For years I kept pursuing happiness. If I get good grades will I become happy? If I get a good job will I become happy? If I get promoted? If I get married? If I own my business? If I get rich?
The moment I achieved my goal, it was not happiness but emptiness that crept on me.
“Today we are seeking happiness so vigorously that the very life of the planet is being threatened. All those people, who depend on external situations to be happy, will never know true joy in their lives.
Sadhguru
The quote above hit me hard. It had me redefine happiness 180 degrees.
Happiness is not to be pursued, but to be realized. Ever since I encountered the quote above, Every morning, I tell myself to be happy. I might face a tough negotiation that day. The stock market might have crashed the day before. I might have lost a person who is dear to me.
Regardless of the outside situations, I start the day with happiness in me. At least I try every morning, to remind myself that happiness is not a goal but the foundation of life.
The “Open Campus” program offered by TASK (Traditional Arts Super College of Kyoto) gave me another surprising opportunity in addition to making my own wooden pencil case.
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After a short presentation and a video introducing TASK, an instructor lead me and a teenage boy from the auditorium to the woodwork studio.
Photo by Author Akemi Sagawa
On the wooden table, two sets of small pieces of wood and tools were laid out. A chisel, a saw, a plane, glue, and sandpaper… When was the last time I touched these tools, or have I ever used a chisel or plane? The instructor was patient enough not to lose her cool until both of us completed the whole process. I planed the lid too much so that it was a little loose. Well, at least it looked decently rectangular of a pencil case. I think I understand why I didn’t become a master craftsperson.
It was Sunday, but several students were at the studio working on their own projects. According to the instructor, it was not uncommon to see students on weekends. I asked one of them if she enjoyed studying here. Her response of a powerful “yes!”
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This campus visit convinced me to make a proposal to the school, that Five Senses Foundation, the non-profit organization I run, would sponsor two students to spend a week in Seattle.
Why?
The students at TASK reminded me of myself a long time ago when I was in high school.
I spent one year in a small city in Pennsylvania as an exchange student. It was in the late seventies. There was no Internet, but we had TVs. I thought I knew the US pretty well, until I arrived.
The houses and the cars looked enormous. The ceiling of the living room was so high, and I had never seen such huge walls in a house. The dining table looked larger than the entire kitchen of my house in Japan. In the US, everything was huge!
There were and still are so many differences in lifestyle between the two countries. Seeing is believing. No TV program nor the book is sufficient. Firsthand experience is vital.
The domestic demand for Japanese traditional arts and crafts is dwindling. The industry must create demand outside Japan. The US remains the dominant economy, and it makes sense to market there. The first step is to understand the customers. I wanted the students at TASK to experience the US firsthand, as I did years ago.
No, Oda Nobunaga 織田信長 was not crazy to forgo the opportunity to grab the whole state in return for the little tea caddy.
Oda Nobunaga was the first samurai warlord who unified Japan. He took advantage of the valuable tea ceremony utensils and fervently collected them. He either bought them for excessive prices or took them by force from other samurai. Nobunaga’s tea utensil collection became enormous.
At the same time, Nobunaga forbade his subordinate samurai to perform tea gatherings without his permission. There were only six or so samurai who were granted this right. Nobunaga gave away his tea utensils as remuneration to his subordinates.
One time a samurai was granted a huge swath of land for his contribution, but he lamented that he was not granted a famous tea container instead.
For Nobunaga, the tea ceremony and tea utensils were useful tools, financially and politically, to achieve his ambition to eventually dominate all of Japan.
Moribana Style of Ohara School Ikebana: Photo by Author Akemi Sagawa
While Japan closed its doors to the world from the early 17th century until the late 19th century, Ikebana became prevalent among people in Japan. Not only the ruling samurai class but also the general public enjoyed arranging flowers.
Most houses in Japan had an alcove called Tokonoma, and people displayed Ikebana there. Since the alcove’s platform was low, people used a rather tall vase for their Ikebana.
Japan opened its country to the west in the late 19th century. The new Meiji government began to construct western-style buildings. Foreigners came in and started building western-style homes. These western-style buildings didn’t have Tokonokoma but were furnished with tables and chairs.
