Steve Jobs and Japan - NHK WORLD PRIME

[Applause] good evening I'm Steve Jobs from Apple computer we're very glad to be here tonight in 1984 Steve Jobs revolutionized computing [Music] the Macintosh promised new levels of self-expression at launch a familiar face but another perhaps not she's from a Japanese wood block print [Music] and when it comes to jobs love of Japan she's the tip of the iceberg close friends colleagues and design experts shed new light on why this game to be [Music] Steve was thinking about how do you take the things that the Japanese culture has developed uh in a way that it could go into commercial products Steve was exposed to the way my mom decorated the house the Japanese sense of style and Design jobs develop close bonds with Japanese artisans he wrapped his hands around the work [Music] he would do this [Music] he touched very gently handling it with loving care and their Creations informed his own approach to design [Music] one pioneer and a passion that changed the world Steve Jobs first encountered Japanese art as a boy his best friend was Bill Fernandez who hails from San Francisco the thing was I think Bill was even Apple's very first employee before that they wild away the days tinkering with electronics [Music] jobs was always at his friend's house he felt right at home and Bill's mother treated jobs like a son Bambi says he always had an inquisitive mind [Music] [Music] to do his electronic stuff he was interested in what was around him and he was interested in talking to you and he could talk um well even at that time so he was interesting to talk to as a person as a friend so we became very good friends Bambi studied Japanese art and her home was full of it one wall featured three Sheen hunger wood block prints [Music] jobs was transfixed [Music] the three shinhanga hanging over the white couch in our family room the one when you came into the house the first thing you saw he loved those he was drawn to them they appealed to him there was one shinhanga that had a forest and a person walking down a road that looked very similar to Forest in California we have a rare Redwood forest very tall stately trees and he remarked you know is is that California and you know that looks like California and she said no that's Japan you know the one over the couch those are the ones that caused these attention even though over time he saw other ones that I added those are the ones that he was drawn back to and he would stand across the room from them and just look at them and then as he Grew Older he started talking to me he'd look at the prince and he looked at me and he'd say you know I think you should share I said no I don't share my father's collection but you're welcome to look at him whatever you want [Music] is a 20th century take on ukioe an older form of wood block printing artists sought to modernize and increase the appeal of their craft which was already popular overseas [Music] Bill shows us a gift from his old friend so this is the shinhanga by hasui kawase that was his wedding gift to me and my first wife I felt very happy that shinhanga still meant so much to him and that he would honor Me by giving me a gift that he knew would be very meaningful to me very thoughtful gift because I also love shinkanga [Music] trained bill says Sheen hunger was the starting point for jobs appreciation of Japanese Beauty our house was a catalyst for Steve Jobs's development of his aesthetic sense a big part of that was the shin hunger because that's what you see you you walk in and boom pictures beautiful pictures oh that's so wonderful I love that you know they speak to me I think that was the beginning where he said I like this I like simple I like clean I like natural wood I like this style of art I like this aesthetic this sensibility and so forth you could see his love of Simplicity and elegance throughout his life like in the products that you know he developed at Apple [Music] [Applause] [Music] there are similar sentiments from a key player in Apple's history hello hi welcome to my home thank you very much former CEO John Scully jobs poached him from Pepsi and the bear quickly became close [Music] scully's background includes industrial design and they would often discuss art um I don't know Scully remembers a man who invented products but kept his own possessions to a minimum when I went into his house for the first time I was very surprised I knew he could afford anything he wanted but the fact that that um he lived such a simple life at home personally and I asked him I said you know is this what you like to do or you just didn't have time to you know attend to getting things in your house he said no I actually like it very simple this is how I like it yeah I actually have the things in my home that I wanted to have in my home but one wall spoke volumes his bedroom had just a simple single person bed on the wall where three photos one of Einstein the other Mahatma Gandhi and the third of a Japanese woodcut print of a lady and other thing that was in the room was a Tiffany lamp the sheen hunger Scully talks of is likely a work titled asane gami or morning hair [Music] compared with the Einstein and Gandhi it is a little bit weird to see that this kind of presence right it doesn't feel weird at all with me knowing knowing Steve Steve was highly impressionable by things that influenced him and he was very careful to select things that were important to him he was highly influenced by Japanese culture personally and so it makes total sense to me that that would be of equal importance to to Einstein and Gandhi jobs bought the work in Tokyo's upscale Ginza District Gallery remembers a man introducing himself as Steve but this was no ordinary customer he said I'm going to start collecting Sheen hunger so please teach me everything and he gave me his business card featuring The multi-colored Apple logo I was a little surprised because color printing was still very expensive at the time jobs had clearly done his homework morning hair depicts a woman who has just woken up and it was banned by authorities at the time only a few still exist which meant the price was high was somewhat taken aback