好英语网日本怀旧热情衍生的独特经济现象
Nippori, Tokyo is known for its “old-town” vibe, bustling with shoppers in its wholesale district and street arcades. It is here, amongst retro retailers, that a camera shop opened for business in 2016. Displayed in a glass case that spans the entire wall of the shop, are cameras that radiate with nostalgia.
东京日暮里以其“老城”的氛围而闻名，批发区和商业街购物的人潮熙熙攘攘。就在这个充满旧日情调的诸多旧货古董商店之间，一家相机店于2016年开业。在商店占了整面墙的的玻璃橱窗里，琳琅满目的相机散发着怀旧的气息。
A customer walks into the store asking for new batteries. He pulls out from his bag, a Swedish film camera manufactured about 40 years ago. For roughly 15 years, the man has used digital cameras, but remembering he had this camera stashed away in his childhood home, he decided to bring it out for use.
一名顾客走进这家商店，要求购买新电池。他从包里拿出一架大约40年前制造的瑞典胶片相机。这名男子使用数码相机已大约15年，但仍记得童年时的家中还有部旧相机，遂决定拿出来使用。
美国宝丽来即拍即有相机
Mitsuba-dou Camera Shop specialises in repairs and re-sales. The newest digital camera is not available here; the store only deals in old-fashioned film cameras. Shinichiro Inada is the young owner who turns 31 this year. Skilfully, he exchanges the battery and inserts new film into the camera. “Now you can use your camera again,” Inada said, returning the camera to its owner. The customer is pleased; he will be going on a photography workshop next weekend.
这位顾客来对了地方，三叶堂写真机店专营维修和转卖这类古董相机。这里没有最新的数码相机，只出售老式胶片照相机。今年31岁的稻田信一郎是这家店的年轻老板。他熟练地更换了电池，并在相机里插入了新的胶卷。稻田对顾客说，“现在你可以重新使用这部相机了”，然后把相机交还给主人。顾客很满意，因为下周末他将携带这部旧式相机参加一个摄影研讨会。
“Our customers include photographers who have used film cameras for 50 years, and novice users who have never touched a film camera before,” Inada says, “The majority of our customers are 10 to 20-year-olds. It seems they admire the unique look of film camera pictures posted on social networking sites such as Instagram.”
稻田说，“我们的客户中有使用了50年胶片相机的摄影师，以及从未接触过胶片相机的新手。 大多数顾客户是10到20岁的年轻人。他们似乎很欣赏Instagram等社交网站上发布的胶片相机照片的独特视像。”
Hi-tech or lo-fi?
高科技或低保真?
Japan is generally thought of as “hi-tech”. The Sony Walkman, Nintendo video game consoles, mobile phones, and QR codes are a few examples of Japanese technology that swept the world.
日本通常被认为是高科技国家。索尼随身听、任天堂游戏机、手机和二维码都是日本技术风靡全球的例子。
According to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), Japan’s budget in research and development for industrial technology ranks third after the United States and China. Japan excels globally in areas of household electronics, robotics, automobiles and space development.
根据日本经济产业省(METI)的数据，日本在工业技术研发方面的预算排名第三，仅次于美国和中国。日本在家用电器、机器人、汽车和太空开发等领域处于全球领先地位。
At the same time, Japan has an analogue culture; as if to shun cutting-edge technology, there has been a preferential rise in analogue, such as film cameras.
与此同时，日本也保持着过时的模拟信息技术文化。所谓模拟信息技术是指用物理信息，如声、光、电、温度和重力等来传递信号的技术，其对应是当今正如日中天的数码信息技术。似乎是要逆尖端技术潮流而行，在日本，模拟信息技术，如胶片相机，又东山再起。
An analogue-lovers playground
模拟信息技术发烧友的乐园
“For anyone that loves analogue, Japan is like heaven,” says Bellamy Hunt, a film camera enthusiast from England living in Tokyo’s Kichijoji neighbourhood.
贝拉米•亨特(Bellamy Hunt)说，“对于任何热爱模拟信息技术的人来说，日本就像天堂。”
After travelling the world, Hunt chose Japan as his base in 2004 and seven years later started his online film-camera store “Japan Camera Hunter.”
在周游世界之后，亨特在2004年选择了日本作为他的基地，7年后他创办了自己的在线胶片相机商店“日本相机猎人”。
Prior to that, Hunt had spent two years working at an established camera shop trusted by professional photographers. He learned from experience that, in Japan, no mistakes are tolerated – everything has to be “100%.” In addition to selling and servicing cameras, Hunt learned to develop film and handle products in the correct way, and aimed to provide the best service to his clients. He realised that, in turn, his customers cared for their cameras and that maintaining the tools of their professional craft is a form of expression and pride in their work.
