To the Japanese any physical object is more than simple matter as it contains the presence of the some ''being''. Thus for the Japanese, packaging is not made merely to cover a piece of physical matter, but it is meant to house the ''being'' present there as well. This depth psychology of the Japanese results in the anthropomorphism of all objects and gives rise to ideas such as that things are attempting to escape from the constraints of their packaging and so forth.

The presence of both the traditional and modern aspects in the work of a single designer is one of the unique characteristics of Japanese designers. Thus the same designer sometimes creates designs that are extremely traditional and at other times produces highly modern, Western style designs. No Japanese designer, however, feels the slightest sense of contradiction in this phenomenon.