1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:27,520 Speaker 1: Ridiculous History is a production of iHeartRadio. Welcome back to 2 00:00:27,560 --> 00:00:31,080 Speaker 1: the show Ridiculous Historians. Thank you, as always so much 3 00:00:31,160 --> 00:00:36,800 Speaker 1: for tuning in. Today we're talking about toys and toys 4 00:00:36,880 --> 00:00:40,120 Speaker 1: r I don't know about you guys, but Noel super producer, 5 00:00:40,320 --> 00:00:44,559 Speaker 1: mister Max Williams. What were your some of your favorite 6 00:00:44,560 --> 00:00:46,920 Speaker 1: toys growing up? I'm Ben by the way, Hey Ben, 7 00:00:46,960 --> 00:00:49,280 Speaker 1: it's all here. I thought I thought you were gonna 8 00:00:49,280 --> 00:00:51,239 Speaker 1: say toys are us, and I would have agreed with you. 9 00:00:51,360 --> 00:00:53,600 Speaker 1: I missed toys r us. I missed the big box 10 00:00:54,000 --> 00:00:56,920 Speaker 1: toy stores that I used to get to go to 11 00:00:57,120 --> 00:01:01,640 Speaker 1: after I did get at my violin lesson my papa. Yeah, 12 00:01:01,800 --> 00:01:04,640 Speaker 1: well Kabe was more of a mall institution, but like, 13 00:01:04,760 --> 00:01:07,200 Speaker 1: yeah it was. It was I just for me growing up. 14 00:01:07,240 --> 00:01:10,160 Speaker 1: It was the brightly colored like it looked like it 15 00:01:10,200 --> 00:01:14,400 Speaker 1: was made of sticks of plato or like clay, like multicolored, 16 00:01:14,440 --> 00:01:16,399 Speaker 1: you know, different sticks, and it was the it was 17 00:01:16,400 --> 00:01:19,360 Speaker 1: the toys are us and um, if I did well 18 00:01:19,480 --> 00:01:22,160 Speaker 1: on my violin lesson, I would get to get a 19 00:01:22,240 --> 00:01:26,000 Speaker 1: Ninja Turtle action figure. And I distinctly remember, just like 20 00:01:26,040 --> 00:01:28,760 Speaker 1: we kind of have vague memories of like the price 21 00:01:28,840 --> 00:01:32,480 Speaker 1: of gas from a bygone era. I remember those figures 22 00:01:32,480 --> 00:01:36,000 Speaker 1: were four ninety nine. Yeah, I remember that too. You 23 00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:38,760 Speaker 1: could get a really good action figure for those I would, 24 00:01:39,200 --> 00:01:43,759 Speaker 1: you know, be indoctrinated in the very pro military things 25 00:01:43,840 --> 00:01:46,679 Speaker 1: like g I Joe. I loved being able to go there. 26 00:01:47,160 --> 00:01:51,320 Speaker 1: I also remember there was Fao Schwartz, which I didn't 27 00:01:51,520 --> 00:01:53,800 Speaker 1: vibe with as much as a child. I thought those 28 00:01:53,840 --> 00:01:58,280 Speaker 1: were toy stores for parents who wanted to buy toys 29 00:01:58,320 --> 00:02:00,800 Speaker 1: they wanted their kids to like. Oh yeah, And I 30 00:02:01,200 --> 00:02:03,160 Speaker 1: remember going to the New York one when I was 31 00:02:03,200 --> 00:02:05,360 Speaker 1: a kid, visiting my mom when she was working, and 32 00:02:05,440 --> 00:02:07,880 Speaker 1: also the way I think it was home alone too 33 00:02:08,000 --> 00:02:11,440 Speaker 1: lost in New York. It was an Fao Schwartz esque 34 00:02:11,480 --> 00:02:14,160 Speaker 1: type toy store. You know where he got the doves 35 00:02:14,280 --> 00:02:16,560 Speaker 1: or what are the turtle doves? But it wasn't exactly 36 00:02:16,560 --> 00:02:18,600 Speaker 1: it wasn't actually called that. It was called like Duncan's 37 00:02:18,680 --> 00:02:23,280 Speaker 1: Toy Chest or something. And toy stores toys in general, 38 00:02:23,320 --> 00:02:26,560 Speaker 1: I think hold a special place in most people's hearts. 39 00:02:26,600 --> 00:02:29,200 Speaker 1: A lot of people, especially when you're very young, you 40 00:02:29,280 --> 00:02:31,760 Speaker 1: might have a toy you get attached to. Sometimes we 41 00:02:31,840 --> 00:02:35,160 Speaker 1: still have toys in our grown live shout out to 42 00:02:35,160 --> 00:02:38,480 Speaker 1: our intern Steve, who is a puppet on camera now. 43 00:02:38,639 --> 00:02:40,600 Speaker 1: But we're an audio podcast. You'll have to take our 44 00:02:40,639 --> 00:02:43,760 Speaker 1: word for it. Today we're talking about toys. We're also 45 00:02:43,800 --> 00:02:47,240 Speaker 1: talking about there's another toy nols holding. We're talking about 46 00:02:47,320 --> 00:02:50,560 Speaker 1: World War Two. We're talking about Japan because I'll tell you, 47 00:02:50,600 --> 00:02:54,680 Speaker 1: even as an adult, you guys, Japan and Korea make 48 00:02:54,720 --> 00:02:57,840 Speaker 1: the most amazing toys. I catch myself looking at him online. 49 00:02:57,919 --> 00:03:00,680 Speaker 1: You know, absolutely, I mean, you know, certainly when we 50 00:03:00,680 --> 00:03:03,960 Speaker 1: were maybe a little older, probably pasted our Ninja Turtles phase, 51 00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:07,480 Speaker 1: but not much things like Power Rangers, you know, complete 52 00:03:07,760 --> 00:03:10,640 Speaker 1: Japanese exports that just kind of took America by storm, 53 00:03:10,800 --> 00:03:14,560 Speaker 1: and then those action figures became massively popular, not to 54 00:03:14,600 --> 00:03:16,760 Speaker 1: mention things like Pokemon and all. I'm down the line, 55 00:03:16,760 --> 00:03:19,560 Speaker 1: but we'll get there. Yeah, And along the way, we're 56 00:03:19,600 --> 00:03:23,400 Speaker 1: going to find that the toy industry was not played 57 00:03:23,440 --> 00:03:27,520 Speaker 1: around when it came to the Japanese economy. They actually 58 00:03:28,240 --> 00:03:33,000 Speaker 1: the toy industry played a huge role in resuscitating the 59 00:03:33,040 --> 00:03:37,360 Speaker 1: postwar Japanese economy. And I guess our story really starts 60 00:03:37,440 --> 00:03:42,520 Speaker 1: with a guy named Matsuzo cosuj. Absolutely, this is a 61 00:03:42,560 --> 00:03:46,640 Speaker 1: monumental figure, not an action figure, a human figure in 62 00:03:47,120 --> 00:03:52,680 Speaker 1: the toy explosion that Japan experienced after a different explosion 63 00:03:52,880 --> 00:03:55,040 Speaker 1: that we'll also talk about it. You may know what 64 00:03:55,080 --> 00:03:57,560 Speaker 1: we're hinting at there, but let's let's not get to 65 00:03:57,640 --> 00:04:00,240 Speaker 1: Kosuge right away. Let's talk a little bit