e Allied Command to quickly design 30 items of furniture, and manufacture 9,000 pieces, for the houses of the occupying force. At the same time, electrical appliances, such as washing machines and refrigerators, were made in Japan "on the model of American products" (Sato 239). In the course of this two-year project, the Japanese became quite familiar with American technology and design. As a result, the Japanese adopted much of the Western style of living, "which they have not abandoned since' (Sato 239).
In the early 1950s, Japanese universities began to offer a few courses in industrial design. At the same time, MITI sent a few students abroad. Because of the lack of money, and the urgency of the national mission, these students entered "four-year programs of study [that were] shortened to one-year" (Hirano 54). On their return, they became teachers. The frantic pace of postwar production meant that graduating designers were "immediately swallowed up" by the emerging manufacturing giants, such as Mitsubishi and Hitachi (Sato 239). The funct
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