Visualizing Cultures
Site 06: Fruit Shop
He gets hungry and discovers the high price of fruit.

Themes:
1. WOMEN IN BUSINESS
2. arranged marriage
3. fruit as gifts
4. lunch box
5. mother working

INTERIOR: FRUIT SHOP
Professor Miyagawa approaches the fruit shop. The
MEMO takes place over the beginning of the journey video.

PROFESSOR MIYAGAWA
July 3; 1:53 pm. I’m window shopping one of the newer establishments in the neighborhood – a fruit shop.
The fruit looks perfect and expensive, but I’m hungry and I’m going in.

FRUIT SHOP WOMAN: Now peaches are selling very well. Here are the peaches. Because most of our customers buy peaches by the box - and peaches come already packed, 15 in a box - so we sell peaches by the box. Most people buy them for gifts.
PROFESSOR MIYAGAWA: These watermelons are big.
FRUIT SHOP WOMAN: Yes. As this type of fruit tastes better if it is bigger, we do our best, even if it is expensive, to get good ones, so that our customers will say “Your watermelon was the sweetest and best tasting.” At this time of year, most of our customers buy them for gifts.
We are a large family. As we are three generations - our parents, two of us and our children - I think our children understand the benefits of having a large family.
When we are busy and can’t take care of the children, they go to their grandparents. So, we’re getting along quite well.
Our children are growing up obediently. Although they’re in a city, they are growing normally, I think. We don’t have any particular problems so far.



WORKING IN THE FAMILY BUSINESS

Corky White writes:

“Among craft, trade, shopkeeping, and agricultural families, all available hands are employed and very often it is the woman of the house who is the actual manager.

“It has always been traditional for women to work in this way, though family run businesses are inherited by the eldest son -- or by an adopted son by marriage to a daughter and run the concern.

“Family Run businesses, “Mom and Pop” stores can stay open longer and maintain a lower profit margin because family members tend the shop, and there is little in the way of benefit packages or pensions or other overhead for other employees, who are often part time. Living in or over the shop makes it much easier for the family to maintain the household and business at the same time.”

DAUGHTER-IN-LAW
The hierarchies of a typical traditional shop are seen in the Fruit Shop video interview.

The oldest son’s wife is up first to do the household and shop chores, and her voice is seldom heard until her mother-in-law ‘retires’ and (in traditional families) passes on the rice paddles to her. At this point, she is the unofficial household manager and can be the voice of the establishment.

STORE
The reputation of a shop depends on the human relations maintained in the community by members of the family. Word of mouth keeps your customers, quality and innovation count a lot. Buying fruit in season, getting the first of the season still counts, though now with hothouses and good transport, fruits and vegetables of all kinds are available year round.

GIFTS
ART OF GIFT GIVING
A note from Corky White:

“Gift giving occurs at certain fixed times of the year, such as at mid summer and at New Year’s when formal gifts are exchanged, particularly between students (or former students) and teachers, employee and employers, and among and within families. Such gifts aren’t usually personal, but rather generic and the amount spent is carefully calibrated to the correct level for the relative status of giver and receiver. Of course at birthdays and other celebrations more personal gifts are given.

“Christmas is not a particularly important gift time, except for children, and for dating couples. At New Year’s, children will be given their version of a “bonus”, the Toshidama envelope of cash, and this may be spent or saved for a large item. Another custom is omujage or the giving of souvenirs on return from a voyage as a kind of device for reintegrating the returnee. And of course, the gifts of very expensive fruit ($50 melons for example) or flowers or candy, may be purchased by a late and inebriated husband on his way home to his family.

“A typical grocery or greengrocer in Japan will pride itself on its beautiful, tasty fruit, and especially on seasonal appearances of perfect strawberries, juicy mikan (small, seedless tangerines like clementines), and of course, those gorgeous and expensive melons. Fruit is now
also imported, but as with beef, the domestic product is generally
preferred.

“Japanese prices, however, are extremely high for these prize fruits and even with government subsidies to keep agriculture local, farmers find it hard to make ends meet. Many farms have diversified away from
traditional crops like rice and other staples to raise luxury fruits and vegetables, but this work is labor intensive, demanding, for example, the wrapping of individual strawberries as they open.












Massachusetts Institute of Technology © 2006 Visualizing Cultures

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