more about 66 00:04:00,600 --> 00:04:05,160 Speaker 1: Japan's history with leisure goods and design. You know, any 67 00:04:05,200 --> 00:04:08,640 Speaker 1: any any folks out there who were super into Japanese 68 00:04:08,680 --> 00:04:12,200 Speaker 1: culture probably are aware of things like bento boxes, you know, 69 00:04:12,560 --> 00:04:17,080 Speaker 1: these beautifully little kind of very organized ergonomic displays for 70 00:04:17,160 --> 00:04:19,320 Speaker 1: your lunch. You know, where there's little compartments for every 71 00:04:19,320 --> 00:04:22,440 Speaker 1: little thing. Like Japan has always had a flare for 72 00:04:22,600 --> 00:04:26,400 Speaker 1: design and for like layout and for aesthetics. And when 73 00:04:26,440 --> 00:04:31,240 Speaker 1: the US sort of entered Japan, they expected to see, 74 00:04:31,760 --> 00:04:34,840 Speaker 1: not that they expected to see something maybe they experienced 75 00:04:34,880 --> 00:04:38,359 Speaker 1: in other examples of kind of colonization, you know, maybe 76 00:04:38,480 --> 00:04:42,280 Speaker 1: more what what Americans at the time would were colonizing 77 00:04:42,279 --> 00:04:48,799 Speaker 1: forces usually describe as backwards civilizations. But instead they found society, 78 00:04:49,200 --> 00:04:53,000 Speaker 1: but not only could meet its citizens needs, you know, 79 00:04:53,160 --> 00:04:55,480 Speaker 1: daily needs for shelter and food and clothing and all 80 00:04:55,480 --> 00:04:58,719 Speaker 1: of that stuff in safety, but also fun little leisure items, 81 00:04:58,760 --> 00:05:02,680 Speaker 1: little treasures. Yeah, and this comes to us from Gary 82 00:05:02,720 --> 00:05:06,560 Speaker 1: Cross and Gregory Smitz, who wrote a piece called Japan, 83 00:05:06,680 --> 00:05:11,640 Speaker 1: the US and the Globalization of Children's consumer culture. What 84 00:05:11,720 --> 00:05:16,680 Speaker 1: we're saving, folks, is this esthetic has roots that go 85 00:05:16,839 --> 00:05:20,599 Speaker 1: way past, you know, way past the cool little toys 86 00:05:20,600 --> 00:05:23,240 Speaker 1: you might see in a store today. And in fact, 87 00:05:23,400 --> 00:05:28,120 Speaker 1: these authors say quote boxes, both metaphoric and literal, define 88 00:05:28,240 --> 00:05:32,039 Speaker 1: Japanese material culture. They talked about the bento box, as 89 00:05:32,080 --> 00:05:35,360 Speaker 1: you mentioned. They also talk about things like the limitations 90 00:05:35,400 --> 00:05:39,159 Speaker 1: of literary forms the haiku right three lines of five, 91 00:05:39,320 --> 00:05:42,240 Speaker 1: seven and five, and of course yes there are multiple 92 00:05:42,360 --> 00:05:46,520 Speaker 1: versions of haiku, but that's the most popular format. And 93 00:05:46,600 --> 00:05:50,719 Speaker 1: then they talked about the art of wrapping something and 94 00:05:50,760 --> 00:05:54,400 Speaker 1: how the esthetics of a presentation can be as important 95 00:05:54,480 --> 00:05:57,160 Speaker 1: as the object itself. You see this reflected too in 96 00:05:57,320 --> 00:06:01,200 Speaker 1: things like the traditional ta seram pimonies and the ways 97 00:06:01,240 --> 00:06:04,320 Speaker 1: in which a gift might be given in an envelope 98 00:06:04,360 --> 00:06:08,720 Speaker 1: or box so elaborate, so impressive, that might actually be 99 00:06:08,760 --> 00:06:13,120 Speaker 1: worth more than the contents within the box. And if 100 00:06:13,160 --> 00:06:16,719 Speaker 1: you look at this, you see that Western artists began 101 00:06:16,760 --> 00:06:19,480 Speaker 1: to pick up on this in the late nineteenth century, 102 00:06:19,960 --> 00:06:25,080 Speaker 1: and it triggered some important questions about aesthetics and design. 103 00:06:25,560 --> 00:06:29,200 Speaker 1: You know, Whistler van Go all sorts of artists really 104 00:06:29,279 --> 00:06:33,440 Speaker 1: got into the artwork of Japanese creators, and they thought 105 00:06:33,480 --> 00:06:36,800 Speaker 1: of this as a way of freeing themselves from European style, 106 00:06:36,880 --> 00:06:40,280 Speaker 1: which they found a little stuffy stayed and you know, 107 00:06:40,560 --> 00:06:42,440 Speaker 1: it's the art we have at home, so let's do 108 00:06:42,560 --> 00:06:48,960 Speaker 1: something different. And before long the Japanese esthetics and cultural 109 00:06:49,000 --> 00:06:55,160 Speaker 1: norms began to be associated with the very definition of culture. 110 00:06:55,520 --> 00:06:59,279 Speaker 1: And you can see this in everything from stationary to 111 00:06:59,680 --> 00:07:06,000 Speaker 1: find art, to textiles to fabric honestly all sorts of stuff. 112 00:07:06,240 --> 00:07:11,360 Speaker 1: But while Western tastemakers, the influencers of their day were 113 00:07:11,480 --> 00:07:15,320 Speaker 1: all about these prints and these glassware pieces and so on, 114 00:07:16,000 --> 00:07:21,280 Speaker 1: the real backbone of Japan's growing export industry was toys. 115 00:07:22,360 --> 00:07:24,680 Speaker 1: And this, I mean, we're still not even the World 116 00:07:24,720 --> 00:07:27,680 Speaker 1: War two. The it's it's pretty nuts to think about 117 00:07:27,760 --> 00:07:30,440 Speaker 1: how popular these were. It is it is, and it's 118 00:07:30,480 --> 00:07:33,080 Speaker 1: also just nuts in general to think of something that 119 00:07:33,160 --> 00:07:35,920 Speaker 1: you know, we as adults, I guess, with our loss 120 00:07:35,920 --> 00:07:38,920 Speaker 1: of wonder and all of that that comes with becoming 121 00:07:38,960 --> 00:07:43,320 Speaker 1: a boring old adults, something that we might view as frivolous, 122 00:07:43,360 --> 00:07:46,720 Speaker 1: like toys, you know, could have such an impact so 123 00:07:46,760 --> 00:07:48,840 Speaker 1: early on, you know, you don't even really think of that, 124 00:07:49,120 --> 00:07:52,000 Speaker 1: I mean early toys. It's almost like we think of 125 00:07:52,000 --> 00:07:54,480 Speaker 1: them as like being made like in the home, or 126 00:07:54,520 --> 00:07:56,560 Speaker 1: like just hear a kid play with this stick, you 127 00:07:56,600 --> 00:07:58,240 Speaker 1: know what I mean. But it was like they kind 128 00:07:58,240 --> 00:07:59,920 Speaker 1: of had cracked the coat on this, as as had 129 00:08:00,040 --> 00:08:02,720 Speaker 