I'll have to "me too" the notion that many Japanese bikes and certain "drop bar style" bikes were the affordable introduction to road bikes for many of us as kids, and perhaps influenced more prestigious collections as adults.
I will never forget the Schwinn shop delivering my older brother's root beer brown Continental and his subsequent triumph as the first kid on our street to ride all the way up Safeway Hill under his own power. My brother didn't continue his love of cycling into adulthood quite the way I did, the Schwinn was a tank, but boy, you could go a lot father on that and faster than my Stingray.
Later, when I was old enough to ride my own 10 speed, Japanese built bikes were affordable mystique for me. I used to go drool over the Paramounts at the Schwinn shop in Corvallis Oregon, where I really learned to love cycling, but the bike I bought with my own money was a Schwinn World Sport, used, heavy, lugged Japanese gaspipe. It took me many miles and got me a ticket to that loaner Cinelli that I'll never forget. The brand new bike I bought was a Trek 5XX - Japanese equipped and 531, as much cool American as I could afford, but of course, a mainly Suntour group.
Since a lot of my interest in era lightweights, is recapturing the bikes I fell in love with in the late 70s and early 80s, I find myself drawn towards both the Italians and the Japanese. As I work on three different bike projects simultaneously right now, my non era Waterford, my era Japanese Mystery Bike and the Montelatici, I find myself feeling the same "Mojo" I got from the bikes of my youth.
I believe that era Shimano parts may not have the same cachet as my era Campy parts, but they work just as nicely and polish up pretty. They cost me less on Ebay too : ) I never thought twice about building up my Trek 730 with the NR it could have come with. I went era Shimano 600 7 speed and it works very well.
The Japanese make nice stuff and I think that they really did a fine job crafting bicycles in the CR timeline. Take another look at the Koga Miyatas and the Fujis. If you all don't want 'em, well more for me!
Ann Phillips, Atlanta GA Ironic that tonight is the first day of Spring in the midst of all this craziness