. At that time, it was called court embroidery, and embroidery workers only embroidered clothes for the royal family and the country. Only with the changes of the times, this process gradually declined. Now there is only one embroiderer, Zhao Yijun, who is over seventy and has been embroidering for half his life.

Of course, the decline of this craft is not unrelated to the development of society. Time-consuming and laborious, making money slowly. Many young people are unwilling to study. Even if you enter this industry, you may not be able to stick to it. Not only hand embroidery, but also most traditional handicrafts in China are facing this situation.

In fact, the decline of traditional handicrafts and the situation that children and grandchildren are not connected with each other also exist in Japan. But in traditional Japanese society, the status of craftsmen is still very high. Comparatively speaking, to a certain extent, Japan has done a good job of inheritance and development in this respect. In recent years, the word "artisan spirit" is very popular in Japan and has attracted people's attention. Mr. Jiang Feng, a Japanese writer, described the Japanese "artisan spirit" in his book Details of Japan.

Why does Japan admire the "artisan spirit" so much, and how does Japan guide the younger generation to carry forward and inherit the craftsman spirit? How do Japanese enterprises take root in the essence of craftsman culture in industrial development? Maybe we can learn from the details of Japan.

Jiang Feng, a famous media person and current affairs critic. Mr. Jiang Feng studied in Japan in his early years and settled in Japan for more than 30 years. He is known as "the first person to evaluate Japan" because of his profound knowledge and insight on Chinese and Japanese culture. He has been a guest on current affairs programs of CCTV, Phoenix Satellite TV and other TV stations, and made comments and views on Sino-Japanese relations and social development.

From 2065438 to 2004, Mr. Jiang Feng launched the "Hundred Schools Tour of Jiang Feng China University", hoping to let more young people know about China and Japan. He said, "I just want to do something tangible, interpret Sino-Japanese relations and promote the exchange and spread of Chinese and Japanese cultures."

In the book Details of Japan, Mr. Jiang Feng focuses on various details of Japanese society and explores and traces the Japanese humanistic spirit hidden behind the details. This book describes Japan's cities, housing, industrial manufacturing, public services and other aspects to help readers quickly understand the connotation of Japanese culture. Among them, what moved me most was the "artisan spirit" in Japan.

Today, let's follow Mr. Jiang Feng's footsteps, appreciate the core of Japanese "artisan spirit" and feel the profoundness and ultimate wisdom of Japanese details.

1. The historical origin of Japanese "artisan spirit"

Rousseau said: "Craftsman is the most upright and oldest profession". Japanese "artisans" can also be called "professionals". It has a long history of development.

As early as the Asuka period, the status of Japanese "artisans" began to appear. Shoto Kutaishi called civil workers who built palaces "left officials" and "right officials". During the Heian period, the status of craftsmen was improving, and professional practitioners such as swordsmen and weavers were respected by people. In the Kamakura era and Muromachi era, the world expressed the work and life of "professional people" in the form of song and dance art and recorded it in a book. This artistic technique is called "professional chorus", such as "32 professional chorus" and "71 professional chorus".

Later, in the Edo era, professionalization began to become the professional norm of all walks of life, which meant that Japan began to turn to the development of modern economy. In addition, due to the large-scale rise of industrialization, old and new craftsmen emerge one after another, and the overall social outlook of Japan has entered a new field.

With the development of society and enterprises, the craftsman spirit has penetrated into the flesh and blood of this nation in Japanese culture. As early as Taisho 15 (1926), Japanese folk intellectuals realized the importance of protecting traditional crafts and launched the "folk art movement" to collect all kinds of exquisite but unknown works of art in the society. Later, in the 25th year of Showa after World War II (1950), the Japanese government promulgated the Law on the Protection of Cultural Property, in which there was a clause called "National Treasure on Earth", which specifically protected and supported the rights and interests of recognized craftsmen.

In addition, in order to continue this spirit, Japan pays special attention to cultivating children's "artisan spirit" from an early age. For example, Akio Toyoda, the fifth president of Toyota Group, donated 65,438+billion yen to Toyota City to build an experimental base so that children can experience the process of automobile manufacturing. During the activities, they can understand the essence of "artisan spirit" and learn to face difficulties firmly, be positive, optimistic and enterprising, and cooperate with others in a friendly way.

Why does the "artisan spirit" inherit and develop? I think on the one hand, the government and people from all walks of life attach importance to the "craftsman spirit", on the other hand, the spirit conveyed behind the craftsman culture is a symbol of the cohesion of the whole nation, and the meaning it represents is not only a commodity, but also a value, which is the soul of the craftsman.

2. The connotation of Japanese "artisan spirit"

Li Hui Akiyama, a Japanese national treasure craftsman, once said, "First-class craftsman, character is more important than technology".