he seemed so casual about choosing it he was particularly fond of landscape specialist kawase hasui just like his friend's mom [Music] hasui traveled across Japan skillfully depicting nature and moments in time and he is often mentioned in the same breath as famous ukioa artists hoksai and hiroshige he wanted to learn but already seems to have a mental picture of everything and of what he liked I was impressed by the way he could single out Major Works foreign are deceptively simple the production process is actually highly intricate [Music] a Carver creates an outline based on the artist's vision [Music] and wood blocks are made for every color oh they are then taken to a printer who renders the outlines first the colors are added one by one layer by layer with ukioi the Craftsmen work independently at each step but Sheen hunger artists convey their plant directly to the Carver and printer the aim is to keep the results as close to the original idea as possible the number of layers increased as artists pushed the boundaries in some cases more than 30. that's two to three times more than your typical ukioa the way Sheen hunger artists had control over an entire production process was not lost on jobs I do remember distinctly that he was very excited when when he came back and we met in New York in the end of March when talking about the shinhanga because he said I really was so excited on this trip because I thought that that the woodcuts were made by different people it was the collective process and then I was introduced to the shinhanga where it was the individual expression of a person from artist to Carver to printer and he said that's exactly what we're trying to do with technology with with Macintosh you could create the design you could render it in a digital format and then you could print it out on a on a printer and he said that's the essence of what Macintosh is and this day he was working on what he called desktop publishing giving people the creative possibility to print on their own desk jobs amassed as many as 48 Sheen hunger over the course of 20 years [Music] he even bought two prints of this work titled combing her hair a beautiful lady and a model for self-expression in a 2001 interview with nhg he sent out his ideas for what we can do with the computer thank you I shoot some footage and I I remember making my first iMovie where I could edit the clips together and I could put some cross dissolves in and some titles on and then I took one of my favorite pieces of music and stuck it in and added a soundtrack and I made about a three minute movie and it was I showed it to my wife and she started crying and some of the movies are you know maybe not are better than others but they all are very emotional can we help you express yourself in richer ways in your music in your movies in your photography and these kinds of things that people want to do [Music] [Applause] [Music] Apple was on the cusp of big things back in the early 80s jobs was developing the Macintosh but some of the firm's success was down to another Visionary in a far away land Sony chairman Morita Akio [Music] the Japanese company's products were widely regarded as some of the world's best [Music] simple and beautiful jobs was a big fan used to be Apple's senior vice president of international marketing he says Sony provided more than just influence three component of the Macintosh the Apple product came from Sony the screen was a Trinitron screen in fact the first even laptop was actually completely produced by Sony so Steve Jobs had great respect for for Sony for its design for its Perfection and it's a innovation in miniaturization so so that was the North Star for Steve or Sony [Music] Scully remembers meeting chairman Morita in Japan and how Jobs made no secret of his desire to learn [Music] Steve wanted to know from Radisson how involved are you personally in the creation of the Sony Walkman and did you think up the product you know do you stay connected with the designers of the product how much attention do you pay to the manufacturing of the product the materials of the product so he was Steve was very curious and he was always asking questions and it turned out that brain Assam was very involved in the product you know he was a product person just like Steve Jobs was a product person so they resonated in that that way in a very positive way jobs Sony products were like textbooks not least the first CD Walkman I remember when we were visiting with Radisson in Tokyo and he presented Steve and I both with Sony Walkman this is before the product was actually introduced on the market and when we got on the plane to fly home we both opened our box and we were looking at it and Steve said give it to me and I said what do you mean give it to you he said read a song gave us each one for a gift he said no we're going to take it back and our Engineers are going to take both of these apart and we're going to look at every detail Steve had so much respect for Sony because Sony paid attention to the details and at that time in the electronics World nobody was paying attention to details except for apple and and Sony Apple's early promotional materials proudly conveyed the firm's philosophy [Music] a philosophy with deep roots in Japan we always would come back to the foundational idea that simplification is the greatest sophistication and Steve's admired that in the Japanese culture and with Japanese Artisans and Akio Morita confirmed that he said yes we pay a lot of attention to that that's a that's a principle for us of uh priority of how we develop and build our products [Music] [Applause] [Music] jobs saw the need for a seismic shift in the way Apple runs [Music] he recruited heartmut Esslinger who had worked extensively with Sony [Music] the designer created over 100 products for the Japanese firm and jobs was impressed he wanted Apple products to be the on computers the best design computers in the world but actually Apple will be the best designer in the world right on business use it a sense what is noise what is not but he didn't have a sense how to make it and how to get it through organization so the first proposal applicant