> I like the Japanese concept of Tsukumogami[0], where certain objects that live to be 100 years old become imbued with a soul.

I feel like cars tend to do it much, much sooner, given how short their life is. :-)

My personal and private belief is that once I have owned an item for a while, I give it a portion of my own soul. The "personality" doesn't have to match mine, or have any desirable traits, but it is there, it is because I am, and I'm shaping the thing by my own usage patterns.