Physical and ephemeral gestures in Japanese interior and their embodied potential to create a dialogue with nature

Abstract

In order to search for a sustainable design that cares for a harmonious coexisting, the essay wanders through traditional Japanese space where an interior world opens up, that is able to shift our mindset to the essential of being, our focus away from a human-centred view towards a dialogue with nature. In the interior numerous clues bear a constant reminder of the natural world and confront us with gestures that carry a kindness and gentleness towards the environment. Space and its perception is here defined by the acknowledgement, that humans are part of the natural world, not superior. Can the way we are seated or the stone on a shelf embody a power to think about our environment differently? Can the floor transcend our knowledge of what we believe lies beneath our bare feet? This essay explores these gestures not only regarding a mere physical character but outlines the transcendental and intangible, narrations that transcend time and knowledge with the potential to reposition the monologue of the human towards a dialogue with nature. It looks at them as potential of “Dasein,” as motor for change—to overcome the standing dichotomy between the natural world and the human.

Keywords:

• Ecology
• Japanese architecture
• space
• aesthetics
• philosophy
• yūgen
• nature
• zazen

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 These small gardens (tsuboniwas) are particularly part of the spatial concept in the traditional temples and machiyas (townhouses).

2 Throughout this text this refers mainly to the Heian (794 BCE–1185 CE) to Meiji (1868–1912 CE) period.

3 See Heidegger’s concept of Dasein (Being-there).

4 Baatz relates here to Kant’s idea of the critique of pure reason (Kritik der reinen Vernunft).

5 In contrast to other countries, as for instance China, where the chair has been made part of its culture since the Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE) (see e.g. Locher, 2010 51), sitting or living on the floor is still part of Japanese culture.

6 See. e.g. Han 2007; the use of the term in-between and its various forms of interpretations is a common form within the philosophical and architectural discussion of concepts within Japanese culture, like space, design, art, etc.

7 E.g. practiced by the Tendai School.

8 The waka poetry, especially in Dògen’s poetry, is brought into connection with the idea of these aesthetic principles, where contemplation of time-being and impermanence lie at the core.The idea of yūgen is based on a sense for tranquility and the ephemeral (mujō), whereas it (yūgen) is found in the awareness of the present time or being-time (uji) (see Odin, 2001 110).

9 This forms in Buddhism the starting point of awakening (cf. Habito, 1998 168).

10 A deeper discussion about mitate and how it is entangled with the spatial perception is part of my thesis. To mention two main attributes from contemporary publications, it can be comprehended as “an act of changing one’s own consciousness” (Miyajima, 2017 117) and shaping increased awareness of our everyday environment as a whole (cf. Hara, 2007 2017). The concept of mitate connects back to the animistic thinking of shintō (see e.g. Hara, 2007 2017).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Denise Roth

Denise Roth (b. 1989) is a designer and writer based currently in London. With a background in architecture, she works across disciplines and multiple medias. This essay is a modified extract from her ongoing research “The Being of Things-In Dialogue with Nature,” which began during her thesis.