The Luxury of “Waste”: What Is True Richness Beyond Efficiency?

Today, I'd like to write a little seriously about "waste."

■ The trend that "efficiency is everything"

Lately,
it feels like work efficiency and minimalism are in fashion.

For example:

• Gadgets to boost productivity

• A lifestyle of owning fewer things

• Highly functional bags, suits, shoes, etc...

In other words,
it looks as if everyone is earnestly playing a game of
"how to live as efficiently, as waste-free and as minimally as possible."

But then it suddenly occurred to me:

"What is everyone being chased by so much?"

■ The "invisible anxiety" behind efficiency

Among people pursuing efficiency and minimalism,
thoughts like these are sometimes hidden.

• I want to cut down on overtime, so I have to finish work quickly

• I have to make time for my family

• Owning unnecessary things is a waste of money

I suspect a surprising number of people
are possessed by this "I must..." way of thinking.

■ Waste is the "margin" that enriches life

I don't think at all that a life without waste
equals a rich life.

On the contrary—

Waste is the ultimate luxury.

Because by cutting out waste,
we also strip away the margin for happiness.

■ Good ideas are found in waste

While dawdling at work,
an unexpected idea came out of idle chat with a senior colleague—
haven't you had an experience like that?

When there's something you don't understand,
it's fine to ask someone right away,
but I believe in the "flash of inspiration" that comes after deliberately struggling with it to the end.

It's precisely because you take the long way around
that the "ability to think" is cultivated in the process.

■ People who can enjoy waste are strong

If you live only by tracing the "right answers" you hear from others,
when it really matters, you won't be able to think for yourself.

I've seen many people over the years,
and when asked "Why did you do that?",
a great many can only answer "Because so-and-so told me to."

People like that freeze when they hit a wall.

If you have a sense of enjoying waste,
you should be able to find the clues to break through that wall on your own.

■ My bags are "waste"

The bags I make
prioritize design and a distinct worldview over functionality and convenience.

They're heavy, they don't hold much, and they're hard to get.

Even so—
can I make people think, "I want to carry this bag"?
That's where I pour all my effort.

In other words,

Not carrying a bag because you need one,
but "carrying a bag because you want to"

I want my bags to be something people feel that way about.

■ Waste adds spice to life

Speaking of bags—
nobody reacts to someone carrying a bag chosen for convenience.

But with my bags,
people often stop me and say,
"What is that bag!?"

That's because a "story" that moves the heart dwells in the parts that seem like waste.

■ Finally, to you

Enjoy doing useless things.
Try taking a detour.
Take your time to think.

That alone makes life richer, deeper and more beautiful.

I hope you, too,
will savor, if only a little,
the luxury of "enjoying waste."

■ Profile

Katsuyuki Tanaka
Head of leather works KATSUYUKI TANAKA.
An artisan and designer who taught himself bag making entirely on his own and now creates bags priced at several million yen and up.
Brand concept: "Rebellious bags engraved with an indomitable spirit."

With a unique aesthetic that brings casual materials into formal designs,
he hand-stitches "one-of-a-kind" full-tannin leather bags.

Valuing "why you carry it" and "why you make it" over efficiency and mass production,
he creates each piece with his whole soul
for people who trust their own sensibility and imitate no one.