1: the Germans. You know, Germans were really known for their 130 00:08:02,760 --> 00:08:07,240 Speaker 1: engineering and their craftsmanship, and the quality of German toys 131 00:08:07,640 --> 00:08:10,640 Speaker 1: were already very much a thing, and you know there 132 00:08:10,680 --> 00:08:15,239 Speaker 1: was an awareness around them in Japan, if I'm not mistaken. Yeah, yeah. 133 00:08:14,640 --> 00:08:19,200 Speaker 1: The way that Matt Alts puts it, in pure invention 134 00:08:19,640 --> 00:08:24,320 Speaker 1: is Germany, the Uniting Kingdom in France were in this 135 00:08:24,440 --> 00:08:28,200 Speaker 1: three way race to be the number one supplier, giving 136 00:08:28,240 --> 00:08:31,480 Speaker 1: the children of the world dolls, rocking horses, and cast 137 00:08:31,520 --> 00:08:36,319 Speaker 1: iron soldiers and alt says. Japan watched all this with envy, 138 00:08:36,360 --> 00:08:39,040 Speaker 1: and was the cost of World War One that gave 139 00:08:39,120 --> 00:08:43,959 Speaker 1: Japan this opening to create their own international export market, 140 00:08:44,200 --> 00:08:46,880 Speaker 1: because you know, World War one kind of rough for 141 00:08:46,960 --> 00:08:52,240 Speaker 1: European industry, and European toy production was no exception. So 142 00:08:52,360 --> 00:08:56,439 Speaker 1: the entire industry tanked during World War One because people 143 00:08:56,440 --> 00:08:59,320 Speaker 1: were tried to survive, and in Japan and Britain were 144 00:08:59,320 --> 00:09:03,160 Speaker 1: actually allied at the time, correct, that's correct. Yeah, And 145 00:09:03,480 --> 00:09:08,360 Speaker 1: because they were allies, Japan's leaders saw this European conflict 146 00:09:08,520 --> 00:09:12,840 Speaker 1: as an opportunity to advance their nation in the global order. 147 00:09:19,559 --> 00:09:23,720 Speaker 1: They declared war on Germany and Austria nineteen fourteen. And 148 00:09:24,040 --> 00:09:27,920 Speaker 1: even though they declared war, the Japanese military didn't do 149 00:09:28,160 --> 00:09:31,840 Speaker 1: much more than get rid of some small German garrisons 150 00:09:31,920 --> 00:09:34,440 Speaker 1: that were on some islands in the South Pacific, and 151 00:09:34,480 --> 00:09:39,440 Speaker 1: then they took over some German occupied territory in China. 152 00:09:39,520 --> 00:09:42,760 Speaker 1: Throughout most of the war, Japan devoted its attention to 153 00:09:42,920 --> 00:09:48,240 Speaker 1: manufacturing stuff ammunition, uniforms, other staple goods, and they made 154 00:09:48,320 --> 00:09:51,440 Speaker 1: bank with us too. Absolutely, they did, like we were saying, 155 00:09:51,440 --> 00:09:54,680 Speaker 1: it really was an economic boom, you know, for the 156 00:09:54,760 --> 00:09:57,959 Speaker 1: whole country. This was not an insignificant industry at the 157 00:09:58,040 --> 00:10:01,000 Speaker 1: very least the beginnings of one. And as we said before, 158 00:10:01,320 --> 00:10:04,440 Speaker 1: somewhat inspired by you know, the quality of German toys. 159 00:10:04,440 --> 00:10:06,520 Speaker 1: And actually, you know, I've mentioned on the show that 160 00:10:06,559 --> 00:10:08,760 Speaker 1: I was once a young German boy and when I 161 00:10:08,760 --> 00:10:11,199 Speaker 1: was growing up in Germany, I do remember having really 162 00:10:11,480 --> 00:10:15,520 Speaker 1: fine wooden toys and you know, things like a playmobile. 163 00:10:15,600 --> 00:10:18,640 Speaker 1: It's a really popular that was obviously later, but it 164 00:10:18,720 --> 00:10:21,719 Speaker 1: really was a cultural thing. In Japan was able to 165 00:10:21,800 --> 00:10:25,680 Speaker 1: kind of carry that forward and include their own cultural touchdoones, 166 00:10:25,679 --> 00:10:28,199 Speaker 1: which will get to in a bit as well. That 167 00:10:28,280 --> 00:10:34,400 Speaker 1: wartime reduction and competition allowed some Japanese manufacturers to produce, 168 00:10:34,640 --> 00:10:37,960 Speaker 1: to kind of scale their operations right, and then the 169 00:10:38,040 --> 00:10:41,280 Speaker 1: value at this point in nineteen fourteen of all Japanese 170 00:10:41,320 --> 00:10:45,600 Speaker 1: toy exports tripled, and then in nineteen sixteen it tripled again. 171 00:10:45,960 --> 00:10:50,280 Speaker 1: Between nineteen sixteen nineteen twenty, about twenty one million yen 172 00:10:51,080 --> 00:10:54,280 Speaker 1: was sort of the cap of that industry. There was 173 00:10:54,280 --> 00:10:58,440 Speaker 1: a particular popular kind of breed of toys or flavor 174 00:10:58,440 --> 00:11:03,680 Speaker 1: of toys called celluloid toys, which became Japan's thirteenth and 175 00:11:03,800 --> 00:11:07,920 Speaker 1: most valuable export commodity during those war years. And this 176 00:11:08,040 --> 00:11:10,600 Speaker 1: also comes from Japan the US and the globalization of 177 00:11:10,640 --> 00:11:14,160 Speaker 1: childre's consumer culture by Gary Cross and Gregory Smith's and 178 00:11:14,520 --> 00:11:17,920 Speaker 1: if we go back to pure invention by Matt Alt, 179 00:11:18,200 --> 00:11:22,240 Speaker 1: we see that there's a pretty cool snapshot we can 180 00:11:22,280 --> 00:11:26,960 Speaker 1: take from the nineteen fifteen Panama Pacific International Exposition out 181 00:11:26,960 --> 00:11:31,360 Speaker 1: in San Francisco. They had tons of like roly Polly, 182 00:11:31,480 --> 00:11:37,840 Speaker 1: paper mache, Daruma dolls, miniature paper umbrellas, celluloid figures. Celluloid 183 00:11:37,840 --> 00:11:41,840 Speaker 1: figures were one of the biggest export commodities during the 184 00:11:41,840 --> 00:11:44,720 Speaker 1: war years for Japan, and they were toys, and they 185 00:11:44,760 --> 00:11:49,360 Speaker 1: also had very exquisite, opulent, just so porcelain dolls from 186 00:11:49,640 --> 00:11:56,800 Speaker 1: toymakers in Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Nagoya. The Japanese government really 187 00:11:56,880 --> 00:12:01,320 Speaker 1: leaned into this and they wanted to show off Japanese 188 00:12:01,360 --> 00:12:05,120 Speaker 1: toys as this not only the new hot thing for 189 00:12:05,200 --> 00:12:07,840 Speaker 1: people in the know, but also as an example of 190 00:12:07,960 --> 00:12:12,960 Speaker 1: Japan's manufacturing acumen their abilities, and