In Pacific Standard magazine, Mary Duff recently wrote a fun, fascinating column about tractor-trailers and other trucks in Japan.

They’re driven by the equivalent of those with CDL driver jobs here in the U.S.

Alos, just as in the U.S., the Japanese trucks at times reflect a unique subculture replete with artistry and personality.

Overall, in her story, Duff explores Japanese trucks’ elaborate decor—an art form called dekotora, meaning “decorated truck.”

Therefore, the content makes for an ideal Fun Friday piece

“As with many cultural artifacts, the Japanese took the truck and expressed it and enlarged it. They raised it to what we consider an architectural form through the art of dekotora.”

Japanese tractor-trailers gilded with chrome, neon lights and painting

“Also, dump trucks and garbage trucks get this treatment too,” Duff writes. “The Japanese originated this art form and style in the 1970s. A decade that saw the emergence of trucking subculture in the mainstream.”

Overall, the dekotora movement inspired by 10 Japanese movies from the 1970s, called Torakku Yarō.