Some More History: Money money money!

I've talked about the barber manual written by Kousuke Iwasaki before, I know, and I'd love to share the whole thing with you but there seem to be trouble with the rights. But there is SOMETHING I'd like to share.
One of the more fascinating tidbits in this manual, written in 1964 for a trade school, is the final page: a catalog of professional goods sold by Iwasaki's Sanjou City workshop.


(Image taken from "Skilful Blacksmith S. Iwasaki World", copyright holder unknown)

Not only does it give information about WHAT was considered necessary shaving equipment for a professional barber, but also it gives the prices, leading to all kinds of interesting comparisons with current market values.

I'm not uploading any original images, but here is the most interesting information:
Tamahagane Razor....1 piece.....3,500 JPY
Tamahagane Wakamisori....1 Piece....800 JPY
#30 Razor....1 piece....1,700 JPY
Carbon Steel Wakamisori....1 Piece....430 JPY
CrOx powder....1 packet, 110g....100 JPY
Handmade Strop, "Elephant" brand....1 piece....800 JPY

"Lenz" Metallurgist's Microscope (300X)...1 piece...15,000 JPY
Honzan Hone for Razors....1,000~4,000 JPY
Honzan Hone for Wakamisori....2,000~10,000 JPY
Small form Honzan....200~500 JPY
Nagura....200~1,000 JPY

(Translated form the Japanese, taken from "Honing Razors and Wakamisori", by Kousuke Iwasaki, copyright 1964)


(Image taken from "Skilful Blacksmith S. Iwasaki World", copyright holder unknown)

Now looking at these prices, at first glance one thing pops into my head..."Holy CRAP those are some cheap razors!". At current exchange ratez, 3,500 JPY (for a Tamahagane razor) is about US$38. Less than a tank of gas. And 800 JPY for a Tamahagane Wakamisori?! That's like $10! Compare that to the $400-$500 that an Iwasaki Tamahagane Kamisori costs these days, and it numbs the mind a bit.




But, of course, this list is nearly 40 years old, and the economy has changed quite a lot since then. The challenge, then, becomes how to get a sense of what these things costs back then, in a meaningful way.

Luckily, I found this site: Measuring Worth. It uses all kinds of complex mind-breaking math to compare the costs of things on several different indices, so that you can get a sense of what the real value of something was a long time ago. Now, the data only goes up to 2008, but it's close enough. So, in 2008 Yen, here we have the value of 3,500 JPY from 1964:

15,200.00 ¥ using the Consumer Price Index
13,000.00 ¥ using the GDP deflator
38,700.00 ¥ using the average monthly wage
45,800.00 ¥ using the nominal GDP per capita
12,400.00 ¥ using the real GDP per capita
60,100.00 ¥ using the nominal GDP

Of course, you see the problem--we have a HUGE disparity. From 12,400 JPY to 60,100 JPY. IN US$, that would be like $120-$600. NOT a small jump. So we have to decide what the proper index is. The site, Measuring worth, breaks it down like this:

A Commodity. If your are asking about the "present worth" of buying a loaf of bread or filling the gas tank 40 years ago, are you thinking in terms of the amount of money you are spending today on such things? If so, use the price index of the average household called the CPI (RPI for the UK.) On the other hand, if you are wondering how "affordable" this would be to the average person, use the GDP per capita, or a wage or average earnings index. For the US, we have an index of unskilled wage and for the UK we have an index of average earnings.

In 1968, the average price of a gallon of gasoline in the US was 34 cents. Compared to other things that the average consumer bought that year, this would be comparable to $2.03 using the CPI index for 2007. As to how "affordable" it is to the average person, 34 cents in 1968 would correspond to spending $3.44 out of an average income by using the GDP per capita index.

Since this is a retail good, even though it's for professional use, then the most applicable indices would be the CDI or the GDP per capita...still, though, it's a massive range. However, that sense of "affordability" appeals to me, so let's go for the GDP per capita..."real", not "nominal", because real things are good.

So, the 3,500 JPY Tamahagane razor in 1964 is like a 12,400 JPY razor today. Or, something like US$130. For a new, high-level straight razor, pretty cheap actually. Dovo has several more expensive than that...and for Tamahagane? Well, I'd have a few...

But then we get to that Tamahagane Wakamisori. This is a little different situation, because there just so happen to be Iwasaki Tamahagane Kamisori on the market...and they cost somewhere in the neighborhood of 60,000-70,000 JPY. That 1964 price of 800 JPY would be 2,830JPY according to the above listed Real GDP comparison. Now THAT, I can not explain...I mean, there are very few people making tamahagane wakamisori these days, that might help with SOME of the difference, but...wow.

Then, of course, there are the hones. A razor hone for 1,000-4,000 JPY...Here, "razor hone" would mean a Honzan hone in the "Razor shape", about 13.5cmx8.5cm. I have a couple of these myself, and they are a nice size...and you know the weird thing? I've seen them for roughly the same price. I mean, between 1,000 and 4,000 JPY...I bought one myself for 1,200 JPY and it is a fantastic hone. Now, a "Maruka" stamped razor hone (the top rated hones) would go for somewhere between 10,000 and 20,000 JPY these days, quite a bit mroe, but using the site, we see that the prices would run between 3,540 JPY and 14,300 JPY...so there really isn't a huge difference there. Interesting, as the mines for these hones have been closed for 30 years...you'd think the diminishing supply would drive prices up a bit more than that...odd...

So there you have a glimpse into the barbering world of 1964 Japan. It's interesting...and there is more, of course, I could get into. Like that microscope! Talk about expensive! And the fact that in 1964, they were using things (a microscope, CrOx powder) to hone razors that people are STILL arguing about today. Pretty cool stuff.