Ohara Unshin, the founder of Ohara School of Ikebana, realized that the way to display Ikebana arrangement needs to adapt to the new building style. Replacing the previously used tall vase with a small opening, he originated and actually designed the low, flat, wide-surfaced Moribana containers for the many colorful flowers from the West.
This new container shape greatly enlarged the scope of expression available to Ikebana. Moribana became the main style and contributed to the increasing popularity of Ikebana.
The invention of Moribana-style ikebana is one example of how innovation enables tradition to survive and thrive.
In 2019 in Seattle, the fifth-generation headmaster Ohara Hiroki performed an Ikebana demonstration wearing Microsoft Holo Lens. It was the world’s premier of combining the traditional Ikebana installation and cutting-edge mixed reality technology.
This innovative spirit of Ohara School is still alive today.
I enjoy the bright red foliage of anthurium in my living room. Yes, nowadays many more people are interested in indoor plants as a way to bring nature into their homes.
But I didn’t grow up with indoor plants at home in Japan. That doesn’t mean my parents weren’t nature lovers. Far from it. They used to grow bonsai trees, most of them azaleas, for years. Once in a while, my father would decorate the entrance with the beautiful bonsai tree, full in bloom. But as soon as the flowers were gone he took the bonsai tree back outside.
Why didn’t my parents keep bonsai trees indoors? Since I had no knowledge about growing bonsai trees, I googled and found out its general practice.
Usually, a bonsai tree is taken from nature, and the growing environment should be closer to its original place. In most places in Japan, there are distinct four seasons. In the cold winter, trees become dormant. If the bonsai tree is grown indoors all year round, it can’t be exposed to the natural rhythm and it won’t survive.
Nowadays we are living in comfortable conditions with temperature control all year round. Japan’s native plants are not suitable for such a condition, but tropical or semi-tropical plants are perfect.
Anthurium is from Central America. Monstera, another of my favorite indoor plant, is also native to Central America. So are many indoor plants. Without the advancement of global trade, the beautiful red foliage wouldn’t have reached my living room…
You don’t want to miss Kyoto when traveling to Japan. What exactly do you want to see there?
Yes, you can visit the impressive stage of Kyiyomizu Temple. Yes, you can take a selfie in that famous shrine with so many red torii gates. And yes, you may encounter real geishas who are wearing beautiful kimono.
But beyond its buildings or beautiful komono, what really makes Kyoto so special is those master craftspeople who are trained to make all the things you may admire.
For example, have you ever seen how those intricate Buddha statues are created? How the colorful kimonos are dyed? How the meticulous design of the bamboo basket is formed? You can see real people creating these beautiful items firsthand in the middle of the city of Kyoto.
When I visited the gallery, Ms Takako Nagasu was sitting cross-legged. Her samue jacket looked comfortable. On the right side of her laps were several wood carving knives with different shapes of tips. On her left side were photos of wooden statues. She was working on something, but when I approached her, her hands stopped and she greeted me with a warm smile.
“What are you doing here?” I asked. “I’m carving a small buddha statue.” “Is this what you do for a living?” “Yes, I learned Buddhist sculpture in college, and now I usually teach there. Today I’m here demonstrating how these statues are made.”
Photo by Author Akemi Sagawa
This statue that she made for her graduation exhibition won first prize in 2016. The Buddha statue is made of a single piece of wood (except for what he holds in his hands), the aureole of a separate piece, and the platform of another.
Carving Buddhist sculptures requires not only skills but also a wealth of knowledge of history. Ms. Nagasu told me that one of her highlights during her college days was studying the details of Japan’s Buddhist art history.
Her work is not merely a copy of old statues, however. Based upon her knowledge, her understanding, and her interpretation, a new Buddhist sculpture is born.
Not only watch the students’ work, but you can also ask any question regarding his/her work. The more you learn about the detailed process of how things are created, and how much precision and attention are devoted to creating the work of art, the more you appreciate their work.
Gallery of Kyoto Traditional Arts & Crafts is open to the public from 10 am – 5 pm except for Tuesday and Wednesday. I highly recommend visiting this place if you would like to enjoy a richer, deeper experience in Kyoto.
March is “Women’s History Month” in the US. Several major institutions join in commemorating and encouraging the study, observance, and celebration of the vital role of women in American history.
I would like to take this opportunity to learn more about women in history, especially in Japan. Contrary to what is commonly understood, I sense that women in Japan once enjoyed much more freedom, equality, and even power than modern day.
