Method
During my observations as a train rider in Tokyo of 2010, I first encountered manner posters on the walls of the crowded train platforms. It was in Tokyo where I decided that these instructive or directives were different from any others I have seen before. When noticing how suggestive behavior is written in American public contexts, I often experience a more direct, colorless language. For example, in the United States, we often find standard disclaiming messages for “No Smoking,” “No Pets,” or “No Food.” While manner posters and warnings are salient in both American and Japanese public contexts, from what I have observed, Japanese manner posters succeed in rhetorically grabbing the attention and harmoniously facilitating a quickly moving audience. Furthermore, these public texts are indicative of cultural values and deeply held norms for proper behavior in public.
From the extensive publication of manner posters, four posters from the 1970s to 1980s were chosen. The artist of the chosen posters from the 1970s to 1980s is Hideya Kawakita, who was commissioned by the Tokyo Transit Authority Railroad Company to think of creative ways to promote manners. A synchronic analysis of the four posters was conducted using semiotic, cultural, and historical criteria. Replicas of the four Japanese manner posters were obtained from the book, Original! Japanese Manner Posters (Kawakita, 2008). The Japanese and English subtitles created by Kawakita are interpreted in this communication analysis for an English speaking audience. Hideya Kawakita is the chosen artist for this capstone because his bold artistic choices are unlike any other manner posters I have observed in Japan. According to the Tokyo Metro Corporation (2012) public records, manner posters have been publicly displayed in Japan since September of 1974, starting in Tokyo. What is noteworthy about these selected artifacts is that the artist intentionally uses global icons in everyday, mundane, situations of minor conflict. Kawakita is a prolific graphic artist, author, and professor at Tokyo University since 2003. While Kawakita is a talented artist and professor in Tokyo, I am not under the impression that Kawakita is well known to the average Japanese citizen.
Synchronicity is a vital methodological choice in this study. There are countless forms and themes of Japanese manner posters that have developed from the 1970s to the present day. However, the earlier posters are important to isolate and analyze because their design and signifiers achieve a status that is vastly different than present day Japanese manner posters. The time period between the 1970s and 1980s indicates global influence and emerging connections to the West in ways that current manner posters do not indicate.