7. “When coming back to Tokyo from abroad, my first
impression usually is: What a dull airport! And yet it’s
clean, neat and the floors deeply polished. To the
Japanese eye, there’s a particular sense of beauty in the
work of the cleaning staff. It’s in the craftman’s spirit —
“shokunin kishitsu” — which applies to all Japanese
professionals, be they street construction workers,
electricians or cooks.
A Japanese cleaning team finds satisfaction in diligently
doing its job. The better they do it the more satisfaction
they get out of it.”
- Kenya Hara, Creative Director, MUJI
18. “By the 1850s the musical virtuoso appeared to be
someone whose technical skill had developed to such
perfection that amateur players in an audience felt small,
almost worthless in comparison. The rise of the virtuoso
on stage coincided with silence and immobility in the
concert hall, the audience paying fealty to the artist
through its passivity.”
- Richard Sennet
