Japan Secrets
Japan Unlocked: Secrets & Mysteries Revealed [ Part 2 ]
Sculpting Balance: Lessons from the Bonsai Tree
Beyond its beauty, what do you observe when you gaze upon a bonsai tree? You witness perfect balance. However, once maintenance stops, this equilibrium quickly weakens. Almost daily care and pruning are essential to uphold this balance.
The bonsai reflects you. Dedicate time to work on yourself daily. Prune your branches for continual growth.
Zen and Balanced Asymmetry
Zen is finding comfort in imperfection, recognizing that life, with all its joys and sorrows, is intertwined with suffering and mortality. Instead of imposing rigid symmetry and disrupting the natural order, the Japanese philosophy encourages the pursuit of balance within existing asymmetry—a concept known as 'balanced asymmetry.' It involves seeking harmony within chaos, a principle embodied by the Japanese garden. Rather than adhering to perfect symmetry, the garden exemplifies balance through intentional asymmetry.
Blossoming Beyond Muddy Waters: The Lotus Metaphor of Human Resilience
The lotus, celebrated for thriving in muddy waters yet retaining its beauty and purity, serves as a powerful metaphor for the human experience. Its unique quality of blooming exquisitely amid muddy origins symbolizes the transcendence of attachment, illustrating the human capacity to rise above challenges and maintain inner purity despite external complexities.
The Japanese Garden's Seamless Transitions
Typically, gardens are characterized by separators, barriers, or walls at their ends, yet a distinctive feature of Japanese gardens is the absence of such structures.
Instead, the garden seamlessly integrates with the main path, flowing from the water, perhaps emphasizing the intentional lack of barriers between the natural territory and the human territory.
Envisioning Possibilities: The Beauty of Minimalism
When details are deliberately omitted, the viewer is prompted to envision various possibilities; perhaps picturing a turning mountain path obscured by mist. The act of imagining becomes integral, as the viewer actively constructs the missing details in their mind.
Embracing minimalism not only results in aesthetically pleasing but also cultivates a profound and spiritually enriching experience, emphasizing the powerful interplay between suggestion and interpretation.
Hints of The People Through Architecture
The windows of the Machiya townhouses feature vertically barred or lattice windows, often covered with a layer of straw dividers, creating an almost opaque effect instead of using open, transparent glass. These windows are intentionally designed to facilitate discreet observation from the inside without revealing the viewer's presence.
In this context, architecture serves as a mirror reflecting the cultural nuances and subtly offering insights into its people.
Japanese people tend to communicate indirectly and non-confrontationally, often employing layered expressions. Operating within a high-context society, Japan relies on context to deduce meanings and behaviors from messages.
In such societies, understanding is primarily conveyed from speaker to listener, expecting the latter -the listener- to grasp implied meanings or 'read the air.' The practice of "Kuuki o yomu," or reading the air, forms the foundation of indirect communication in Japan.
Urban Forests in Japanese Alleys
While you might see an alley, some might see a forest—an urban forest.
What are the common feelings that you experience both in a narrow Japanese alley and a forest?
Hidden discoveries, tranquility, Spatial constraints that evoke a sense of intimacy, and a play of light and shadow.
In these alleys, signs, banners, cables, and vertical elements weave together, echoing the delightful randomness found in a forest.
Integrity and Toilets
Tourists are known to get fascinated by how clean public Japanese toilets always are. Beyond mere hygiene, this pristine cleanliness serves as a tangible manifestation of the cultural virtue of integrity.
In Japan, maintaining a spotless environment, even in the most private spaces, is deeply ingrained in the societal ethos. This commitment to cleanliness extends beyond the public eye, mirroring the integrity inherent in one's actions when no one is watching.
Delving into the Forest for Nuanced Understanding
Each year, enthusiastic climbers gather to conquer iconic peaks such as Mount Fuji in Tokyo and Mount Daimonji in Kyoto. Standing at the foot of those mountains, a sense of adventure accompanies the gaze upwards.
Progressing through the hike, the initial, charming perspective transforms into a nuanced understanding of the landscape. What appeared serene and ideal from the mountain's base reveals its true nature—complete with challenges, twists, and turns. In a parallel, one must delve deeper into the metaphorical "forest" before passing judgment on Japan or any other country, emphasizing the importance of experiencing and understanding from within rather than through an external lens.
Warriors Crawling Like Babies
In the past, warriors used to enter the traditional Japanese teahouse through a small window. It is often thought that they would crawl in like babies, adopting a humble posture reminiscent of infants, before engaging in the tea ceremony. This practice eliminated graded distinctions, fostering a sense of equality where everyone inside, regardless of status, resembled infants sipping milk.