Hiratsuka Raicho 平塚雷鳥 (1886 – 1971) is well-known as the founder of Japan’s first all-women literary magazine, Seitō (青鞜, literally Bluestocking). The opening of the first issue of Seito was also a very famous line, “In the Beginning, Woman Was the Sun .（元始、女性は太陽であった）”
When Raicho wrote this statement in 1911, women in Japan didn’t have voting right. Much stricter social norm was imposed upon women than on men. Starting a magazine company run by all women must have been epoch making.
What is more intriguing for me, however, is her declaration. She reminded us of what the Japanese took for granted, that is, in Japanese mythology, the sun was a goddess, not a god.
Ancient Japanese people paid pretty impressive respect to women, don’t you think?
How samurais utilized tea utensils during the civil war in 16th-century Japan
A tea caddy: Photo by Author Akemi Sagawa
No, not this one in the photo above. (I use this for my everyday practice.) The real tea caddy in this story is now housed in Seikado Bunko Art Museum in Tokyo, Japan. You can see the photo on their website.
The tea caddy is small enough to hold in a palm. What’s a big deal about this tiny object, you might say. Well, it was really a big deal to possess it in the 16th– century Japan.
Known as “Tsukumo-nasu,” this eggplant-shaped tea caddy was made in the Southern Son-Yuan dynasty in China, 12th – 13th century.
Ashikaga Yoshimitsu 足利義満(1358-1408), the 3rd shogun who built the Golden Pavilion in Kyoto, used to own it. His grandson Ashikaga Yoshimasa足利義政 (1436-1490), the 8th shogun, gave it to one of his subordinates Yamana Masatoyo 山名政豊. One story says that Masatoyo was Yoshimasa’s lover.
It is said that Murata Juko 村田珠光 (1422 – 1503), the person who introduced the “wabi” concept to the tea ceremony, purchased this tea caddy from Yamana Masatoyo.
It is unknown how this tea caddy ended up in the hands of Matsunaga Hisahide 松永久秀 (1508 – 1577), a warlord who was ruling the state of Yamato.
When confronted by Oda Nobunaga 織田信長 (1534 – 1382), a powerful warlord who later became the first unifier of Japan, Hisahide presented this tea caddy as a gift to Nobunaga.
By giving up a little tea caddy, Hisahide saved both his own life and the state he ruled.
Was Oda Nobunaga crazy to forgo the opportunity to grab the whole state in return for the little tea caddy?
Ikenobo Style Flower Arrangement: Photo by Author Akemi Sagawa
Among so many different schools of Ikebana that exist today, Ikenobo池坊 is by far the oldest with over 600 years of history.
The spirit of Ikenobo, therefore, is the spirit of Ikebana as a whole. Even students of other Ikebana schools benefit by learning the spirit of Ikebana that Ikenobo teaches.
What is Ikenobo’s spirit?
Flowers are not only beautiful but also reflect:
The force of nature with which plants live in harmony.
The feelings in our own hearts, and
The passing of time.
In traditional styles of Ikenobo flower arrangement, branches represent mountains and flowers, water. Nothing exists in separation, but everything in nature exists in harmony. The arrangement is an expression of nature in an abstract form.
We humans are part of nature, and our feelings are also expressed through the arrangement.
With not only the flowers in full bloom but also hard buds, the arrangement expresses the impermanence of life.
The photo above is an example of an Ikenobo-style arrangement. I hope you enjoy it.
In ancient Japan, the ability to create wonderful poetry was indispensable for emperors and aristocrats to be politically successful.
What does poetry have to with politics, you may wonder. So do I! By learning ancient literature, this mystery might be solved.
Compiled in the 9th century, Kokin Wakashu 古今和歌集 was the first of 21 imperially-commissioned anthologies of Waka poetry. The fact that the imperial court officially commissioned it tells you how highly the ruling class in those days thought of Waka poetry.
The preface of this epoch-making anthology shows up in the 9th-grade textbook in Japan. I remember I hated memorizing it. Now I’m reading anew, and quite impressed.
Here I will share with you how the preface explains the relationship between nature and Waka poetry.
It is song that moves heaven and earth without effort, stirs emotions in the invisible spirits and gods, brings harmony to the relations between men and women, and calms the hearts of fierce warriors.
