Annika Culver’s book “Democratizing Luxury: Name Brands, Advertising, and Consumption in Modern Japan” reveals how branding and advertising made high-quality “affordable luxury” goods desirable to a mass market in Japanese history.

Culver shows how brands across industries like cosmetics (Shiseido), whiskey (Suntory) and watches (Seiko, Casio) have imitated and then surpassed Western goods by creating a unique national identity through marketing and strategic pricing, including limited editions to boost desirability. With case studies ranging from the late 19th century to the present, Culver follows this evolution all the way to the “Cool Japan” era, with a focus on how middle-class women became key consumers and how “Japaneseness” itself became a marketed luxury.