so they would they 191 00:12:12,960 --> 00:12:16,440 Speaker 1: would treat this like a piece of diplomacy, and they 192 00:12:16,440 --> 00:12:20,680 Speaker 1: were actually able to leap frog Western toy manufacturers by 193 00:12:20,760 --> 00:12:25,280 Speaker 1: making new things that were way lower in price because 194 00:12:25,320 --> 00:12:29,760 Speaker 1: at the time labor was way cheaper in Japan. Yeah, 195 00:12:29,760 --> 00:12:31,840 Speaker 1: and this is something that we've always kind of known 196 00:12:32,520 --> 00:12:34,760 Speaker 1: to some degree over here in the States, you know, 197 00:12:34,920 --> 00:12:37,600 Speaker 1: made in China, made in Japan. A lot of the 198 00:12:37,640 --> 00:12:41,439 Speaker 1: consumer goods that we rely on or just kind of 199 00:12:41,559 --> 00:12:47,000 Speaker 1: enjoy have historically been made overseas because of that labor disparity, 200 00:12:47,080 --> 00:12:52,200 Speaker 1: you know. And yeah, so for instance, a skilled Japanese 201 00:12:52,240 --> 00:12:56,840 Speaker 1: manufacturer toymaker would earn maybe in an entire day, what 202 00:12:57,040 --> 00:13:03,240 Speaker 1: an American toymaker would be paid per hour. And US 203 00:13:03,320 --> 00:13:05,599 Speaker 1: toy companies got a little bit shook about this. A 204 00:13:05,880 --> 00:13:09,240 Speaker 1: matter of fact, in nineteen thirty four, they asked Uncle 205 00:13:09,320 --> 00:13:13,040 Speaker 1: Sam for tariffs. They said, we need your help to quote, 206 00:13:13,120 --> 00:13:16,760 Speaker 1: stem the invasion of the American market by Japanese toys. 207 00:13:16,800 --> 00:13:19,520 Speaker 1: So when they can't get lang, yeah, when they couldn't 208 00:13:19,559 --> 00:13:25,319 Speaker 1: compete fairly, they said, okay, you know, cut off the race. 209 00:13:26,320 --> 00:13:30,439 Speaker 1: Does the word invasion? You know, they seem a little 210 00:13:30,520 --> 00:13:34,360 Speaker 1: mothering and kind of I could picture some crass imagery 211 00:13:34,480 --> 00:13:37,520 Speaker 1: associated with a campaign like that, if I'm using my 212 00:13:37,920 --> 00:13:44,200 Speaker 1: gross American imagination. Yeah, and there's renewed German competition two right. 213 00:13:45,280 --> 00:13:49,440 Speaker 1: At least around this time, Japanese manufacturers also say, hey, 214 00:13:49,480 --> 00:13:51,880 Speaker 1: we can't just make a bunch of stuff. We need 215 00:13:51,920 --> 00:13:56,880 Speaker 1: to make quality products. And in nineteen twenty seven, the 216 00:13:56,960 --> 00:14:00,560 Speaker 1: Ministry of Education in Japan issued a statement saying that 217 00:14:00,679 --> 00:14:05,320 Speaker 1: Japanese toys and picture books were inferior to those of 218 00:14:05,360 --> 00:14:08,760 Speaker 1: other countries, and they made a commission to investigate and 219 00:14:08,960 --> 00:14:14,560 Speaker 1: recommend improvements. That's right in a book called kongu' sorry 220 00:14:14,600 --> 00:14:21,240 Speaker 1: Apologies not Japanese native speaker Kanju, perhaps to Kodomo no Kayoku, 221 00:14:21,280 --> 00:14:25,560 Speaker 1: which translates to Toys and Children's education. An education professor 222 00:14:25,600 --> 00:14:30,560 Speaker 1: at Toyo University named seki Hiroyuki agreed with this assessment, 223 00:14:31,160 --> 00:14:35,440 Speaker 1: saying that Japanese children were kind of lagging behind in 224 00:14:35,480 --> 00:14:38,520 Speaker 1: their ability to think creatively. Let's just call it like 225 00:14:38,640 --> 00:14:41,320 Speaker 1: outside the box. And he said part of the reason 226 00:14:41,640 --> 00:14:45,960 Speaker 1: was because of these kind of shoddy toys that were 227 00:14:46,000 --> 00:14:48,560 Speaker 1: being made in the country, Because he said, the industry 228 00:14:48,560 --> 00:14:51,680 Speaker 1: at this point was pretty much just content like making 229 00:14:51,840 --> 00:14:54,360 Speaker 1: kind of knockoffs of some of these other toys that 230 00:14:54,440 --> 00:14:58,440 Speaker 1: were coming from other countries, which weren't particularly creative or 231 00:14:58,800 --> 00:15:03,760 Speaker 1: mentally stimulating. Right, Yeah, So he said, I said, I 232 00:15:03,800 --> 00:15:06,920 Speaker 1: think the kids aren't doing well, and I blame their toys. 233 00:15:06,960 --> 00:15:09,400 Speaker 1: That's part of it. And this meant that from the 234 00:15:09,480 --> 00:15:15,000 Speaker 1: nineteen twenties on, Japanese toymakers increasingly looked at themselves in 235 00:15:15,040 --> 00:15:18,720 Speaker 1: a very serious light. They said, we're not distracting children. 236 00:15:19,640 --> 00:15:24,239 Speaker 1: What we're doing is providing a key piece of childhood 237 00:15:24,240 --> 00:15:29,520 Speaker 1: development and education. Therefore, don't call us, you know, dollmakers. 238 00:15:30,120 --> 00:15:33,600 Speaker 1: We're not just engineers of action figures. We're engineers of 239 00:15:33,720 --> 00:15:36,400 Speaker 1: Japan's future, which is a really cool way to look 240 00:15:36,440 --> 00:15:40,000 Speaker 1: at it. Yeah, and proved to be quite accurate. You know. Obviously, 241 00:15:40,040 --> 00:15:43,280 Speaker 1: we know things like Nintendo and a lot of these 242 00:15:43,320 --> 00:15:45,840 Speaker 1: other kind of brands they come out of Japan that 243 00:15:45,880 --> 00:15:48,520 Speaker 1: were you know, just took the world by storm, many 244 00:15:48,560 --> 00:15:51,520 Speaker 1: of them, like Nintendo, for example. I've always said, and 245 00:15:51,560 --> 00:15:54,240 Speaker 1: I think a lot of people agree and say as well, 246 00:15:54,480 --> 00:15:57,720 Speaker 1: that they don't need the best graphics in the world. 247 00:15:57,760 --> 00:16:00,680 Speaker 1: They don't need to have PS five or Xbox three 248 00:16:00,800 --> 00:16:03,800 Speaker 1: six or whatever. The newest Xbox is level graphics because 249 00:16:03,840 --> 00:16:09,480 Speaker 1: the design of the games so perfect, so well put together, 250 00:16:09,600 --> 00:16:12,320 Speaker 1: and just purely fun. It all comes from this sort 251 00:16:12,360 --> 00:16:16,840 Speaker 1: of spirit of design and creativity that we're starting to 252 00:16:16,840 --> 00:16:19,280 Speaker 1: see kind of flourish here. I mean, the Nintendo we 253 00:16:19,560 --> 00:16:21,280 Speaker 1: is always going to have a special place in my 254 00:16:21,320 --> 00:16:24,040 Speaker 1: heart because it's where I played one of the most 255 00:16:24,120 --> 00:16:29,280 Speaker 1: beautiful games I've ever played, Okami. Please to check it out, folks. 