Every April, thousands flock to Hitachi Seaside Park to see the hills full of sky blue nemophila. They eat bright blue ice cream, drink blue tea, and even devour blue curry to celebrate the beauty of the fully bloomed, rolling hills. Honouring the nemophila flower is just one example of how nature is a significant part of Japanese culture and how much it impacts daily life. Seeing this, I looked into how the Japanese feel towards nature and what it means to them.
(Source - 国営ひたち海浜公園 Facebook / Hitachi Seaside Park Facebook)
How do the Japanese feel about nature?
Nowadays, we’ve all heard more than enough about endangered species and protecting the environment in the media. While there are many noble causes like these, I can’t help but think about the real reasons behind them. Is it solely because of global warming, or because we’ll miss nature when it’s gone? In my opinion, I think it’s a bit of both.
However, in Japan, one of the main reasons is respect. For example, in Conserving Nature, Biodiversity Network Japan states that “humans are not the caretakers of nature, rather they are at one with nature and inseparable from it.” I think this really sums up the viewpoint of the Japanese.
(Source - Unsplash)
How has Japan preserved nature?
Japan has always worked with nature as much as possible and has developed many ways to do this. For example, rice terraces, such as Senmaida (The Thousand Rice Fields) of Ishikawa, are a revolutionary way of allowing traditional farmers to grow crops on steep hills. This meant that they could work alongside nature rather than disrupting it by flattening the area or cutting down forests to make room.
Techniques like this have allowed Japan to grow into a significant world power whilst still retaining a fantastic 70% of its landmass covered in forest. To put that in perspective, the US is only 34% forested, and the UK is even worse at just 13%. But on the flip side, it should be noted that Japan still has serious sustainability issues despite these incredible conservation efforts. Being the third-highest producer of plastic globally, they have a significant problem with the overuse of packaging. However, in just conserving their natural environment, they are one of the leading countries in the world.
(Source - Ishikawa Travel)
Why do the Japanese have such respect for nature?
As religions go, Shinto is pretty unique in the modern world. In Shinto, everything has a spirit, from ancient trees, the sun or even a lost sandal. This idea teaches us that the world around us deserves just as much respect as we do. Obviously, this doesn’t mean that you aren’t allowed to cut down trees or that you have to go around rescuing lost sandals. Still, it just encourages people to think before acting and ask if it’s worth throwing something away.
So, why does this matter? Even though most Japanese would primarily describe themselves as apathetic towards religion, somehow nature still finds its way into their day-to-day lives. For example, Hayao Miyazaki, the founder of the movie giant Studio Ghibli, is famous for having environmental and spiritual messages in his globally successful films. He claims that “in children's hearts and souls when they are born into the world, nature already exists deep inside them”.
(Source - Unsplash)
But how does this affect everyday life?
I’ve already said that nature is a hot topic in the media. But here, I really want to focus on the Japanese’s unique and special relationship with flowers. Cherry blossom viewing, as you may have seen, was already covered by Jessica Ferris in her article Hanami. But, of course, these aren’t the only flowers that are important.
From Konbinis (convenience stores) to luxury cafes, the seasonal fruit or flower is often the centre of attention and the star attraction. In addition to being a decoration, they’re used as the main ingredient in pretty much any food. This can be tea, ice cream or even curry, all flavoured and coloured with the flower of the hour.
(Source - 国営ひたち海浜公園 Facebook / Hitachi Seaside Park Facebook)
Imagine this for a moment, it's spring, and you are planning a trip. Gloucestershire is throwing a festival to celebrate the daffodils blooming, and you can't wait to have some daffodil pasties. Or, you wait until the red roses bloom and go to Lancashire for some red rose hotpot. Now imagine that for every county or state. This is what happens in Japan. But, of course, most people don’t make the trip for every prefecture’s flower. Still, people will visit neighbouring regions, as it’s a good idea, not to mention delicious, to go and have a look.
Japan isn’t just a country covered in nature. It’s a country inspired by it. In their daily lives, it's lovely to see the celebration of seasonal and regional fruits and flowers. They’ve designed society to interfere with nature as little as possible, and perhaps, we could learn something about their compassion for the natural world. So if you ever get the chance to go to Japan, keep an eye out as there’s sure to be some type of seasonal speciality and stunning scenery available wherever you go.