在此之前，亨特在日本一家备受专业摄影师信任的老牌相机店工作了两年。他的经验告诉他，在日本，任何错误都是不能容忍的，每件事都必须是100%完美。除了销售和维修照相机外，亨特还学会了用正确的方法冲洗胶卷和处理产品，为客户提供最好的服务。反过来，他也意识到，他的顾客很爱护他们的相机，他们细心保养其专业手艺的工具是一种表达形式，他们对自己的工作引以为傲。
Hunt believes it is this attitude of care that separates the quality of film cameras available in Japan. Most film camera enthusiasts today buy their cameras through the secondary market. Compared to film cameras available abroad, the cameras sold in Japan have less dust accumulation, fewer missing pieces, and are mostly in mint condition.
亨特认为，正是这种认真保养的态度使日本的胶片相机质量与其他地区悬殊很大。今天大多数胶片相机发烧友想买一部胶片相机，只能问津二手市场。与国外的二手货相比，在日本销售的二手相机很少灰尘，也很少缺失部件，而且大多是全新的。
Hunt says that “accessibility” is another distinction of Japanese film camera culture. For the past several decades, film cameras have garnered not just a handful of fanatical fans but are also popular within a larger base. Both “cheki” (the nickname for an instant Polaroid-style camera from Fujifilm) and “utsurundesu” (a disposable, single-use camera, also from Fujifilm) are affordable and have been long-time best sellers since their market debut over 20 years ago. In major cities there are electronic megastores, and second-hand shops that deal in film cameras, giving people access to cameras from all over the world.
亨特说，“随手可得”是日本胶片相机文化的另一个特点。在过去的几十年里，胶片相机不仅吸引了一群狂热的粉丝，而且在更大范围内也很受欢迎。cheki(富士胶片的一款拍立得相机的昵称)和utsurundesu(同样来自富士胶片的另一款一次性单用途相机)都很便宜，自从20多年前上市以来，一直畅销不衰。日本各大城市都有电子产品大卖场，也有卖胶片相机的二手商店，因此来自全世界各地形形色色的相机，你都可以买到。
Hunt offers poignant advice: when buying a film camera, be respectful. Having good manners is an important rule for the Japanese. Smile at the sales clerk when you walk into the store. Handle the merchandise with care. They will then be only too glad to show the best in stock.
亨特给出了贴心的建议，在日本买相机，要有礼貌。礼貌对日本人来说是一条重要的规则。你走进商店时，要对售货员面带笑容。递到你手中的商品，你要小心翼翼。如此，售货员将非常乐意向你展示他们最好的库存。
Visual art
视觉艺术
Within the streets of Tokyo’s Nakameguro neighbourhood is Waltz, a rare shop in today’s world that specialises in selling cassette tapes. Opened in 2015, the store boasts a collection of over 6,000. Against the unique wooden interior, the bright jackets of the cassettes don’t look at all retro or nostalgic.
在东京中目黑区的街上，有一家店名叫华尔兹，这是当今世界少有的一家专门出售盒式音乐磁带的商店。该店于2015年开业，拥有6000多名顾客。在独特的木制内饰的衬托下，卡带上明亮的外盒看起来一点也不古旧和老土。
“Cassette tapes are not old items of the past, but part of a new and expanding music culture,” explains Taro Tsunoda, the owner of Waltz. Although the shop also sells older second-hand cassettes, their main focus is actually new tapes.
华尔兹的老板角田太郎（Taro Tsunoda）解释说：“盒式磁带并不是过时的旧物，而是一种新的、不断发展的音乐文化的一部分。”虽然这家商店也出售二手旧磁带，但他们的主要业务实际上是卖新上市的磁带。
According to Tsunoda, since 2010, there has been a surge in artists, mainly from the west coast of America, who have re-released tracks in cassette form. As a result of this, cassette tapes have been re-evaluated on a global scale. Music analytics company BuzzAngle Music reported that cassette tape sales has seen a dramatic rise in 2018, up 18.9% from the previous year alone.
据角田称，自2010年以来，以磁带形式重新发行歌曲的艺术家数量激增，这些艺术家主要来自美国西海岸。因此，盒式音乐磁带已在全球范围内东山再起。音乐分析公司BuzzAngle Music报告称，2018年盒式磁带销量大幅增长，比去年增长18.9%。
“The rectangular packaging on the cassette tapes are like art books created by the musician. My shop, therefore, is here to present their work as visual art,” says Tsunoda.