256 00:16:28,640 --> 00:16:31,320 Speaker 1: It's odd, it's so good. I still play the old 257 00:16:31,320 --> 00:16:35,600 Speaker 1: school Nintendo games. Yeah, there's there's definitely something to be 258 00:16:35,640 --> 00:16:39,320 Speaker 1: said there. You don't have to make a thing very 259 00:16:39,360 --> 00:16:44,920 Speaker 1: complicated for it to be beautiful and fund and compelling. However, 260 00:16:46,000 --> 00:16:49,960 Speaker 1: you may have heard us allude to wars folks, and 261 00:16:50,000 --> 00:16:52,640 Speaker 1: you know, at the time all of this stuff was happening, 262 00:16:52,960 --> 00:16:55,480 Speaker 1: they didn't call it World War One. They just called 263 00:16:55,520 --> 00:16:58,880 Speaker 1: it the World War and hoped it would never happen again. 264 00:16:59,440 --> 00:17:01,480 Speaker 1: There's a key tip to you if you become a 265 00:17:01,480 --> 00:17:06,080 Speaker 1: time traveler. Don't give the war's numbers. You'll give yourself away. 266 00:17:06,320 --> 00:17:12,600 Speaker 1: Japan again is wrapped up in World War two, right, 267 00:17:12,680 --> 00:17:18,399 Speaker 1: and the end of war population in Japan is two 268 00:17:18,480 --> 00:17:23,080 Speaker 1: point eight million compared with six point seven million in 269 00:17:23,240 --> 00:17:27,440 Speaker 1: nineteen forty. Tokyo is devastated, you know, the atomic bomb 270 00:17:27,680 --> 00:17:33,040 Speaker 1: is dropped, massive industries are laid to waste. And this 271 00:17:33,200 --> 00:17:35,840 Speaker 1: is where the guy would tease. At the very top, 272 00:17:36,280 --> 00:17:41,280 Speaker 1: Matsuzo Kosuja comes into play. Forgive pronunciation. We're not native speakers. 273 00:17:41,520 --> 00:17:43,199 Speaker 1: Let's talk a little bit about him. He's born in 274 00:17:43,280 --> 00:17:50,119 Speaker 1: eighteen ninety nine in Intifu, which is northeast of Hakaido. 275 00:17:50,280 --> 00:17:53,919 Speaker 1: Hakaido is the big the big deally Bop at the 276 00:17:53,960 --> 00:17:58,159 Speaker 1: top of Japan. I've been there quite recently. It is. 277 00:17:59,080 --> 00:18:02,240 Speaker 1: When I was there, snow was like up to two 278 00:18:02,240 --> 00:18:06,320 Speaker 1: feet in places. Yeah, it's it's cold. It's very cold. 279 00:18:06,440 --> 00:18:09,600 Speaker 1: It's like if you have contact lenses overnight and you 280 00:18:09,640 --> 00:18:14,040 Speaker 1: don't put them somewhere warm, your contact lenses might freeze 281 00:18:14,040 --> 00:18:16,439 Speaker 1: in their containers. That's how cold. No, and but and 282 00:18:16,480 --> 00:18:18,520 Speaker 1: make sure you realize that before you shove those things 283 00:18:18,520 --> 00:18:20,840 Speaker 1: in your eyeballs. I imagine. Yeah, And it's it's an 284 00:18:20,880 --> 00:18:22,760 Speaker 1: island that I'd never heard of. I think the name 285 00:18:23,600 --> 00:18:26,160 Speaker 1: a Toro food is just I don't know, it's beautiful 286 00:18:26,200 --> 00:18:28,240 Speaker 1: for some reason, maybe we kind of think of of 287 00:18:28,280 --> 00:18:31,119 Speaker 1: a magical land, and that apparently it was. It was 288 00:18:31,280 --> 00:18:34,160 Speaker 1: very much off of the radar until the late seventeenth 289 00:18:34,160 --> 00:18:36,199 Speaker 1: century when you started to see it showing up on 290 00:18:36,280 --> 00:18:40,080 Speaker 1: maps due to a kind of turf war between I knew, 291 00:18:40,359 --> 00:18:44,720 Speaker 1: Japanese and Russian uh you know, factions, I guess, for 292 00:18:44,800 --> 00:18:47,960 Speaker 1: control over the territory. It was remote, but it also 293 00:18:48,160 --> 00:18:54,320 Speaker 1: was strategically located. It had deep, fertile waters surrounding it, 294 00:18:54,400 --> 00:18:57,000 Speaker 1: so it was a good place, you know, for war. 295 00:18:57,200 --> 00:18:59,760 Speaker 1: It was a good strategic place to say, you know, 296 00:19:00,040 --> 00:19:04,040 Speaker 1: court an imperial carrier fleet which happened in November of 297 00:19:04,160 --> 00:19:07,520 Speaker 1: nineteen forty one. That fleet is the one that set 298 00:19:07,600 --> 00:19:10,800 Speaker 1: sail for Pearl Harbor. As it turns out, we're not 299 00:19:10,840 --> 00:19:13,000 Speaker 1: going to get too into the weeds here because we 300 00:19:13,119 --> 00:19:15,840 Speaker 1: need to talk about how our hero became the hero 301 00:19:16,000 --> 00:19:21,240 Speaker 1: that we know. Yeah, he definitely was witnessing this with 302 00:19:21,400 --> 00:19:24,720 Speaker 1: those authors called a tug of war, and you can 303 00:19:24,760 --> 00:19:28,520 Speaker 1: still see it today if you go to rural parts 304 00:19:28,520 --> 00:19:30,959 Speaker 1: of Kaido, you go to the islands off hug Kaido. 305 00:19:31,680 --> 00:19:35,080 Speaker 1: Russia and Japan both claim them, and it's not uncommon 306 00:19:35,160 --> 00:19:39,360 Speaker 1: to see stuff in a couple languages Japanese Russian than English. 307 00:19:39,400 --> 00:19:43,320 Speaker 1: So he knows about this stuff. And there's a quote 308 00:19:43,320 --> 00:19:46,560 Speaker 1: that stood out that says, over years of tutelage from 309 00:19:46,640 --> 00:19:52,800 Speaker 1: elder craftsman, Kasuge mastered the largely unglamorous elements of the 310 00:19:52,840 --> 00:19:56,320 Speaker 1: toy trade. So he's learning from the bottom, right. He 311 00:19:56,359 --> 00:20:00,359 Speaker 1: has to learn blueprints, planning, how to fit and souder stuff, 312 00:20:00,359 --> 00:20:03,720 Speaker 1: how to paint and print designs, and the most important 313 00:20:03,760 --> 00:20:07,080 Speaker 1: thing for him to learn was the molds, these chunks 314 00:20:07,119 --> 00:20:09,639 Speaker 1: of cold steel that you have to hand tool to 315 00:20:09,720 --> 00:20:14,000 Speaker 1: make sheets of tin into the specific shapes for each product. 