Hello! Author here. Pleasantly surprised to see this on the front page! I thought I'd address a couple of questions here:
- Why is it so expensive?
You can definitely buy cheaper randoserus made in China and these are giving lower-end Japanese manufacturers a run for their money. For example, https://www.amazon.co.jp/-/en/dp/B09H5RLGQF is around 45 dollars.
Even off-the-shelf Japanese randoserus are cheaper than the customized ones.
For an example of the well-thought out design of randoseru, this video does a good job: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/WtWiuWBU9r8
Some basic reasons for the high cost are: materials (leather, fake leather) are expensive, there are many parts, manual assembly, and the variations and customizations don't lend themselves to scale.
This article lists some reasons Japanese randoseru are so expensive: https://rand--torisetu-com.translate.goog/kakaku?_x_tr_sl=au... .
- What happens after 6 years?
Randoseru often last longer with good care, and are in fact passed down. Many organizations also collect and donate used randoseru to the less privileged. There are also businesses that will recycle the high quality materials into other accessories: See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHcgol5i7gs
While I think Japanese society has lots of good traits and outcomes such as a low crime rate, and a ethic to involve everyone in process improvements, this is another clear example of what the English call "keeping up appearances". It seems Japanese call it "tatemae" - https://japan-dev.com/blog/honne-and-tatemae
If it's so expensive and durable, where does that bag go after school? Why does each generation have to buy new bags, why are they not passed down from parents to children?
Wikipedia's article on randoseru[1] states:
A new randoseru made of genuine or synthetic leather can carry a price tag of around 30,000–40,000 yen at a chain store/supermarket. Typically randoseru from department stores or traditional workshops will be priced in the region of 55,000–70,000 yen, with some models (particularly those branded with logos) reaching over 100,000 yen. Clarino, a synthetic material frequently used as a substitute, reduces the cost somewhat. Often randoseru are available on auction sites in new or used condition at much lower prices, particularly after the start of the Japanese school year in April. As of January 2012, the five top randoseru in order of popularity at Amazon.co.jp are in the range of ¥8,280–¥16,980 yen.
Translating those numbers to US dollars and rounding a bit, we get:
New one at the supermarket: US$ 210-280
Department store or traditional workshop: US$ 390-400
Prestigious logo: $700
Most popular on Amazon.co.jp back in 2012: US$ 60-120.
What the distribution of sales are between those $60 bags and those $700 bags is, and how much shit a kid carrying a $60 bag will get from the kids carrying the pricier ones, I dunno. It certainly seems that Mr. and Mrs. One-From-Nippon are definitely looking at some upscale-ass randoseru though.
I ran with the same Jansport bag from 1989-2000. I wonder if they still offer that awesome warranty? As a kid my family really didn't know about it and it was pre-internet. My grandma was amazing repairing it. These bags do look pretty cool IMO but I feel there's more to the price that is essentially the generational guilt-trip of a custom that makes it that price.
I was talking about randoseru with my daughter just the other day. She and her sister both attended Japanese public elementary schools and used the same randoseru for all six years. Though she was tall for her age, she complained about the weight of it then and doesn’t have fond memories of it now. Her son will be starting at a public elementary school in Yokohama in a couple of years, and she doesn’t seem eager to get a randoseru for him. While some of the kids I see walking to and from that school have randoseru, most are carrying lighter and more versatile cloth backpacks.
This grandparent will be happy to pay for whatever my daughter wants for her son, though it’s likely that she will insist on paying for it herself.
To insert a sentence that has nothing to do with the topic, I am in China. My daughter is in the second grade of elementary school. Her schoolbag must weigh 6 kilograms and contains various books, exercise books, and test papers. This was not the case when I was in elementary school. My little schoolbag was empty, with only 2 books and 2 thin notebooks. Nowadays, children have too much homework and they have to write until 10pm every day.
