[Ads-l] monozukuri

[Barretts Mail]

Also spelled as monodzukuri and monodukuri for historical/linguistic reasons.

Wikipedia has an article (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monodzukuri <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monodzukuri>) but neither Wiktionary nor the Oxford English Living Dictionaries list it.

According to “MONOZUKURI -- ANOTHER LOOK AT A KEY JAPANESE PRINCIPLE" (http://www.japanintercultural.com/en/news/default.aspx?newsid=88 <http://www.japanintercultural.com/en/news/default.aspx?newsid=88>) by Patricia Pringle, the word had been in use only about 15 years when she wrote the article in 2010.

https://www.allaboutlean.com/monozukuri/ <https://www.allaboutlean.com/monozukuri/>
A better translation would be “manufacturing; craftsmanship; or making things by hand.”

https://www.nippon.com/en/currents/d00181/ <https://www.nippon.com/en/currents/d00181/>
Japanese companies both large and small have had a strong focus on manufacturing craftsmanship, or monozukuri.

http://www.theworldfolio.com/news/monozukuri-the-japanese-way-of-instilling-values-of-responsibility-and-consequence-for-the-world-at-large/4176/ <http://www.theworldfolio.com/news/monozukuri-the-japanese-way-of-instilling-values-of-responsibility-and-consequence-for-the-world-at-large/4176/>
Monozukuri embodies the spirit of excellence and emphasizes more on the process of the item being made and less on the qualities of the person making it. 

All of these articles include a definition of the word and therefore are poor indicators of use; nevertheless, given the drive toward lean manufacturing in the US, I think it’s safe to say this has probably entered the manufacturing industry as jargon.

Benjamin Barrett
Formerly of Seattle, WA
------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org