316 00:20:14,560 --> 00:20:18,280 Speaker 1: These are the main hearts. They're the engine of any 317 00:20:18,359 --> 00:20:22,480 Speaker 1: tin toy workshop. And so in nineteen twenty two, this 318 00:20:22,560 --> 00:20:26,120 Speaker 1: guy's only twenty three years old, he makes his own company, 319 00:20:26,440 --> 00:20:32,399 Speaker 1: the Kasuga Toy Manufacturing Company. Nobody's sure exactly how he 320 00:20:32,480 --> 00:20:35,000 Speaker 1: got all the resources in the capital he needed to 321 00:20:35,040 --> 00:20:39,199 Speaker 1: go independent, but we know that it was tough to 322 00:20:39,280 --> 00:20:42,320 Speaker 1: do so because apparently back in the day, if you 323 00:20:42,359 --> 00:20:46,760 Speaker 1: were an apprentice to one of these established toymakers, the 324 00:20:46,800 --> 00:20:50,280 Speaker 1: only way you could go independent is to work for 325 00:20:50,320 --> 00:20:53,400 Speaker 1: your master for a full year without pay and then 326 00:20:53,440 --> 00:20:56,800 Speaker 1: maybe they would let you go. Labor laws still had 327 00:20:57,000 --> 00:21:07,080 Speaker 1: you know, a work in progress, so you know, we 328 00:21:07,200 --> 00:21:11,480 Speaker 1: talked about kind of the handmade, sort of inspired quality 329 00:21:11,560 --> 00:21:14,360 Speaker 1: of these toys, and that is exactly, you know, how 330 00:21:14,400 --> 00:21:17,800 Speaker 1: he wanted it, Howcasuge wanted it. His company was really 331 00:21:17,920 --> 00:21:21,360 Speaker 1: more of like a creative workspace, you know, a creative 332 00:21:21,480 --> 00:21:26,080 Speaker 1: environment for developing ideas and building these these things, rather 333 00:21:26,119 --> 00:21:29,760 Speaker 1: than the feeling, will say, a factory, and all of 334 00:21:29,760 --> 00:21:32,600 Speaker 1: the people that worked there had that kind of same 335 00:21:32,720 --> 00:21:35,280 Speaker 1: you know, spirit of inspiration. So there's a lot of 336 00:21:35,320 --> 00:21:38,119 Speaker 1: experimenting going on a lot of like you know, trying 337 00:21:38,200 --> 00:21:42,919 Speaker 1: new creative ideas. But also you know, they were this 338 00:21:43,200 --> 00:21:45,320 Speaker 1: was a business, and they were tending to kind of 339 00:21:45,359 --> 00:21:48,440 Speaker 1: have the stuff be able to scale and to sell wholesale. 340 00:21:49,280 --> 00:21:51,720 Speaker 1: But then were they so were they like outsourcing their 341 00:21:51,720 --> 00:21:54,880 Speaker 1: manufacturing to some degree or like was it all handmade? 342 00:21:54,960 --> 00:21:57,679 Speaker 1: It gets a little a little confusing there. Yeah, it 343 00:21:57,760 --> 00:22:00,520 Speaker 1: seems like at least a few cases they were kind 344 00:22:00,560 --> 00:22:04,119 Speaker 1: of manufacturing the proof of concept or ideas and then 345 00:22:04,160 --> 00:22:08,960 Speaker 1: they would I think they played around with approaches, honestly, 346 00:22:09,080 --> 00:22:12,439 Speaker 1: and as well as playing around with toy concepts. Sometimes 347 00:22:12,480 --> 00:22:17,119 Speaker 1: they would build things to the specifications of these wholesalers. 348 00:22:17,160 --> 00:22:19,520 Speaker 1: And then sometimes they would make something that they thought 349 00:22:19,600 --> 00:22:22,280 Speaker 1: was really cool but they didn't have the you know, 350 00:22:22,320 --> 00:22:25,640 Speaker 1: the manpower to produce, and they would take this prototype, 351 00:22:25,680 --> 00:22:28,840 Speaker 1: this proof of concept around to other companies and see 352 00:22:28,880 --> 00:22:31,640 Speaker 1: if they could get those companies to pony up for it. 353 00:22:31,800 --> 00:22:34,879 Speaker 1: So they're they're like almost like an imprint pitching to 354 00:22:35,000 --> 00:22:37,920 Speaker 1: a bigger label. Yeah, I guess that's pretty common actually 355 00:22:37,920 --> 00:22:40,560 Speaker 1: with smaller kind of startups too, or like, you know, 356 00:22:41,080 --> 00:22:44,320 Speaker 1: you don't always necessarily be hell even with larger companies, 357 00:22:44,520 --> 00:22:47,800 Speaker 1: you know, you're sending your designs overseas to be manufactured 358 00:22:47,880 --> 00:22:50,800 Speaker 1: or perhaps like you know, the the supply chain you know, 359 00:22:50,920 --> 00:22:53,919 Speaker 1: may well be in a different country, and then you 360 00:22:53,960 --> 00:22:57,440 Speaker 1: have to send your designs and specifications in a way 361 00:22:57,480 --> 00:23:00,639 Speaker 1: that the other, you know, company can then manufacture of 362 00:23:00,680 --> 00:23:02,640 Speaker 1: the stuff for you. And I guess it's not until 363 00:23:02,680 --> 00:23:05,480 Speaker 1: you get really really, really really massive, too big to 364 00:23:05,480 --> 00:23:07,800 Speaker 1: fail massive, that you maybe like own all your own 365 00:23:07,840 --> 00:23:10,280 Speaker 1: means of production. So it's all of this tracks. And 366 00:23:10,480 --> 00:23:13,720 Speaker 1: he had competitors. We talked about Germany as a German 367 00:23:13,720 --> 00:23:17,520 Speaker 1: company called Shuko that created kind of the gold standard 368 00:23:17,640 --> 00:23:21,440 Speaker 1: for like clockwork wind up toys, and he really dug 369 00:23:21,480 --> 00:23:24,280 Speaker 1: this stuff. He was he had a really great eye 370 00:23:24,640 --> 00:23:28,800 Speaker 1: for quality and for creativity, and he loved the work 371 00:23:28,840 --> 00:23:30,600 Speaker 1: of a lot of his competitors. But he was not 372 00:23:31,080 --> 00:23:34,600 Speaker 1: going to be satisfied with just copying them. That was 373 00:23:34,640 --> 00:23:37,199 Speaker 1: never going to be his thing. He even said or 374 00:23:37,280 --> 00:23:41,520 Speaker 1: told his employees that he that our whole deal here, 375 00:23:41,520 --> 00:23:44,959 Speaker 1: our business here is to make our own designs. Reminds 376 00:23:45,000 --> 00:23:46,800 Speaker 1: me of a modern equivalent, you know, in the country 377 00:23:47,200 --> 00:23:50,080 Speaker 1: of folks like Hideo Kajima, you know, very very hands 378 00:23:50,119 --> 00:23:53,840 Speaker 1: on thinker, kind of forward thinking individuals who have a 379 00:23:54,040 --> 00:23:57,600 Speaker 1: very hands on day to day relationship with their company 380 00:23:57,600 --> 00:24:00,520 Speaker 1: and with their products. I think his studio ghibli as well. 381 00:24:01,440 --> 00:24:05,800 Speaker 1: This is something that really those commonalities