On Muji

During a storm in NYC yesterday, my umbrella broke, causing me to get soaked while walking in the rain and wind. Frustrated, I vowed to avoid purchasing low-quality umbrellas from Amazon in the future. I visited Muji the next day and bought a high-quality umbrella from them instead.

Muji has become my go-to store for stationary, home goods, basic clothing, etc. If I need something at home, I assume Muji has it and they usually do. Personally, I also prefer their basic clothing line to Uniqlo because they primarily use natural materials compared to Uniqlo’s use of synthetics. Despite creating high-quality and reliable products they are still relatively affordable too.

Muji is short for Mujirushi Ryohin in Japanese, which means “no-brand quality goods.” While reading their About page, I found an interesting section explaining their philosophy:

This is because we do not make objects to entice responses of strong affinity, like, “This is what I really want” or, “I must have this.” MUJI’s goal is to give customers a rational satisfaction, expressed not with, “This is what I really want” but with “This will do.” “This is what I really want” expresses both faint egoism and discord, while “This will do” expresses conciliatory reasoning. In fact, it may even incorporate resignation and a little dissatisfaction. MUJI’s goal is to sweep away that slight dissatisfaction, and raise the level of the response,“This will do” to one filled with clarity and confidence.

The umbrella I bought from Muji was $15. It wasn’t expensive but compared to similar offerings on Amazon, Muji’s umbrella was much better. When I first saw the umbrella in the store, I didn’t think, “I must have this.” Instead, I thought, “This will do.” And that’s what I love about Muji. Their approach to designing products that are simple, succinct, and affordable is clear in their entire product line.