The Combination of Traditional Culture in Japanese Product Packaging Design

Japan’s modern design never forgets to introduce a long-standing cultural tradition in the country. Even the packaging of goods and their related propaganda are no exception.

Figure 1 shows the carton pack of Ise soy sauce from Japan. Iso soy sauce is the oldest shop in Japan. An important direction of the brand promotion is the sense of trust brought by the long history of the old shop. Checking up and down the packaging carton, there is no common text boasting, but the box body has been similar to the shape and the bottom of the simple ancient "drawing" illustrations, in the visual spirit to attract consumers.

In Japan, wooden architecture is an important style of traditional architecture. In order to perpetuate the wood structure architecture from ancient times to the present, the construction industry usually adopts the concept of “spatial inheritance” and constantly rebuilds ancient architectures, making the life of ancient wooden buildings comparable to the physical life of stone buildings. The old wooden buildings such as Ise Shrine and Izumo Shrine can be rebuilt and relocated only 60 years after they are built. Once relocated and rebuilt, it is a transformation of the traditional culture. It is also a spiritual inheritance reflected by “exiting new”. The relocation team of Ise Shrine was drawn out by a vigorous stroke. “There is a virtual reality” and “virtual reality”. The long history of Ise brand's steady changes and its unchanging characteristics are all gone. Among them.

Japanese consumers who are familiar with traditional architecture not only understand illustrations, but also understand the shape and color of Ise packaging. They knew that designers linked the functionality and rationality of packaging structure with the appearance of modular components of traditional Japanese architecture, combining simple and bright colors such as red, black and white with common colors of traditional architecture, and even Combining modern design's simple, linear style with the highly pure and refined language of traditional architecture... Then, Ise Soy Sauce's carton pack is no longer simply a layer of traditional powder, a modern package is inspired by wonderful ideas. The indulge into the long history.

The introduction of traditional culture In terms of Japanese packaging, it can be based on the creative aspects of the sense of form, color, illustration, etc. It can also occur in the selection of packaging materials or the overall communication.

Figure 2 is rice paper bag packaging used by farmers in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan. There are more and more methods for cultivating food crops in modern agriculture. Hyogo Prefecture still uses traditional methods of growing food and sets a brand with its own green, sustainable food crops. When designing rice bags, Hyogo chose to use traditional natural materials – folk craft paper and twine laces, and use natural packaging materials to symbolize the natural qualities of the product.

Folk craft paper and twine tie do not necessarily belong to the packaging of rice; today, when stressing the modernization efficiency of production and distribution, the above-mentioned natural materials must be added with some indispensable material strength tests, paper bag forming process assembly lines, etc. Waiting for the work process is more troublesome than using some artificial materials. However, the masters of Dan Bomi and Chuzhou Mi know how to impress people with the traditional culture that everyone in the country is proud of.

Traditionally, Japanese traditional culture habits regard the material originating from nature as "the first nature", and regard the selection and redesign of natural materials as the "second nature"; the modernization that pays attention to the protection of traditional folk arts and crafts In Japan, technological paper means taking bark, dipping, pulping, and paper-pulling; hemp-tie means taking hemp, softening, brewing, cutting... The selection and processing of these materials are all attached to nature and refined. Extracted from nature; when a consumer with a common cultural background feels that Dan Potemi's packaging is not bright, even with a raw and rough paper bag twine, what comes out of their minds is a return to nature and to nature. The beauty touched. By the appearance of the "natural" brand publicity in Tables and Lanes, Aiwu, Wudang and Danbomi, it has become possible to rely on the support of traditional culture.

Examples of traditional Japanese packaging traditions abound, such as "Nishioka sake", "Write music" sake bottle packaging box, directly with the image of Ukiyo-e; while Kawasaki dwarf bamboo fish cake packaging draws on the traditional packaging program. "YAMAYA" product bag decoration, the momentum is similar to Katsushika Hokusai's Kanagawa wave ... ... spread to the greater significance of the product "packaging" field, product advertising has lost no opportunity to use their own more extensive creative freedom Degree of characteristics, and support around the product packaging, complement each other. To give an example of this: Figure 3 is the Japanese whisky wine bottle packaging by Suntory's comprehensive beverage manufacturers, the color is calm, the hypobolic glass bottle body matt, thick, with a dark, round color face shape The common straight lines and glossy sensation of modern design match the pan-traditional implied meaning of “OLD” wine. But how can this wine be popularized by consumers for a long time? Suntory's idea is "the combination of advertising and packaging." Figure 4 is related to advertising and has great visual impact. The huge amount of backsweeping Xiao Huo, a sumo wrestler who is deeply loved by the Japanese people, and the Suntory Whiskey bottle are precisely coincident with the advertisement. On the one hand, he creates an atmosphere of goodwill, wit, and humor with the apparently non-true meaning of the surface. On the one hand, it guides people to understand in depth the true interest that the ontology and the metaphor are also deeply loved by the people. The majestic Samurai Xiaojin focused on his toast, even if he was drunk on the beach; the dark round wine bottle packaging borrowed advertising points to become gold, and the modern design concept also had a deep meaning through traditional intervention.

The most significant particularity of Japanese traditional culture in the world cultural heritage is its own continuity and continuity. It has never been interrupted. Japanese contemporary scholar Taro Okamoto wrote "Japanese tradition" and elaborated the traditional meaning of Japanese eyes from another angle: " Tradition is the driving force behind the development and development of human life.” Japan’s modern design includes the vocabulary of modern packaging that is filled with traditional culture. We can regard this vocabulary as the long-lived breath of life of Japanese national culture.