Japonisme

Ikigai, Forest Bathing, Wabi-sabi and more

Erin Niimi Longhurst

• Publisher: Harper Thorsons
• Year: 2018
• ISBN:
  9780008286057
• Topic: Philosophy
• Subtopic: Eastern Philosophy

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02

Karada

体

The body

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Contentment and mindfulness are often achieved through ritual and practice. By going through the motions and by letting your creative juices flow, you can find clarity – bringing things into perspective and focus.

Whether it’s going for a walk, making tea, arranging flowers – these simple actions and many more can reveal so much about who you are and about your relationships, not only with others, but with yourself.

I called this section karada, or the body, because it’s all about the physical – through movement, through art or by taking in your immediate environment and surroundings.

I never thought of myself or my family as being particularly traditional, but I was pleasantly surprised when I began to write this section to realise just how much Japanese traditions and customs have, in fact, been incorporated into our daily lives: my grandfather’s wanderings around his much-loved Kamakura Highland area, among the mountains and hills; my Aunt Junko’s forays into the art of flower arranging (ikebana); my grandmother, Motoko’s, love of calligraphy; and my mother’s younger sister, Taeko’s, lifelong practice of tea ceremony.

Food is a big passion of mine. It’s what made me begin writing about and sharing my experiences in the first place, and it’s something I got from my mother, a keen and skilled cook. Speaking to my family about why they loved calligraphy, ikebana and tea ceremony, and valued shinrin-yoku (forest bathing), and how it all fits into their busy and chaotic lives, made me appreciate it all so much more than I ever did before.

Done in the traditional and authentic way, these Japanese arts and practices require years of dedication, learning from masters in their respective fields and a great deal of investment, of both money and time. Like all good things, they can’t be rushed, but it’s definitely worth persevering. Becoming an advanced practitioner in an ancient Japanese art like ikebana or tea ceremony is probably out of reach for most of us on a practical level (unless you are based in Japan), but there are so many things we can learn, adapt and incorporate into our lives on a smaller, more realistic (not to mention more convenient) level.

© Peter Nguyen on Unsplash

© Gaelle Marcel on Unsplash

In Part Two, we’ll take a look at the benefits behind well-known activities like shinrin-yoku, ikebana and onsen, bathing in hot springs, as well as things like our approach to food, and what you can learn about the way it is done in Japan. The aim is, through all these and other practices, like calligraphy, to find inspiration for how you can shape your surroundings, transform your home and learn to appreciate the smaller things (such as how satisfying a good cup of tea can be).

Taking the time to get to know yourself is vital, and these arts and practices are just some of the ways in which you can do so. Many of them, like flower arranging, forest bathing or calligraphy, are more solitary pursuits. They put you in touch with yourself, but can also be shared with others (they can be put on display, discussed or brought into a wider community or network). If you aren’t able to take the time for yourself, you won’t be able to help others effectively; it’s about knowing and believing that it is not selfish or indulgent to prioritise this aspect of your life.

© Nassima Rothacker

Shinrin-yoku

Nourished by nature

Shinrin-yoku is a term originally coined by the Japanese Ministry for Agriculture in the 1980s to describe the practice of healing through being immersed in nature, or ‘forest bathing’.

Countless scientific studies have proven the importance of being surrounded by nature and trees, and the practice is widely accepted as having tangible therapeutic value. It doesn’t take a scientist to tell you that going on a walk can help improve your overall health, but it’s the mindset you go in with that makes the practice of shinrin-yoku so effective.

Although I now live in central London, I walk everywhere. Whether it’s by the canals or crossing the bustling pavements of the bridge over the Thames to get to work, it helps me get into the right headspace and is often the highlight of my mornings. Feeling the sun on your face or the wind in your hair, even if only for a little bit, can be so refreshing. This is the feeling that you are chasing through shinrin-yoku: being healed by nature. And it works wonders.

There is a phrase in Japan – another one of those seemingly untranslatable aphorisms: kachou fuugetsu. Separately, the characters are ‘flower, bird, wind and moon’, but together, they are greater than the sum of their parts, describing something far more powerful and emotive. Kachou fuugetsu most commonly translates as learning about yourself through experiencing the beauty of nature. I think there is something so charming – almost restorative – in that sentiment: knowing your place in the world and taking it back to basics.

Ideally, you want to be surrounded by greenery – trees, in particular. Japan is home to some beautiful forests, and the Japanese are famous for their gardens. Think of being out in nature as being similar to your daily allocation of fruit or vegetables; it’s a type of nourishment or medicine, counteracting your hectic and stressful day-to-day or nine to five.

Your Six-step Guide to Shinrin-yoku

1. Leave your devices at home

In order to be properly immersed in nature, and get the full benefits of shinrin-yoku, you need to switch off (and that means from Instagram, too) all devices from mobile phones to fitness trackers – anything that is going to send you push notifications or detract from being in the moment, causing your mind to wander elsewhere. Stay in the forest, both physically and mentally. Whatever it is that is beckoning you from elsewhere, it can wait until your return.

2. Don’t follow a set path

Taking in your surroundings – the sights, sounds and smells – is all part of the healing process. You don’t want to be distracted or become stressed, flustered or obsessed with following a set path or seeing a particular landmark or site. Leave the ordnance survey maps at home. If you do stumble across that landmark on your way, that’s great – but it’s not an essential part of the excursion.

3. Soak up the atmosphere

Actively engage with the landscape around you, and keep your eyes off your watch. Identify different plant or tree varieties, count the number of rings in the trunk of a tree … Shinrin-yoku isn’t about getting from A to B, but savouring the moments and the stillness along the way. It’s about wanderin...