When the topic turns to "Cool Japan" and the various related efforts to capitalize on Japan's indubitable cultural capital internationally, commendation — or more frequently the lack thereof — is easy to come by. The question of how Japan markets its own culture domestically, however, is a largely forgotten dimension, but one that may play a part in making Cool Japan actually cool. Evidenced by the waves of 19th-century Japonism, the outbreaks of otaku (fanboy and fangirl culture) overseas in the 1980s and even the current crop of inbound shoppers, Japan has historically done remarkably well out of focusing internally and letting the resultant culture speak for itself.

Tokyo's bi-annual Rooms fashion and lifestyle trade show that ran Feb. 17 to 19 conflicts with New York Fashion Week and is one month away from March's Tokyo Fashion Week, so it is here that you are more likely to find international exhibitors looking to bait the local market rather than interested journalists from abroad. But aside from the international brands, the show boasts a bevy of domestic talent from its some 500 strong line-up, and this includes the kind of niche technology and serious traditional goods that come packaged with not only a pamphlet, but in many cases a live demonstration. Visitors get to not only see the product but learn where it was made, how it was crafted and by who. This is not a condescending explanation given out of an expectation of ignorance but rather a matter-of-course one for a Japanese potential buyer, with the rare international visitors reportedly well-catered for with translated documents.

Further proof that context is king, you only have to look to the Rooms' Chara Chara area where brands are the kind unfamiliar to even the average Japanese fashion-industry insider, unless they are particularly plugged into the Tokyo underground. Helmed by ebullient creative director Ichiro Nakazaki, it is in this section you find the extremes and extroverts of the fashion scene peddling fashion quite literally brimming with character.