Appreciate the ephemeral side of nature
To better understand the Japanese relationship with their environment, we must also examine it in the light of Shintoism and Buddhism. Shintoism celebrates communion with nature, with venerated deities whose habitat is springs, mountains or rocks. Buddhism, on the other hand, teaches us not to become attached to things, emphasizing impermanence. Hanami, the Japanese custom of appreciating the beauty of blossoming trees in springtime, illustrates this attitude of contemplating the ephemeral side of life, in the image of this extreme beauty that the slightest breath of wind can dissipate. This learning of detachment enables us to accept the vagaries of life and move forward. In the 12th century, Kamo no Chômei wrote in Notes from my monk's hut: "The same river flows endlessly, but it's never the same water. Here and there, on the tranquil surfaces, specks of foam appear and disappear, never lingering long. It's the same with people here on earth and their homes." Tokyo has been destroyed and rebuilt several times in its history, first by the earthquake and fire of 1923, then by the bombings of the Second World War. Today, the Japanese live in anticipation of the "big one", a very strong earthquake that could strike Tokyo within the next thirty years.
When development brutalizes nature
The economy has also helped shape the Japanese relationship with their environment. With the Meiji era in the 19th century, industrialization began, resulting in a relationship of destruction and predation of nature, which accelerated after the Second World War. Vast industrial complexes were built along the coast. Tokyo, for example, sacrificed its coastline to the development of its port and Haneda airport. The decline in biodiversity can be illustrated by the drop in firefly populations. Fragmentation of their habitat and agricultural pollution are the main factors in this decline, along with the trade in fireflies to transport them to restaurant and hotel gardens.
Japanese gardens or nature created by man
Japanese gardens are an intellectual construction. Earth and water are symbolic elements, represented by the ponds, which visitors can contemplate or walk around. Extremely elaborate, revealing great sensitivity and aesthetics for each season, they are above all the projection of a paradise. Zen or dry gardens, almost exclusively mineral, are spaces that invite meditation. Visitors to Tokyo and especially Kyoto are spoilt for choice when it comes to immersing themselves in the atmosphere of Japanese gardens. It is estimated that there are over 300 monastery gardens in the ancient capital!
Ryoan-ji temple garden: a Zen garden (karesansui ) inviting meditation.
Ginkaku-ji Temple Garden (Silver Pavilion): featuring a dry garden (known as the "Sea of Silver Sand") and a moss garden, with ponds, bridges, small streams and plants.
Saiho-ji Temple Garden, nicknamed the "Moss Temple": this colorful garden takes you on a circular tour around the "Golden Pond".
Koishikawa Botanical Garden (Tokyo). Westernization during the Meiji era spread European botany through the translation of scientific works brought by the Dutch. In 1844, the Koïschikawa Botanical Garden was created, containing medicinal species. Attached to the University, it now preserves a wide variety of species.
Imperial Palace Gardens (Tokyo): the Eastern Gardens and the National Outdoor Garden are open to the public and offer a lovely haven of peace.
Shinjuku Gyoen Park (Tokyo) A vast 58-hectare park of great variety, home to over 1,500 cherry trees.
From the destruction of nature to the environmental movements
In the course of its history, Japan has experienced a number of serious accidents, which prompted reactions and gave rise to the first movements that could be described as ecological. These events fueled a speech in 1910 by Shōzō Tanaka, advocating the reappropriation of "natural harmony", based on Confucianism and Buddhism. However, organic farming in Japan is underdeveloped, and you'll find very few organic stores. The reason for this lies in the stranglehold of cooperatives, the absence of government support, and consumers' taste for standardized, packaged products. However, civil society is mobilized around environmental issues. Tokyo residents, for example, have decided to clean up the city's coastline. Thanks to their efforts, a beach is now accessible to bathers, which had not been the case since the 1970s due to pollution. One resident has even used seaweed and oysters attached to bamboo structures as a purification device. In addition, the urban area has embarked on water treatment programs to coincide with the Tokyo Olympic Games. "Swimming in the sea will be a legacy of the Games", promised the mayor of Odaiba.
Towards zero waste
Certain ancestral values are part of Japanese culture, such as the fight against waste and living simply, without the superfluous. This "wabi-sabi-inspired" way of life facilitates the deployment of the country's "zero waste" approach. Add to this a set of regulations (selective collection) and awareness-raising, and you'll see a host of attractive initiatives flourish. These include furoshiki, the art of wrapping with recycled fabrics, tawashi, a sponge made from used fabric, and oculi, a bamboo ear pick. The Mainichi Shimbun newspaper is made from recycled paper made from water and seeds; once you've finished reading it, simply plant it and you'll have flowers. The reuse of broken objects is also made possible by the kintsugi technique. In Kyoto, you can meet anti-waste samurai with waste tongs. In Tokyo, an ephemeral bar, the Gomi Pit, has opened its doors in 2019 in a waste incineration plant, to raise awareness in situ. After all, the least polluting waste is the one we don't produce! The consumption of plastic, particularly for packaging, remains very high, and efforts to prevent and reduce waste must continue. Japan intended to promote its zero-waste policy during the Tokyo Olympic Games (which took place behind closed doors in 2021), notably with medals made from recycled metals.
Climate and air quality: burning issues
In the late 1990s, the city of Tokyo embarked on an anti-diesel policy. The campaign focused on health and was based on measures to reduce the number of diesel vehicles. At the same time, the government introduced restrictive regulations to this effect. Between 2001 and 2011, the concentration of fine particles in Tokyo fell by 55%. However, in 2010, the government did an about-face... in the name of the fight against the greenhouse effect (diesel being considered less emissive than petrol). Sales of diesel cars increased by 80% between 2012 and 2014! But since 2020, the country has been set on a "zero carbon by 2050" objective and hopes to ban the sale of diesel or petrol vehicles by 2035.
