>And yes the
>Japanese do a great job of producing high quality mass
>produced products.They set the industry standard for
>this.Rare,Limited,one of a kind,are words that do not
>describe their products.
>sam lingo,pleasanton tx
It seems like this broad generalization can be said about practically any industrialized country in the world. Finely crated hand built bikes are rare everywhere nowadays when you compare them to the general marketplace. Look more carefully and I think you'll find as many finely hand crafted items in Japan as in other country with a similar economy. They may be in categories of products that are not of interest to the mainstream in our culture.
Temples, woodworking, calligraphy, textiles, bladecraft, pottery, ........the list goes on. Many of these crafts are made "invisible" by the blinding glare of corporate advertising for mass produced products. How many of the many fine small shop framebuilders here in the US get any press? - Not many.
Roman Stankus
Atlanta, Ga.