I'd love to know the relative environmental impact of buying:
1. A single high-quality $400 leather randoseru to last six years
2. A single high-quality $200-$400 ripstop nylon bag with high quality zippers, etc (essentially, GoRuck quality level) to last for life
3. Six years' worth of $50 Jansports that last maybe ~3 years each
4. Six years' worth of cheapass $15 Amazon Essentials level nylon bags that last ~1 year each under heavy daily use
I _love_ Japanese dedication to craft; really any hyper-focused efforts, but i digress.
The problem that I have with this of course is families who cannot afford these really well made pieces of gear (touched on at the end of the article) and where children who can't afford it are ostracized because of it.
Growing up I was on meal plans due to our financial status and paying in physical tickets, made me and the others like me a small target of ridicule. Personally I don't think it was a lot, but naturally we banded together and became friends simply because we paid for lunches a particular way.
The social pressure is crazy and unnecessary and feel terrible for the kids who can't have it as well as the families who literally sacrifice for it.
https://saddlebackleather.com/thin-front-pocket-leather-back... might be closest, but more expensive.
https://saddlebackleather.com/tumbled-leather-drawstring-bac... is cheaper and more realistic, perhaps.
https://saddlebackleather.com/leather-backpack-lg is only 2 pounds and cheaper still.
We needed very durable backpacks when I was in high school because our books were so heavy, and my school had no lockers (so you were carrying 4-5 textbooks at all times). But as students have shifted to online learning platforms, wouldn't they have less of a need for extremely sturdy/roomy backpacks? I recently spoke to a college grad who said that all of his learning in HS was online, meaning he never needed to carry any textbooks. Do they not use online learning materials as much in Japan? Or is this a cultural phenomenon that will change slowly, even though the need has changed?
In college a friend had a leather school bag, which, I recall, he described as used by primary school students in Holland. Same sort of concept. It’s meant to last for your primary schooling. Made from leather, in the shape of a briefcase with shoulder straps.
I think the idea is if you take care of it as a child, then at some point you transition from stiff shoulder bag to broken-in briefcase—or something like that. Symbolic of a transition to adulthood.
BTW-That video was really lovely. I liked the simple montage of the workers at the end.
Seems like a great way to ensure money is spent within the local economy. The backpacks look amazing.
In Canada catholic high schools students still wear uniforms. The uniforms are made to last. And the Canadian company that makes them has been in business for 50 years.
> After a few rounds of bastardization, ransel became “randoseru” in Japanese.
I thought there was actually a formal transliteration system the Japanese use for foreign words? Like with cutlet becoming katsu retsu. Not quite “bastardization”.
They're crazy! (Checks how much I have spent on stupid phones...). Ah##!
Interesting points about the nuances of a $450 bag that’s rather impractical when it’s more a story than a justification. I’m just here to comment that this was a lovely read, thanks for posting!
$450 for a custom, hand-made leather backpack is a pretty decent price. Leather bags last forever if taken care of and look better as they age. That could easily be a lifetime bag.
The author wrongly attributes 'rucksack' to Dutch. The Dutch is actually 'rugzak', which is based on the mentioned German word (Deutsch confusion?).
These humans are a curious species.
"That's ludicrous!", he says, as he avoids looking at the Filson bag next to his chair.
(Although, in fairness, I don't expect to ever have to buy another bag, and I'll take better care of this than I would've any bag my elders gave me as a child.)
Looks like it would be a fun project to hand craft
What is the website theme ? Very readable
:(
The article tries to articulate the value add through attention to detail in manufacturing "so the bags survive 6 years of rough and tumble", but I'm not really getting it. What am I missing?
I had a $60-in-1995 northface backpack that lasted through hauling 5+ periods of textbooks every day, walking and biking to middle school and highschool. It worked fine, in fact my dad still uses it (30 years later) to hold and transport teaching materials for a college course he teaches. Lots of kids got by with a single basic $25 Jansport.
Today, kids in the U.S. don't even tote many (or any) books, most of the content and schoolwork takes place on a lightweight Chromebook that stays in the classroom.