As soon as I got onto the elevator of the Edo Tokyo Museum, the unique art style and the brilliant combination of colours caught my eye. The art style was supposedly traditional Japanese style Edo era oil paintings but the clothings and accessories of the subjects in the paintings can be spotted wearing clothes of the Victorian era (18th century)England.

I believe that the artist meant for the subjects and the clothings to symbolize the best of both Eastern and Western cultures; especially the Meiji Restoration; the  transition period from Edo Era to Meiji era.

Japan is the perfect example of continuous improvement (kaizen) a world-class leading technological innovator in the upcoming 4th industrial revolution; the era of artifical intelligence, nanotechnology and auto-piloted vehicles while maintaining the evidences of a rich, sophisticated history and centuries-old culture with extra care at the same time.

I believe that like Japan in England, the Victorian Era too was a period of great technological progress, especially in the industrialized West. The rapid industrialization and modernization of Japan both allowed and required a massive increase in production and infrastructure.

But Japan made a good use of the available Western resources and

by adapting the techniques, the nation renovated its economical and political infrastructures and rose to power in the 20th century. The nation has remained one of the world’s largest industrial nations every since.