Japan part I: contrasts and knowledges

Japan is a place that Catherine and I have dreamed of visiting since the early days of atelier b. The culture and minimalist design, both traditional and contemporary, is a great source of inspiration for us.
In fact, for the last ten years or so, Catherine has literally been having dreams where she finds herself there. The next day, she shares her nocturnal adventures with me, so that I too can imagine myself there. This time (and we pinched ourselves to check) we were actually there, what a privilege. The trip took place last May and we had the opportunity to visit several parts of Japan to observe their architecture, their integration of nature and their traditions. Even several weeks after our return, there is still a lot of information to digest, analyse and organise. This text has been longer, more detailed and more demanding to write than I expected! I hope to be able to capture in it what has touched and inspired us about Japanese culture. I've also prepared a tour of our favourite places, city by city, which will be published separately.

The best of Japan is often hidden at the end of alleys, on an island, at the end of corridors, on the second floor of an ordinary building or in a house next to a shop on the street. On a few occasions, we've been asked "how did you find us?" with astonishment, which is a sign that our search has been a success. It's worth keeping in mind that Japan sometimes receives more tourists than it would like, so some shops prefer to maintain a certain exclusivity by making themselves harder to find. Doing your research in Japanese gives you a much wider range of options, and is well worth the effort and time of translation; we found several gems this way. Once there, gentleness, courtesy and delicacy (as well as greetings and polite forms of address in Japanese) will turn suspicion into a warm welcome in no time at all. 

Contrasts and details

Whether it's traditional craftsmanship rubbing shoulders with cutting-edge technology, contemplative silence followed by noisy revelry, controlled darkness next to full light, Japanese culture is definitely one of contrasts. Contrasts that are controlled, organised and assumed, but also highly detailed and mastered.

In the book In Praise of Shadows, written in 1933, the Japanese author Jun'ichirō Tanizak discusses Japanese aesthetics, taking light as his main subject. Reading it, it is impressive to see the scope of the lexical field used to describe it: obscure, dark, twilight haze, pensive glow, cloudy translucence, dreamlike glow or luminescence, enveloping darkness. Their depiction is quite poetic, and the long descriptive paragraphs show just how profound their observations can be. Knowing that many Japanese words have no translation makes their precision all the more impressive. It was with this desire to notice the finer details that we set off to discover little pieces of their culture.

Savoir vivre 

Thinking of this excerpt from the essay The Art of Tea (1906) by author Kakuzo Okakura, we adapted to the colours of Japan:

"Not a colour to disturb the tone of the room, not a sound to spoil the rhythm of things, not a gesture to disturb the harmony, not a word to break the unity of the environment, all movements had to be performed simply and naturally - these were the aims of the tea ceremony."

We enjoyed the colour palettes, with lots of blues, greens and pastels alongside nature and architecture. Some parts of Tokyo allow for saturated, vibrant colours, but as soon as you return to the calm of traditional Japan, the colours are sober, muted, refined but discreet. Objects, clothes and even cars can be adapted to suit the setting or the exterior of the house!

This delicacy is part of a more general politeness and restraint that we have come to appreciate in Japanese culture. In enclosed public spaces, calm is demanded, almost silence, and smells are light; imposing perfumes are avoided. This is the land of the hypersensitive! Great care is taken to keep the city clean, the plants and even lost objects, which are often wrapped up and left on the pavement marked 'lost'. At the start of our trip, still jet-lagged, we often got up before sunrise in the Nishi-Nippori district in the north-east of Tokyo. In the calm of this old district, we would walk and watch the sky wake up. Quietly, we would observe the residents of the small cobbled streets coming out to clean their shopfronts, trim their bushes or weed their flowerbeds. These gestures were repeated quietly every morning. We'd give them a gentle "Ohayō Gozaimasu" and get big polite smiles in return. Another politeness that struck us was the way they said goodbye. When we left someone's house, or even a small shop or restaurant, the people who had received us would lead us back to the door and greet us as far as the eye could see. Watching them say bye bye until you reach the corner of the alley or the end of the street is absolutely charming.

Craftsmanship

One of the things we were keen to observe during our ( too short ) stay was Japanese craftsmanship. In terms of textiles, of course - we're passionate about the cuts and the meticulous, well-thought-out tailoring - but also in terms of woodworking, construction and architecture. We know, for example, the reputation of their joinery techniques, where pieces fit together without nails or glue.

These simple, ingenious processes are part of the great Karakuri method, which dates back to the Edo period and consists of using ingenious mechanical machines that do not require electricity, for example by using gravity and inertia rather than electrical, motorised or computer-controlled devices. Examples include pulleys and levers. We visited the large Buddha at Kotoku temple, which was assembled using the principles of the Karakuri method. Inside the sculpture, a sign summarised the complex manufacturing process, in which the metal pieces are fitted together so that gravity holds them in place. Tsunamis and storms have washed away several parts of this temple, but the immense Buddha has remained frozen in time for almost eight centuries.

Art, nature, architecture

During all our visits to museums and temples, the recurring theme that jumped out at us, in both traditional and contemporary architecture, was the integration of nature. Landscapes are framed by architecture, we look out from the inside, nature is presented as a work of art. There are generally few places to sit in public spaces in Japan; few benches are available to passers-by. On the other hand, in places where you can contemplate nature, space is provided for you to linger for longer periods of time.

You can read more about some of the places we've visited here. We hope we've taken you on a journey with us!

- Anne-Marie

Thank you to Taka San of Awonoyoh for the photo of the two of us dyeing with indigo.