internally was that the designers get a little bit more power by reporting to the engineering head of the group Esslinger suggested the designers have control over the engineers just like Sony and he then proposed a series of designs that helped shape Apple's future but it wasn't all plain sailing [Music] that's kind of pretty radical but it says it doesn't work otherwise the good thing is Steve did it this is a lot of fights for example when that was installed that Steve had me and I just said that's what we do I mean people hate it as they made their own designs parallel so sabotaged it I think the connection of Steve to Japan Japan's culture in general really happened in the very early days when we worked and created products and then found out using the Japanese system of collaboration of improvement and so on and so on and trust is really is a source for Apple's future success so Apple in fact is based I think of the Japanese of the Japanese model in terms of call it industrial industrial model [Applause] what we need now is the third industry Milestone product and that's what Macintosh is all about [Music] jobs imbued is groundbreaking computer with everything he had gleaned from Japan [Music] it was his time to shine to change the game and he delivered [Music] and when he's standing back there he is shaking like a leaf he's so nervous and he turns to me says I can't go out there he said I'm too nervous to go out I said Steve take some deep breaths you know breathe in deeply breathe in deeply he's doing that he's taking the exaggerated breasts and then all of a sudden he has to go out on the stage and I don't know what's going to happen Steve goes out on the stage the moment he steps onto that stage he completely transforms suddenly he is totally confident suddenly he has every move perfect Jobs made sure to tell the audience his invention would improve their lives it lets you sing it lets you make pictures it lets you make diagrams where you can cut them and paste them into your documents it lets you put that sentence in bold helvetica or Old English if that's the way you want to express yourself by the 1990s personal computers were everywhere and people were using them in ways jobs always knew they would [Music] he told NHK of his Ambitions to keep on innovating [Music] we see at Apple one of the things we've always felt is that we want to stand at the intersection of of technology and Humanities we just talked to the site of people that has to add up you know numbers and write a letter but it's there's so much more to it than that and I think we're finally with this digital lifestyle era opening going to be addressing those other things that all of us do you know some of every single day [Music] [Applause] [Music] the iMac hit shelves in 1998. curvy and colorful this computer was an instant Global hit [Music] design was radically Modern but the concept arguably traces back to Japan's ancient capital jobs found constant inspiration in Kyoto and he would visit often traditional Gardens Kabuki theater and much more sometimes for you to stay at a Recon in and Steve loved the experience of the tatami bed and just just the whole ceremonial process of you know how Moon how food was served and and uh you know just the process of taking a bath there but all of these things were almost ceremonial as much as they were they were practical so Steve love the the experience of kind of being exposed to the Japanese culture [Music] and during meal times the food often played second fiddle to the plates it was a very quiet experience watching Steve Jobs touch a Japanese ceramic hold it in his hands you know feel the texture of the surface question slowly and saying so where did the clay come to make this what was The Artisan's thinking had he done things like this before he was very inquisitive about what the process was you know what motivated The Artisan to do this whenever jobs visited Kyoto he would stop by the galleries to buy ceramics even commissioned one Artisan over a period of 10 years dates back centuries he remembers meeting jobs for the first time in 1996. jobs picked up shakunaga's Works to get a feel for the shapes he wrapped his hands around them he would do this the way he touched them was very gentle and he handled them with loving care [Music] after a long time inspecting the Works jobs would buy some others would be made to order [Music] he wanted the usual items like vases cups and plates but he was extremely particular [Music] ly I suggested the corners be like this but Mr job said he wants them even rounder [Music] he was very specific when Corners gently curve it's easier to follow the shape with the palm of your hand it feels very different sing out the wings I think that gave the dishes a certain charm works like this may appear unassuming but they convey clear intent [Music] jobs was pursuing organic forms that make people happy [Music] foreign Ceramics expert Robert Yellen spent time with jobs welcome to uh my home and gallery No Labels because I want one day he got a call from Apple's Tokyo office asking if he could guide jobs around some galleries Yellen took him to two and also the home of a private collector he was like a child in a candy store he was just so excited and everything was new and fresh you know and he goes what's that and we would take it and he would hold it and he'd go okay this is very interesting I like that jobs was immediately enamored with the 16th century jar [Music] it had a squat-like form known as Uzu kumaru he was very interested in these you know and he would take it and turn it and kind of rub the shoulder a bit you know see how it felt the curve turn it on the base see how the clay looked um and just like whoa oh yeah okay I really really loved the slope of the shoulders look how natural that is it's just so pleasing to the eye you know there's a softness to it there's a romantic feel of sorts you know it's like rubbing your shoulder rubbing your hands over your own shoulders or your girlfriend or wife or whoever it might be your child so he goes yeah I want my my products to have that smooth shoulder feel so I think he got a lot of hints from looking at these old