Spotted at a Japanese burger chain: this Americana aesthetic is a recurringly on-trend thing in Tokyo, so much that there is an entire economy of stores which sell Americans (some authentic imports, some Chinese modern replicas) so you can have it at your shop/cafe/home. 
Partly interesting me for the usual reason that globalization is interesting.
Partly interesting because of what the appeal is. 40+ years ago foreign observers said that it was just imitation by an upcoming economy, but that clearly cannot explain enduring appeal in new contexts
Partly interesting because of what the appeal is. 40+ years ago foreign observers said that it was just imitation by an upcoming economy, but that clearly cannot explain enduring appeal in new contexts
I think it’s that this reflects an optimism and energy that (certain segments of) Japan projects onto America, which ironically (certain segments of) America largely doesn’t believe about itself anymore.
Note the same largely applies in reverse; parts of America have an image of Japan which they love for reasons many parts of Japan would not believe about Japan itself.
There is also substantial bilateral flow of subcultures, everything from rap to “the aesthetic that is hip Brooklyn cafes” to anime to “the odd near-fetishization of Toyota engineering practices by U.S. consultants who say words like sigma a lot.”
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