角田说，“盒式磁带的长方形包装就像音乐家创作的艺术书籍。因此，我的店是在展示他们创作的视觉艺术作品。”
He designed the shop’s interior in the image of a modern art gallery. For new releases, Tsunoda hand-writes how and why the album should be enjoyed on cards. Even the second-hand cassette tapes are in wrapping, and in pristine condition. There isn’t a single cassette out of place. “The attention is in the details. Perhaps that is very Japanese of me,” says Tsunoda with a laugh.
他把商店的内部设计成如同现代艺术馆。新发行的磁带，角田太郎用卡片手写推荐，说明为何及如何欣赏此盒磁带音乐专辑。甚至二手的盒式磁带也包装完美，如同新货。而且没有一盒磁带放错地方。角田笑著说，“注意细节，或许这就是我的日本风格。”
Over half of the customers that visit Waltz are foreigners, and while many work in the music industry, there are professionals in fashion and design as well. In 2017, Waltz was listed as a “Gucci Place,” highlighting it as somewhere that inspires the luxury brand.
光顾华尔兹的顾客中有一半以上是外国人。虽然许多人是音乐工作者，但也有时装和设计方面的专业人士光顾。2017年，世界著名品牌古驰将华尔兹列入“古驰灵感之地”名单，强调这家盒式音乐磁带店是激发奢侈品牌灵感的地方。
“As an item, cassette tapes are undeniably attractive. With digitalisation and streaming, music has morphed into ‘nothingness’. But I believe music should be a tangible item. Something you can physically touch, see its cover, and then feel its vibe. Outside a shop, you can’t get that experience,” Tsunoda says.
角田太郎说，“作为一种物品，盒式磁带有无可置疑的吸引力。随着数字化和流媒体的出现，音乐已经演变成了虚无之物。但我认为音乐应该是有形的。应该可以触摸，可以看到其封面，然后感受其氛围。在商店外面，你无法获得这种体验。”
Status quo or future-leaning?
仅仅是现状还是未来趋势?
Akira Takamasu, vice president of Kansai University and professor of sociology, says “Japan’s analogue culture is directly correlated to the country’s economic growth.”
关西大学副校长、社会学教授高增明（Akira Takamasu）说：“日本的模拟信息技术文化与国家的经济增长直接相关。”
Takamatsu started the university’s first venture project in 2001, heading up an indie record company, and creating music alongside students.
高增明于2001年启动了该校的第一个创业项目，创办了一家独立唱片公司，并与学生一起创作音乐。
“Records have a unique warmth and depth to [their] sound, which is why there are people who still love vinyl. But that isn’t the only reason people prefer records,” he says. “The audio boom occurred in Japan during the ‘70s, which coincided with the post-war economic bubble. People started to feel monetary security which allowed spending, not just of everyday necessities, but in new cultural phenomena – which, at that time, was records.
他说，“黑胶唱片有一种独特的温暖和深度，这就是为什么有些人仍然喜欢黑胶唱片。但这并不是人们喜欢唱片的唯一原因。70年代日本音乐产品开始非常之兴旺，这与二战后日本泡沫经济同时出现。当时人们开始变得富裕，无金钱匮乏之忧，可以大肆消费，因此不仅把钱花在日常必需品，还能够消费新的文化现象，而在当时，这种新文化就是黑胶唱片。”
Takamasu explains that putting on a record became analogous with being at the forefront. “Knowledge in records was regarded as high-status,” he says.
高增明教授解释说，拥有黑胶唱片等同于接受最前卫的文化。他说，“有关黑胶唱片的知识被视为是高水平知识。”
He points to the last quarter-century’s economic stagnation in Japan as what’s driving a love for retro. “If social mobility hasn’t improved for 25 years – which is more than half of a worker’s career – then buying into trends becomes more expensive,” he says. “Perhaps going back to old retro habits reflects a Japanese attitude that embraces the other side of stagnation.”
他指出，日本过去四分之一世纪的经济停滞，推动了人们对复古怀旧的喜爱。他表示：“如果社会流动性在过去25年里没有改善，而25年已超过了一个工人职业生涯的一半，那么，追随新潮流的成本就会很昂贵。或许怀旧习惯反映了日本人无奈接受经济停滞的另一面的态度。”
Whatever the reason – a sluggish economy, hipster spending habits, or simple nostalgia – Japan’s love of old gadgets proves that if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
不管是什么原因，低迷的经济，时髦的消费习惯，还是简单的怀旧，日本人对旧东西的热爱证明，这个东西只要没有坏，就不要修理它，可拿来再用。