stand out. Yeah, 382 00:24:05,880 --> 00:24:08,440 Speaker 1: he was on the front lines, took a personal hand 383 00:24:08,680 --> 00:24:13,399 Speaker 1: in every single project, and he dreamed up all sorts 384 00:24:13,400 --> 00:24:17,520 Speaker 1: of stuff. Some of it was clearly based on day 385 00:24:17,520 --> 00:24:20,479 Speaker 1: to day life, like he had a crawling clockwork baby. 386 00:24:20,880 --> 00:24:27,040 Speaker 1: Other things were anthropomorphized circus seals, dancing animals. He created 387 00:24:27,119 --> 00:24:31,040 Speaker 1: the world's first mass produced toy robot. It was a 388 00:24:31,080 --> 00:24:35,680 Speaker 1: boxy pin man named Lilliput, you know, like in Gulliver's Travels, 389 00:24:36,440 --> 00:24:43,320 Speaker 1: And his favorite thing automobiles. He loved love making toy autos, Jeeps, sedans, 390 00:24:43,600 --> 00:24:47,480 Speaker 1: you name it. He would say, yes, Well, because because 391 00:24:47,520 --> 00:24:52,120 Speaker 1: car culture was really becoming kind of mainstreamed at this point, right, Like, 392 00:24:52,600 --> 00:24:56,080 Speaker 1: you know, there was a fascination with all things automotive, 393 00:24:56,320 --> 00:24:59,119 Speaker 1: you know, I mean, I know you've studied this history 394 00:24:59,440 --> 00:25:01,960 Speaker 1: on cars, you know, back back in the day, I 395 00:25:02,040 --> 00:25:05,600 Speaker 1: was wondering, like how attractive was that, you know, in 396 00:25:05,840 --> 00:25:08,639 Speaker 1: a country like Japan, where I think cars were not 397 00:25:08,920 --> 00:25:11,720 Speaker 1: nearly adopted in the same way that they were in 398 00:25:11,760 --> 00:25:14,080 Speaker 1: the States. But they were kind of like this, you know, 399 00:25:14,280 --> 00:25:17,960 Speaker 1: shiny object that was being seen from afar. It's very cool, 400 00:25:18,240 --> 00:25:21,479 Speaker 1: it was very futuristic. It was seen as you know, 401 00:25:21,520 --> 00:25:25,080 Speaker 1: the way you would look at a private jet almost. 402 00:25:25,119 --> 00:25:27,360 Speaker 1: It's it's a really neat thing. You're right. There were 403 00:25:27,400 --> 00:25:32,200 Speaker 1: only sixteen hundred private cars registered in all of Tokyo 404 00:25:32,880 --> 00:25:36,800 Speaker 1: in the nineteen thirties nineteen thirty three. And to see 405 00:25:36,840 --> 00:25:41,439 Speaker 1: these vehicles, you it would be like you are seeing 406 00:25:41,520 --> 00:25:44,680 Speaker 1: something straight out of science fiction. So of course they're 407 00:25:44,680 --> 00:25:47,840 Speaker 1: great toys for kids. And you can just imagine how 408 00:25:47,880 --> 00:25:50,480 Speaker 1: excited a kid would be if they've played with a 409 00:25:50,520 --> 00:25:54,480 Speaker 1: toy blue Streak Sedan right for a few years and 410 00:25:54,520 --> 00:25:58,720 Speaker 1: they later see one on the streets of Japan. It's nuts. 411 00:25:58,840 --> 00:26:01,159 Speaker 1: It's like when you're a kid go to Disney and 412 00:26:01,320 --> 00:26:05,600 Speaker 1: you all of a sudden see the real Uh, what's 413 00:26:05,600 --> 00:26:08,720 Speaker 1: a good one? The real Simba, the real Mickey Mouse? 414 00:26:08,760 --> 00:26:11,080 Speaker 1: Why not Goofy is definitely one of these kids are 415 00:26:11,119 --> 00:26:13,679 Speaker 1: after that? Yeah, yeah, it's true. Yeah, I love the 416 00:26:13,680 --> 00:26:15,920 Speaker 1: real the idea of the real for sure. Uh. And 417 00:26:16,080 --> 00:26:19,560 Speaker 1: and again, Disney is another company that has always painstakingly 418 00:26:19,600 --> 00:26:23,800 Speaker 1: controlled every little aspect of their brand you know, and 419 00:26:23,840 --> 00:26:26,000 Speaker 1: when you go to a Disney theme park you kind 420 00:26:26,000 --> 00:26:29,520 Speaker 1: of feel that same um, that same energy, you know. 421 00:26:30,080 --> 00:26:33,880 Speaker 1: And you know, I can't speak specifically, but the timing 422 00:26:34,400 --> 00:26:36,800 Speaker 1: for Disney being created and a lot of this like 423 00:26:36,920 --> 00:26:40,919 Speaker 1: Japanese kind of precision work that even inspired like artists 424 00:26:41,040 --> 00:26:43,640 Speaker 1: like Whistler for example, you know, to kind of like 425 00:26:44,080 --> 00:26:46,439 Speaker 1: take a step back from some of their classical roots 426 00:26:46,920 --> 00:26:49,080 Speaker 1: and maybe be a little more focused on kind of 427 00:26:49,119 --> 00:26:52,239 Speaker 1: this like kind of esthetic kind of quality, you know, 428 00:26:52,480 --> 00:26:56,080 Speaker 1: of design rather than you know, form over function kind 429 00:26:56,080 --> 00:26:58,439 Speaker 1: of I would I would argue that that Walt Disney 430 00:26:58,560 --> 00:27:02,400 Speaker 1: had to have been aware of this stuff. Yeah, and 431 00:27:03,080 --> 00:27:05,520 Speaker 1: you know, it didn't take long before people in the 432 00:27:05,560 --> 00:27:10,280 Speaker 1: toy industry in Japan and the world started calling Matsuzo. 433 00:27:11,000 --> 00:27:14,600 Speaker 1: They called him Kosuji the Carman, Cosi the Carman. By 434 00:27:14,760 --> 00:27:17,400 Speaker 1: nineteen thirty five, he was kind of a big deal. 435 00:27:17,560 --> 00:27:20,760 Speaker 1: He could still pretend it was a little shop, but 436 00:27:20,840 --> 00:27:25,119 Speaker 1: he was employing two hundred people. These became the top 437 00:27:25,200 --> 00:27:29,360 Speaker 1: ten smiths in all of Tokyo. They played a big 438 00:27:29,400 --> 00:27:34,080 Speaker 1: part in making Japan the world's second biggest toymaker, and 439 00:27:34,560 --> 00:27:38,600 Speaker 1: most of these toys were not staying in the country. 440 00:27:38,800 --> 00:27:41,760 Speaker 1: They were being exported all the way to the United 441 00:27:41,800 --> 00:27:45,600 Speaker 1: States and the UK. Again, this was starting to really 442 00:27:45,760 --> 00:27:49,440 Speaker 1: be the version of what we've been describing and promising 443 00:27:49,440 --> 00:27:51,720 Speaker 1: all along, you know, where this is really becoming a 444 00:27:51,800 --> 00:27:56,080 Speaker 1: massive export. It became a very popular phenomenon with its 445 00:27:56,080 --> 00:27:59,280 Speaker 1: own identity, right, Like, it's not just the Japanese are 446 00:27:59,320 --> 00:28:02,680 Speaker 1: producing a cheaper, more accessible version of something else that's 447 00:28:02,720 --> 00:28:06,760 Speaker 1: already out there. Sure they're toys, but they weren't copying anybody. 