Japan and the United Kingdom are both island countries, and are affected by ocean climate factors. They are rainy countries. Umbrellas are inseparable from rain. Umbrellas have become essential for daily life in these two countries. However, due to the different cultural backgrounds of these two countries, the umbrella culture presents very different connotations and charms: the Japanese pay attention to practicality, technology and culture, and strive to explore the functions of their high-quality life; the British pay attention to its decoration. Do your best to show people’s spiritual temperament.
Japanese people use umbrellas from their needs. Those office workers who come and go in a hurry, regardless of men and women, often carry umbrellas in their hands or under their arms. No matter where you go, there are umbrellas for sale in large and small shops. A handful of two to three hundred yen is like a Chinese buying a popsicle to the Japanese with a monthly salary of at least two to three million yen. You can borrow umbrellas from the front desk at any time when you stay in a hotel. I didn’t expect to return it when I borrowed it. However, the Japanese are very particular about credit, and very few of them are not returned.
Japanese people rarely carry wet umbrellas indoors. This is not a rule, but a habit that people have cultivated for a long time to clean. At the gates of almost all institutions, one or two wooden boxes or iron barrels are placed all year round. People throw their umbrellas inside when they go to work, and the long handles are exposed outside. They don’t need to distinguish when they are off work, just copy them and leave. At the entrance of a store, one or several wooden shelves are most commonly placed, with holes with locks and keys on the shelves. The customer inserts the umbrella into the hole after entering the door, and the key is turned to lock it. When leaving, the customer unlocks and takes away his umbrella, and the key is automatically left in the keyhole. Sometimes it is found that the umbrella left by the customer will not be picked up for a few days, and the shopkeeper will put a notice on the umbrella shelf: If it is not picked up within 5 days, the shop will handle it by itself. Some shops have set machines and set barrels at the door. When a customer enters the store, he inserts the umbrella into the machine, and the umbrella is automatically wrapped in a plastic sleeve. In this way, customers can bring umbrellas into the store. When you leave the store, if you don’t need to open an umbrella, you can take the cover with the umbrella. If it is still raining, the dropped cover can be discarded in a bucket to prevent white pollution.
The Japanese are meticulous and conscientious, and there is so much attention to the use of a small umbrella. Japan’s basic science is very advanced, and practical technology is also very advanced. A basic research result is quickly transformed into practical technology, transformed into products, and marketed. Therefore, the combination of technology and practicality, such as umbrellas with TV, umbrellas that can be photographed, umbrellas that can listen to music, and stocks Umbrellas and other multifunctional umbrellas emerge in endlessly.
Located on the east side of the Atlantic Ocean, Britain is affected by the warm ocean currents and is warm and rainy all year round. After the spring, the rain began to continue. In summer, there is more rain, and it always comes and goes fast. Therefore, it is a British life habit to bring an umbrella when it rains. It will hold up as soon as the rain comes and put it away as soon as the rain passes.
It is said that the British started using umbrellas in the 17th century. The legendary inventor of the umbrella is Robinson Crusoe, the protagonist of the novel Robinson Crusoe written by Daniel Defoe. He survived a shipwreck in the sea and fell on a deserted island, using branches and leaves to make a wind and rain umbrella. By the late 18th century, people who had read this novel followed suit. Therefore, the earliest umbrella in Britain is called “Robinson’s Umbrella”. In the beginning, the umbrella was quite criticized, saying that “rains in the sky are for letting people get wet” and that the umbrella is “defying the will of heaven.” Later, there were more and more people holding umbrellas, and some high-ranking officials still refused to follow the customs, believing that umbrellas are a shelter for the poor and horse-drawn carriages are a symbol of noble status. By the beginning of the 19th century, it is said that the famous British general, the Duke of Wellington, used an umbrella when he went to the battlefield. Queen Victoria gave a luxuriously decorated umbrella several times as a diplomatic gift. At the same time, he also accepted more luxurious umbrellas from others. It became popular in the UK.
In modern times, some British men always like to carry long black umbrellas. Black represents solemnity, while long handles imply elegance. They either slung the umbrella on their left arm or carried it upside down in their right hand. The umbrella in this hand is not so much rain proof, as it is to show a gentlemanly demeanor. The umbrella at this time has lost its original function and has become a noble symbol. In the works of classic novelists such as Dickens, Thackeray, and Hardy, and in comic magazines such as “Dumb”, there is no shortage of such characters. Over time, wearing a top hat and holding an umbrella have become the traditional attire and classic style of a British gentleman.
Of course, any tradition will develop and change over time. Today’s British people also unconsciously give umbrellas a new humanistic touch. During the drizzle, on the lawns of London’s Thames or Hyde Park, boys and girls can often be seen cuddling and embracing under an umbrella, or sorrowing love, or kissing and hugging… If umbrellas used to be used for decoration Or set off some people’s gentlemanly demeanor, and now it has become a tool for many people to vent their romantic feelings.
