Why Isolation is the Secret to Uniqueness

Sakoku for the mind

Trains that run like clockwork. Hedgehog cafes. Capsule hotels. Ear-cleaning parlors. Vending machines that offer anything from manga to hot coffee to panties. Limited edition Kit Kats. The delicate craft of repairing broken pottery (‘kintsugi’). Rice paddy art.

Japan is without doubt one of the most popular tourist destinations. It is a deeply memorable place to visit because it’s different. It’s weird. It’s quirky. It’s beautiful, of course, but there are many things about Japan that are just unforgettably unique compared to the rest of the world. Why?

Japan is an island. Not just geographically, but also psychologically, culturally, and spiritually. And the more isolated something is, the more different it becomes.

This is true for all kinds of evolution—in fact, this is exactly what Darwin’s finches demonstrated: the greater the distance between two species, the more different they became. The common ancestor who arrived on the Galápagos a few million years ago no longer exists, but…