A good guess. Japan is “cool” today, but it most certainly wasn’t seen that way by Americans then. It also tracks with how the origins of early anime imports like Speed Racer or Kimba the White Lion were played down.
That larger public perception must have been the reasoning, but in the accounts that I’ve read the implication was that Japan was _the_ place to go for the quality manufacturing and skilled handwork that Mattel was hoping to reach for their product. These are accounts written after the fact (80s-90s) though, and may have been shaped by the rising tide of “Japan cool.”
So I couldn't get to this as the piece was getting long, but Japan definitely had a reputation as the place to go for cheap, efficient labor right up until the early Seventies. Then the "oil shock" hit, prices spiked, and foreign manufacturers began going elsewhere. Mattel pulled entirely out of Japan in 1971, moving manufacturing operations to Korea instead. (Ironically, the cycle started all over again with anime in the Eighties; most of our Saturday morning cartoon fare was made there.)
Loved this, Matt! This hit pretty close to home as I also have an interest in fashion dolls. I’d known about the integral part that Japanese manufacturers(and the group of super-skilled seamstresses) played in getting Barbie off the ground for Mattel, but getting the details of Miyatsuka-san’s contributions was a treat! Might have to see if I can track down a copy of her book.
Postscript for those who enjoyed the article: it might surprise you to know KBK is still in business! They specialize in making toy vehicles now. https://note.com/kokusaiboeki/
This was never a big secret. You're not giving away secrets here. Barbie was manufactured in Japan. Most of the toys in the United States today are manufactured in Asia.
Great stuff! I wonder why anything about Japan was suppressed. Was it because "Made in Japan" was initially associated with poor quality?
A good guess. Japan is “cool” today, but it most certainly wasn’t seen that way by Americans then. It also tracks with how the origins of early anime imports like Speed Racer or Kimba the White Lion were played down.
That larger public perception must have been the reasoning, but in the accounts that I’ve read the implication was that Japan was _the_ place to go for the quality manufacturing and skilled handwork that Mattel was hoping to reach for their product. These are accounts written after the fact (80s-90s) though, and may have been shaped by the rising tide of “Japan cool.”
So I couldn't get to this as the piece was getting long, but Japan definitely had a reputation as the place to go for cheap, efficient labor right up until the early Seventies. Then the "oil shock" hit, prices spiked, and foreign manufacturers began going elsewhere. Mattel pulled entirely out of Japan in 1971, moving manufacturing operations to Korea instead. (Ironically, the cycle started all over again with anime in the Eighties; most of our Saturday morning cartoon fare was made there.)
Great article, Matt! Thanks for the insight.
Loved this, Matt! This hit pretty close to home as I also have an interest in fashion dolls. I’d known about the integral part that Japanese manufacturers(and the group of super-skilled seamstresses) played in getting Barbie off the ground for Mattel, but getting the details of Miyatsuka-san’s contributions was a treat! Might have to see if I can track down a copy of her book.
For sure! That books needs to get translated! It would be perfect for Kodansha
It really deserves a translation! Lots of names familiar to Japanese toy collectors in there, too, like Masudaya and Nakajima and Takara.
Postscript for those who enjoyed the article: it might surprise you to know KBK is still in business! They specialize in making toy vehicles now. https://note.com/kokusaiboeki/
This was never a big secret. You're not giving away secrets here. Barbie was manufactured in Japan. Most of the toys in the United States today are manufactured in Asia.
Interesting! A side to Japan's 1950s economic return to form that I hadn't heard about before.