无印良品

By Silvia Killingsworth

A few months earlier， Muji， the Japanese life-style brand that sells household goods and clothing， opened an 11，000 square-foot flagship store on Fifth Avenue，2 across the street from the New York Public Library. On Black Friday， despite a solid row of flyers in the windows touting sales of 30- to 50-per-cent off， there was little to compare with the frenzied crowds down the street at Lord & Taylor （which had the added allure of Santa Claus）.3 The atmosphere at Muji was relaxed， and almost meditative： a floor display invited customers to try out the Body Fit Cushion， a microbead bean-bag chair.4 Several tourists cooled their heels， and two young children flopped themselves across a cushion while their parents perused ceramics and socks of muted colors.5 Nearby， clouds of cool vapor， lightly scented of lemongrass and citrus， puffed delicately from diffusers at the Aroma Labo， a station for creating custom room fragrances out of essential oils.6

Muji was launched in Japan in 1980， as Mujirushi Ryohin， which means “no-brand quality goods.” It was intended to be a generic line for the Seiyu Supermarket Group， boasting the tagline “Lower prices for a reason.”7 Initially， Muji included only 40 different products， mainly food and household goods. Today， it is an independent two-billion-dollar company， selling more than 7，000 items ranging from furniture to soap. It keeps prices low by paying close attention to processing and packaging （most of Mujis paper products are unbleached）， and by using undesirable and industrial materials， which are cheaper in bulk （it once famously sold “U-Shaped Spaghetti，” made from the discarded ends of pasta）.8

According to its 2015 year-end report， Muji is currently in what it calls its “jump” phase （preceded by “hop” and “step”），9 defined by growth abroad and efficiency at home. Globally， it now has more than 700 stores， 13 of which are in the U.S.， and it plans to increase that number to 888， mostly by opening stores outside of Japan. The real growth is going to come from aggressive expansion10 in China， where it will add 72 stores in 2016. Muji has succeeded in part by incorporating the aesthetic consequences of cost-cutting into its design philosophy.11 On its Website， the company touts the contrast between its plain-looking goods and the “prevailing over-embellished products in the marketplace.”12 The Muji aesthetic， or near lack of one， embraces simplicity and utility.13 Along with the KonMari tidying craze， its fast becoming one of Japans most popular cultural exports.14 A decade ago， we had cool Japan， all Hello Kitty and Pokémon and street fashion.15 Muji， with its lack of logos， represents post-cool， normcore Japan， which is， of course， a fetishized version of Japanese culture—serene and neat and proper.16

It is tempting to describe Mujis goods as basic， but that would belie the sophistication and premeditation at work.17 Its Facebook page describes its aim as creating “products that are really necessary in everyday life in the shapes that are really necessary.” Muji certainly produces staples， like stationery， kitchenware，18 cleaning products， luggage， storage options， and snacks. The colors， patterns， and materials are generic19， but everything， from toothbrush holders to storage boxes， comes in pleasing shapes.

In many ways， Muji provides a template or raw materials to be finished by the customer—its not that the goods are incomplete but that they dont yet have anyones fingerprint.20 The companys clothing collection focuses on wardrobe items so standard that you probably already own a version of each， and they come in especially plain colors： blues， blacks， reds， browns from the paper-pulp family， and every shade of gray.21 Where Uniqlo， another Japanese retailer， goes for the full rainbow， Muji sticks to what it calls “genuine color，” or earth tones from the natural environment.22 A sign near a display of alpaca sweaters23 reads， “We have made sweaters to give life to these genuine colors which are blessings of nature.”