448 00:28:06,760 --> 00:28:11,280 Speaker 1: They were creating something completely new that was based on creativity, design, 449 00:28:11,520 --> 00:28:14,520 Speaker 1: and kind of reading the room, you know, globally in 450 00:28:14,600 --> 00:28:17,879 Speaker 1: terms of what would be popular. You know, I love that. 451 00:28:17,960 --> 00:28:21,320 Speaker 1: I think it's a really inspiring thing to read. Yeah, 452 00:28:21,359 --> 00:28:24,560 Speaker 1: and their neck and neck with Germany. For a while, 453 00:28:25,200 --> 00:28:29,959 Speaker 1: Japan was poised to become the number one toymaker in 454 00:28:30,000 --> 00:28:34,399 Speaker 1: the world, but in nineteen thirty eight, the Japanese economy 455 00:28:35,680 --> 00:28:39,680 Speaker 1: ground to a halt. They had to pumpets breaks. The 456 00:28:39,720 --> 00:28:45,200 Speaker 1: protests over Japan's invasion of China and the atrocities they 457 00:28:45,200 --> 00:28:48,320 Speaker 1: were committing led to a lot of economic sanctions that 458 00:28:48,400 --> 00:28:52,520 Speaker 1: had a huge impact on the country. The Prime Minister said, look, 459 00:28:52,560 --> 00:28:55,320 Speaker 1: we're going to build a new order in East Asia. 460 00:28:55,640 --> 00:29:00,800 Speaker 1: Parliament past the National Mobilization Law, which gave gave the 461 00:29:00,880 --> 00:29:04,480 Speaker 1: ruling structure, the Prime minister the ability to set prices, 462 00:29:04,720 --> 00:29:08,760 Speaker 1: put in rations, and draft people into forced labor. This 463 00:29:08,920 --> 00:29:11,560 Speaker 1: was the end of democratic rule in Japan. The whole 464 00:29:11,640 --> 00:29:14,760 Speaker 1: nation went to war. What's the toymaker to do? We'll 465 00:29:14,800 --> 00:29:17,560 Speaker 1: talk about turning the clock back, you know, or the 466 00:29:17,720 --> 00:29:19,880 Speaker 1: the clockwork toy back, you know. I mean, this is guy, 467 00:29:19,920 --> 00:29:22,560 Speaker 1: but we have to have been such a heartbreaking letdown 468 00:29:22,840 --> 00:29:26,600 Speaker 1: for Cousuga, who is all about inclusivity, you know, who's 469 00:29:26,600 --> 00:29:30,080 Speaker 1: all about like reaching out into the global world, you know, 470 00:29:30,280 --> 00:29:33,440 Speaker 1: outside of Japan, and now all of a sudden getting 471 00:29:33,560 --> 00:29:37,280 Speaker 1: pulled back into that, into this isolation, you know. And 472 00:29:37,280 --> 00:29:40,040 Speaker 1: and then to me, I mean again, maybe I'm romanticizing 473 00:29:40,080 --> 00:29:41,760 Speaker 1: this guy a little bit, but to me it feels 474 00:29:42,000 --> 00:29:44,920 Speaker 1: almost like, yeah, sure, there's there's money, and there's there's 475 00:29:44,960 --> 00:29:47,360 Speaker 1: business to be considered, but I don't know, this guy 476 00:29:47,400 --> 00:29:50,000 Speaker 1: just could that really just wanted to spread like joy, 477 00:29:50,400 --> 00:29:52,680 Speaker 1: you know, as far as he possibly could, someone who 478 00:29:52,720 --> 00:29:57,960 Speaker 1: was driven by inspiration just as much as as monetization. Yeah, 479 00:29:58,000 --> 00:30:02,160 Speaker 1: And the authorities ordered Kusuge to stop making toys. They said, 480 00:30:02,200 --> 00:30:06,360 Speaker 1: take your presses, retool them so that you can help 481 00:30:06,400 --> 00:30:08,880 Speaker 1: the warfare. We need you to stamp out casinges for 482 00:30:09,000 --> 00:30:13,720 Speaker 1: bomb fuses instead. And the streets get plastered with signs 483 00:30:13,720 --> 00:30:17,920 Speaker 1: saying stuff like luxuries the enemy, and housewives are getting 484 00:30:18,000 --> 00:30:20,880 Speaker 1: shamed in public for getting their hair done, for like 485 00:30:20,960 --> 00:30:24,000 Speaker 1: getting perms. So how could you make toys at a 486 00:30:24,040 --> 00:30:27,920 Speaker 1: time like this? And they took down the sign that 487 00:30:28,000 --> 00:30:31,840 Speaker 1: said toy manufacturing. They put up another sign that said 488 00:30:32,000 --> 00:30:37,160 Speaker 1: precision fabrication, just to you know, to go with the 489 00:30:37,200 --> 00:30:41,080 Speaker 1: flow for the company to survive. And a lot of terrible, 490 00:30:41,560 --> 00:30:46,240 Speaker 1: horrific things happen in World War Two. Ultimately, Japan's surrenders 491 00:30:46,240 --> 00:30:51,080 Speaker 1: in August of nineteen forty five. Kasuge stays put. There's 492 00:30:51,120 --> 00:30:54,240 Speaker 1: not much of a Tokyo to go back to. He 493 00:30:54,400 --> 00:30:59,160 Speaker 1: can't return home because the Soviet Union has taken over 494 00:30:59,720 --> 00:31:06,360 Speaker 1: these disputed islands in Hokkaido, and Kyoto was Japan's only 495 00:31:06,560 --> 00:31:10,760 Speaker 1: metro center still standing. So that's where he sets up 496 00:31:11,120 --> 00:31:16,240 Speaker 1: christ j Toy Works, and holy smokes, it happened again. 497 00:31:16,400 --> 00:31:19,200 Speaker 1: We are going to have to make this tin type 498 00:31:19,240 --> 00:31:21,600 Speaker 1: car ride a two parter. It's going to be an 499 00:31:21,600 --> 00:31:24,880 Speaker 1: audio road trip, because Noel, the story is just too interesting. 500 00:31:25,240 --> 00:31:28,200 Speaker 1: An audio road trip in tiny vehicles. I'm totally okay 501 00:31:28,240 --> 00:31:32,120 Speaker 1: with that. In the meantime, thanks to research associate extraordinaires 502 00:31:32,200 --> 00:31:37,920 Speaker 1: Zach Doctor, z Williams, Jonathan Strickland, the Christ Ever mayhe Rain, 503 00:31:38,480 --> 00:31:41,600 Speaker 1: and thanks of course to Alex Williams. Thanks to Eves Jeff, 504 00:31:41,920 --> 00:31:44,840 Speaker 1: thanks to Christopher Hasiotis, thanks to you for tuning in, 505 00:31:44,920 --> 00:31:49,120 Speaker 1: and Noel, Thank you man. It's been a pleasure. We'll 506 00:31:49,120 --> 00:31:57,840 Speaker 1: see you next time, folks. For more podcasts from My 507 00:31:57,920 --> 00:32:01,120 Speaker 1: Heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast, or wherever 508 00:32:01,240 --> 00:32:02,800 Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.