Democracy in the Palm of Your Hand: "Kurashi no Techo" and the Voice of Measuring Lives in the 1970s

Democracy in the Palm of Your Hand: "Kurashi no Techo" and the Voice of Measuring Lives in the 1970s

In the 1970s, when Japan was in the midst of its rapid economic growth, televisions and electrical appliances entered homes as symbols of "affluence," and companies continued to sell dreams with glamorous advertisements. At the same time, however, there was also a quiet and growing voice questioning whether the products were really safe and necessary. The product tests conducted by Kurashi no Techo were a form of such voices, and were not mere consumer information, but a political act by citizens to monitor their daily lives and protect their freedom of choice.

Sunao Takeuchi of the Consumers League said, "I would like to see more items added to the list, like the Consumers League of America. Like the American consumer movement that began in the 1930s, the Japanese consumer movement was a small revolution to examine products through the eyes of citizens. In Japan, a small revolution to examine products through the eyes of citizens was taking root, similar to the American consumer movement that began in the 1930s.

Hanamori Yasuharu was the standard-bearer of this revolution. He rejected advertisements and evaluated products without any discernment. In Hanamori's hands, the "tools of daily life" such as rice cookers, detergents, clothes, and furniture were no longer mere objects, but emerged as a cross-section of society. Life is politics, and the act of choosing involves ethics. His editorial stance was consistent with his philosophy of what the media should convey to the public.

To read a test article in Kurashi no Techo was to participate in the act of questioning, comparing, and judging for oneself, rather than to follow without knowing. It was also a ritual that reminded us that each and every sei-katsu-sha is a sovereign citizen. What we could see through the home appliances in the palm of our hands was actually a larger question about the logic of our society.