Such statements， and the companys broader articulations of its principles， seem designed to sound practically spiritual—its seasonal catalogue is a chapbook called “The Why of Muji.”24 Its advertising conveys the sense that life without logos， loud colors， and sharp edges is peaceful and free of distraction and excess.25 In one spot， a slow-motion montage shows people lounging serenely on cushions in their homes and napping peacefully with travel pillows on an airplane.26 Another， a mesmerizing three-minute video showing modular shelving， is a cure for tidy obsessive-compulsives.27

How do you scale an entire company whose philosophy is rooted in judiciousness，28 and how big is big enough？ In 2015， Muji posted an 18% increase in revenue over the year， to $2.14 billion， and a 14% increase in profits， to $196 million， and it aims to continue apace29 next year. In its annual report， there is a bar graph of net sales over time， with a gray arrow that signifies the future pointing up and to the right，30 beyond the 300 billion-yen mark （about $2.5 billion）. The company hopes to establish a “global brand” with “perpetual growth” and “consistent dividend payout” by the year 2020， which sounds a lot like kaizen， the popular Japanese business principle of continuous improvement.31 Muji is banking on “the idea that simplicity is not merely modest or frugal， but could possibly be more appealing than luxury.”32

Above all， though， Muji is trafficking in fantasy，33 as the science-fiction writer William Gibson wrote in 2001：

Muji…calls up a wonderful Japan that doesnt really exist. A Japan of the mind， where even toenail-clippers and plastic coat-hangers possess a Zen purity： functional， minimal，34 reasonably priced. I would very much like to visit the Japan that Muji evokes35. I would vacation there and attain a new serenity， smooth and translucent， in perfect counterpoint to natural fabrics and unbleached cardboard.36 My toiletries37 would pretend to be nothing more than what they are， and neither would I.

Anyone who has watched even one season of Mad Men38 knows that fantasy is the basis for the best marketing. What could be cooler than a brand whose branding seems incidental， or better yet， completely organic？39 The answer， for Muji， is a neat paradox， like a Zen koan： massive minimalism through perpetual growth.40

1. Zen： 禅，禅宗；Muji： 无印良品，日本杂货品牌。

2. household goods： 日用品；flagship store： 旗舰店；Fifth Avenue：（美国）第五大道，位于纽约市曼哈顿的中心地带。

3. 在黑色星期五那天，尽管橱窗里贴着成排七折到五折的促销单，店铺的热闹程度却不能与沿街的Lord & Taylor百货内狂热的人群相比（Lord & Taylor里的圣诞老人增加了对顾客的吸引力）。Black Friday： 黑色星期五，是美国最大的购物狂欢节，一般从感恩节第二天开始，到圣诞节将近一个月的时间；solid： 紧密相连的；flyer： 传单；tout： 兜售，招揽客人；frenzied： 疯狂的，狂热的；Lord & Taylor： 一家老牌美国奢侈品连锁百货公司；allure： 诱惑，魅力。

4. meditative： 沉思的，冥想的；Body Fit Cushion： Muji旗下的人气产品，融合了日本传统地板文化的舒适坐垫；microbead bean-bag chair： 塑料微珠豆袋椅。

5. cool ones heel： 长时间等待；flop： 猛然坐下；peruse： 浏览；ceramics： 陶器，陶瓷；muted： 柔和的。

6. 不远处水雾缭绕，淡淡的柠檬草和柑橘的香味缓缓升腾，从可以定制室内香氛的香薰工坊的精油香薰机里悠悠散发出来。vapor： 水蒸气；scent of： 发出……的气味；puff： 喷出，喷洒；diffuser： 扩散器；Aroma Labo： 香薰工坊，Muji打造的一个香薰制品的购物空间；custom： 定制的；fragrance： 香氛；essential oil： 精油。

7. generic line： 没有品牌的产品种类； Seiyu Supermarket Group： 日本西友百货公司，主要经营连锁超市、杂货商店事业；boast： 以拥有……而自豪；tagline： 宣传词，品牌口号。

8. unbleached： 原色的，未漂白的； undesirable： 不受欢迎的；in bulk： 大量，整批；U-Shaped Spaghetti： U型意面；discarded ends of pasta： 意面的废料。

9. precede by： 在……之前；hop： 跳跃，弹跳；step： 跨步。

10. aggressive expansion： 积极扩张。

11. 无印良品的成功还部分源于将削减成本的审美观融入产品的设计理念。 incorporate： 吸收，混合；aesthetic： 美学的，审美的。

12. plain-looking： 相貌平平的；prevailing： 普遍的，盛行的；over-embellished： 过度装饰的。

13. embrace： 接纳，包括；simplicity： 简约；utility： 实用性。

14. 随着KonMari 整理法流行开来，无印良品的产品很快变成了最受欢迎的日本文化输出品之一。KonMari： 日本有一本畅销书叫做《怦然心动的人生整理魔法》，作者是日本的一位名叫Marie Kond的居家达人，她在书中教给读者归整家中空间的招数，被称为KonMari整理法；craze： 狂热，风行。