I think the Japanese "artisan spirit" mentioned by Mr. Jiang Feng in his book has two manifestations. The first performance is that craftsmen integrate their souls into their works, giving them life and poetry. They love their careers as much as their children.

For example, in "Workers' Life in Nomachi, Tokyo", tofu craftsman Xiong Jingshou once said, "If the action is too rough, the face of tofu will be ugly. The well-made kapok tofu will be fine and shiny. "

The works in the hands of craftsmen are not only the pursuit of art, but also the desire and respect for life. It is precisely because people endow the works with the charm of personality that they are full of flowers, but they are more nervous under the influence of years.

The second performance is stubbornness. Most mobile artists will stick to their careers and spend their lives. In addition, they strictly abide by every technical requirement left by their ancestors and never perfunctory or compromise.

For example, one of the most precious lacquerware in Japan is called "Lundao Earth", which is produced in Lundao City, Ishikawa Prefecture. It is the only "important intangible cultural heritage" in the field of Japanese painting art, namely intangible cultural heritage.

What's so powerful about this lacquer ware?

First of all, its technology is very complicated, consisting of more than 70 fine processes. Moreover, it takes more than two years to make blanks and more than six months to paint. Its production needs the cooperation of many people.

In addition, there are two special skills in the production process of wheel island painting, which need ultra-high skills to complete. These two technologies are "Jin Shen" and "Jin Shen" respectively. They need to use very small tools to embed or smear ornaments such as gold powder or silver powder on lacquerware to make the patterns on lacquerware lively and interesting.

The Painting of Wheel Island is soft, light, solid and durable, and has great collection value. But when people marvel at its beauty, have you ever thought that it was made by craftsmen with their life's hard work? Usually they are only responsible for one process, and their life is to do this process well. Many times, their work is boring and monotonous, but like devout believers, they inject their souls and empty their hearts.

3. Modern inheritance of Japanese "artisan spirit"

What do we think of when we mention Made in Japan? Such as Toyota, MUJI and so on. They symbolize excellent technology and excellent quality, and represent the guarantee of integrity and reputation.

Well-known big companies, of course. In fact, there are many small and medium-sized enterprises in Japan. They not only have a long history, but also have unique processing technology, and the products they produce even amaze large enterprises.

For example, a small shot put workshop in Fuji, saitama, Japan was a shot put supplier for 1996-2004 Olympic Games. There are more than 30 factories making shot put in the world, but only one factory can produce shot put with its center of gravity completely at the center of the ball.

How important is the deviation of the center of gravity of shot put to athletes? Mr. Jiang Feng mentioned in his article that "even the error of 1 mm will affect the shot put distance from 1 m to 2 m". It can be said that the quality of shot put greatly affects the level of athletes in the competition. Truly high-quality works can't be made by machines, and craftsmen's hands are the wings to create miracles.

So how did you make such a high quality shot put? This stems from the president of the small factory, Mr. Digu. After years of precipitation and hard training, he constantly explored and practiced, mastered the characteristics of various materials, and adapted to the temperature and humidity changes in various seasons. He mastered the technique of shot put and finally created a work that amazed the world.

Unfortunately, this magical craft no longer exists, because Mr. Digu has passed away, and people can no longer witness the moment when the miracle was born.

For example, there is another company in Japan that produces plastic gears, with only 90 employees, but its gear production and processing technology is unique in the world.

For example, they produce a kind of gear with a diameter of only a few tenths of a millimeter, but this kind of gear is an indispensable part in the manufacturing process of many commodities, from cars to clocks and watches.

Perhaps these so-called small workshops and factories may be unremarkable at all, but they have honed their skills for decades, constantly polishing and specializing in one of their own technologies. After a few years, they have already become a powerful force that others can't surpass.

The most precious thing in this world is that no matter how everything changes, you can always keep an initial heart, and you have a long way to go for the goal you pursue. In the ugly environment where shanzhai culture pervades the whole China society, and counterfeit and black-hearted enterprises frequently appear, it is undeniable that the spirit of Japanese enterprises is an example for our Chinese people to learn.

The book "Details of Japan" makes us see a more real and humanized Japan, and also makes us feel the unique "artisan spirit" of the Japanese. Forbearance, persistence, silent dedication, and waiting for the opportunity to come. In this bustling and impetuous city, I can keep myself quiet and certain, and that sincerity is really admirable.

Let's think it over. What is behind the deeper level of Japanese "artisan spirit"? I think this is a kind of awe and heartfelt love for life. It is by dedicating one's heart to one's passion and one's life to one's dream that the spirit of Japanese craftsmen can be passed on and Japanese handicrafts attract worldwide attention.

Japan is like this, and so is each of us. No matter what you do, only by sinking down and exhausting your life and hard work can you draw such a wonderful stroke on your own life path. Only by keeping an initial heart can you still remember yourself in the long river of fame and fortune and years, as always.