jars [Music] iMac design team sought to create a product that would be cherished by all every part from the monitor to the mouse featured beautiful curved lines and it heralded an era of similar forms across Apple's entire product line [Music] I was watching back in Silicon Valley where he would pick something up in his hands it could be a mouse pointing device and how he would hold it in his hands and he would feel it and look at it from every different angle and he would study it carefully so for him he was not interested in consumer research he didn't believe in it he was interested in in his his own ability to be able to determine what materials what products what shapes so he had a lot of self-confidence in that Steve was focused on yeah what impression is he going to make on the user how will they feel about it yeah can we make people aspire to have our products and fall in love with our products jobs was instinctively drawn to tactile shapes and he used that sensibility to invent brilliant products [Music] his passion for Curves extended into all areas of the Apple universe [Music] now this is our store so the first 25 shows you our entire product line now there's 36 jobs open the first Apple Store in 2001. but it was about much more than shifting units selection just about computers but more importantly what they can do uh rather than just talking about megahertz and megabytes things like that [Music] us-based Japanese art director yagi tamotsu helped with the store's basic concept he says jobs wanted to create a friendly atmosphere [Music] when we first started working together the kidney shapes used for the children's desks were something visually very new he most certainly had a preference for those curves as opposed to the sharp edges you see nowadays at Apple stores [Music] jobs had full-size models made up of all the furniture [Music] and true deform he inspected them with more than just his eyes he stood up and circled the counter many times touching the edges with the palm of his hand if the curves felt good he could come to a decision I felt computers on curved tables would leave a deeper impression on the customers than computers on Square tables that push for making things as simple as possible and Visually memorable I feel that was constant throughout the project foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] jobs was diagnosed with cancer in 2003. but that didn't stop him from creating more groundbreaking products including the iPhone jobs visited Kyoto again in 2010 for what would be the last time he also stopped by shigaraki a nearby Town long known for ceramics he wanted to meet the local Crafts People including Master Potter Takahashi raksai V his family has been producing Ceramics for two centuries Rockside remembers jobs inquiring about hika booty a prized style of shigaraki wear foreign and I could sense he was a pottery lover with hikaburi Ash from the burnt firewood becomes embedded into the clay the results can be stunning Artisans spend their lives refining the technique but no matter how close to Perfection they get much of the process is left to fate [Music] it takes two days for the Kiln to cool down we then take out each work if I get just one or two good pieces I'm thrilled [Music] Rockside was glad to meet someone as knowledgeable and passionate as Jobs foreign Bowl just like this the best one I ever created it's covered with lots of nicely colored Ash I was happy that he singled it out I could tell he really loves and understands what we do jobs had a strong appreciation for the work that goes into making beautiful objects [Music] you know he took inspiration from Japanese culture and various means you know obviously one was pottery and the Beautiful slope of curve of shoulders of ancient jars you know the Carpenters of old Japan they made something look very simple like this room but it's a very complicated procedure that they were able to produce looking at something which you perceive as simple beauty but there's a lot of Consciousness and technique and thought and design and and many failures I imagine to create something so simply beautiful it all sounds a lot like Apple [Music] he said what we do at Apple will have no compromises so yes we'll simplify we'll find the essence that that brings out the Perfection of the vision but we will take our time and do it right that isn't like the United States you know you know we we create things quickly and they may be popular and then they may disappear and that's not what it seems so he he saw so continuity through time with the Japanese culture and always a purpose and everything he did at Apple had a purpose there was nothing accidental well Steve loved beautiful products and the distinction between a beautiful product like the Sony Walkman or a beautiful art object like a ceramic those had a continuity in terms of the principles that were involved so Steve was fascinated by the fact that Artisans you know would spend a lifetime you know creating a certain kind of product and whether it was a print or whether it was a ceramic and he just had so much respect for that and what he wanted to do as a business leader was to commercialize those ideas Scully invites us on a tour of his home so I wanted to take you into my office and show you something that has great memories for me of my time together with Steve Jobs yes keep it in my office because Steve made a diorama for me as a surprise on the first anniversary of my coming to Apple diorama Handmade by jobs apple and IBM are on the up but there's also a Japanese flag [Music] perhaps jobs was saving a little room at the top for a friendly competitor like Sony and there was a great consistency I think in Steve's life with things that he learned and observed particularly in Japan he loved the food you know he loved visiting there he loved the art he loved the craftsmanship of Artisans and each of these things found important ways of shaping the life that Steve chose to live [Music] thank you foreign [Music]

Channel: NHK WORLD-JAPAN

Views: 109,001

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Id: 1_qcvhXdzXg

Length: 48min 6sec (2886 seconds)

Published: Tue Apr 04 2023