15. 十年之前，我们看到的是“酷日本”，到处都是Hello Kitty、神奇宝贝和街头时尚。

16. 没有商标的无印良品代表了后酷时代，一种提倡舒适休闲的日本文化，当然，这也是一种极受推崇的沉静、整洁和适宜的日本文化。serene： 平静的，下文中出现的serenity为其名词形式；normcore： 即Normal（平常）+Hardcore（核心），指推崇简单舒适的风格，通过平淡之风体现高格调；fetishized： 被迷恋的，受崇拜的。

17. it is tempting to do： 很想做某事（看起来是正确或合理的，但很可能是错误的）；belie： 掩饰；sophistication： （产品的）精密，精细； premeditation： 预先策划。

18. staple： 日常必需品；stationery： 文具；kitchenware： 厨具。

19. generic： 通用的，一般的。

20. template： 样板，模板；raw material： 原材料； fingerprint： 指纹。

21. wardrobe： 衣柜；standard： 普通的；plain： 朴素的； paper-pulp： 纸浆；shade： 色度。

22. Uniqlo： 优衣库，日本服装品牌零售商；retailer： 零售商；genuine： 真实的；earth tone： 褐土色。

23. alpaca sweater： 羊驼衫。

24. 无印良品的此类声明，以及对其经营准则的广义表达使得其设计听起来更注重精神层面——它的季度目录是一本名为“为何选择无印良品”的小册子。articulation：（思想或感情的）表达； chapbook： 小册子。

25. 它的广告传递了这样一种理念——没有商标、浮夸色彩和棱棱角角的生活才是平静、不受干扰并且有节制的生活。

26. slow-motion： 缓慢的，慢动作的；montage： 蒙太奇，（电影电视的）镜头组接合成；lounge： 懒洋洋地躺着；nap： 小睡，打盹。

27. 在另一个场景中，三分钟的精彩视频展示了模块化置物架，这简直是对于爱整洁的强迫症患者们的一剂解药。mesmerizing： 有吸引力的，有魅力的；modular shelving： 模块化置物架；obsessive-compulsive： 有强迫症的人。

28. scale： 衡量；judiciousness： 明智，审慎。

29. apace： 急速地，飞快地。

30. bar graph： 柱状图，条形图；net sales： 净销售额；signify： 意味，暗示。

31. 公司希望到2020年能够建立一个不断增长并有可持续股利发放的全球性品牌，这听起来与“kaizen”理念很相似，即在日本受欢迎的“持续改善”的经营原则。perpetual： 永久的，不断的；dividend payout： 股利发放，指公司给股东的利益分配。

32. 无印良品期望“简约的理念不仅仅意味着低调和朴素，还有可能比奢侈更具吸引力”。bank on： 指望，依赖；frugal： 节省的，节俭的。

33. traffic： v. 做生意；fantasy： 想象。

34. toenail-clipper： 指甲剪；coat-hanger： 衣架；purity： 纯净； minimal： 最小的，最少的，文中指“最简单的”。

35. evoke： 描绘出，使再现。

36. vacation：v. 度假；translucent： 透亮的，清澈的；counterpoint： 对比物；fabric： 织物，织品；cardboard： 硬纸板。

37. toiletry： 化妆品。

38. Mad Men： 《广告狂人》，美国年代剧，描述了在20世纪60年代的纽约美国广告业黄金时代残酷的商业竞争。

39. 有什么比这样一个品牌更酷呢？它的商标看起来像是附属品，或者这么说更好，它的品牌完全是自然形成的。incidental： 附带的，次要的；organic：（发生、发展过程）自然的，持续的。

40. 对无印良品而言，答案是一个简洁的悖论，正如一句禅语所说：不断的增加成就极简主义。paradox： 悖论；koan： 公案（佛教禅宗用语，指前辈祖师的言行范例，用以判断是非迷悟）；massive： 巨大的；minimalism： 极简主义。