Why Do Many Japanese Roofs Tilt Upwards at the Ends?
Why do many Japanese roofs tilt upwards at the ends?
Firstly -and in some interpretations- this serves a practical purpose by directing water away from the wooden structure, as wood and water don't harmonize well.
Secondly, it may be considered beneficial for the overall structural integrity.
Lastly, some believe that there's a purely aesthetic aspect to it – the Japanese may have believed it enhances visual appeal, making it not just functional but also pleasing to the eye.
Embracing Duality
In Japanese temples, statues of guardians often sport fierce expressions, raising the question of why anger is portrayed in a space dedicated to peace.
Many sources suggest that this duality is a fundamental concept in Buddhism, illustrating that peace is inherently linked with the acknowledgment of anger.
It mirrors the idea that the Buddha sits on a lotus flower – a symbol of beauty emerging from muddy waters. In essence, without suffering, there is no beauty.
The analogy extends to life itself, suggesting that building beautiful things, be it in business or family, requires effort and a degree of suffering.
Minimalist Majesty: Celebrating Nature's Inherent Beauty
Observe the natural beauty in the wood grain; its designer was nature, with minimal human intervention.
Minimalism, as nature's brush, allows elements to reveal their innate beauty without imposing patterns or designs.
The same principle applies to washi paper used in Japanese shoji sliding screens, where the natural grain stands out without imposed drawings.
Minimalism is not about having less but embracing the simple yet supreme beauty inherent in nature.
Crafting a Masterpiece from Cypress Tree Bark
Admire the craftsmanship of the roof crafted from cypress tree bark.
Someone actually climbed the trees, carefully peeled the outer layers, and transported the peel to a factory. There, it underwent thorough washing and precision cutting into standardized modules.
In essence, every step in the process attests to the dedication and artistry involved in transforming nature's elements into the breathtaking masterpiece above.
A Mini World That You Can Control
Japan is famous for its bonsai, resembling miniature trees, but there's more. The white pebbles in a Japanese garden symbolize oceans, creating a miniaturized oceanic representation. The arrangement of rocks and moss beds signifies islands and mountains, with an upright rock mimicking a mini-mountain. The moss, a signature plant in Japanese gardens, even resembles a tiny bush.
These components come together to craft a garden that mirrors a miniature world. As a result, the Japanese garden condenses the vastness of our world, rendering it more accessible—a balanced creation within our control.
Creating Order in a Vuca Reality
We reside in a VUCA world, one marked by Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity, leaving us with a sense of little control.
Yet, behold the garden—a realm of contained order and personal equilibrium, isolated from the chaos outside. In certain facets of our lives—through our work and the ideas we cultivate—we can forge our own balance. Beyond the untamed wilderness and the inherent aggressiveness of nature’s elements, we have the power to construct our own harmonious garden.
The Tatami Module
The tatami mat (around 1.8 meters by 0.9 meters) serves as the foundational module dictating the entire structure. Inspired by the dimensions of a person, it comfortably accommodates various sitting positions, closely mirroring human height and slightly exceeding shoulder width.
Inviting the Mountain
Observe your surroundings. Everything appears seamlessly integrated with nature. By strategically obstructing the view of adjacent buildings with trees on the edges of the garden, we welcome the mountain into the garden. This concept, known as Shakkei, creates an illusion where the distant mountain becomes an extension of the garden. Suddenly, the entire world seems to belong to us.
Finding Tranquility in Imperfection: The Essence of Zen
Zen is finding ease in imperfection, rooted in mindfulness and simplicity. It entails gracefully accepting life's irregularities without resistance, urging individuals to cultivate tranquility by letting go of the pursuit of perfection and appreciating the beauty within imperfections.
Unnecessary Noise
In Japan, the cultural inclination towards cleanliness and order means that an excess of public trash cans may be viewed as potentially disrupting the aesthetic harmony, emphasizing the delicate balance between practicality and maintaining a visually uncluttered environment.
That is why having an abundance of public trash cans in Japan might be perceived as generating unnecessary noise or clutter.
Mirrors and Self-Awareness
Mirrors in Shinto shrines symbolize purity and self-reflection, embodying spiritual clarity and heightened self-awareness. They serve as sacred instruments inviting individuals to gaze inward and connect with their authentic selves.
Tobi-Ishi and Present-Moment Awareness
The Japanese stepping stones, or "tobi-ishi," embody the essence of mindfulness and present-moment awareness. Strategically arranged, these stones compel individuals to focus on each step, fostering an acute awareness of their surroundings and encouraging visitors to be fully present in the moment.