Amid the shifting trends and fads that underlie the year-end holiday shopping binge in Japan, one item commands enduring and dogged fascination among retired baby boomers and others by conjuring up an enthusiasm for jazz from decades past.

Jazz fans have taken to buying vinyl Blue Note records that almost exactly re-create original recordings dating back to the 1950s. Vinyl junkies are apparently obsessed with the otherwise obsolete pressing technology that re-creates the original look and feel of the records–even though originals...