Through the Cultural Lens of Japanese: How nature is viewed?

Japanese has an ecocentric and anthropocentric view of nature, depending on the context of discussion. Their perception of nature is socially and culturally constructed. In this post, I will be covering the cultural aspect.

Japanese believes that nature and spiritual world are inseparable (Asquith and Kalland, 1997).  Their Shinto ideologies have greatly shaped the human-nature relationship they share with the environment. Shinto, is a religious belief that kami (divinity) resides in all natural features such as the moon, rocks, flowers, animals, etc makes people view nature as an absolute place for salvation (ibid.). Such high standard of respect towards nature has created a harmonious relationship between the people and their environment. However, the notion that deities abode in nature means nature can heal itself, and thus guaranteed free from degradation. Since they both realms are spiritually entwined, there is no environmental debt as people can repay it by practicing memorial rites to cleanse their sins (ibid.). Hence, we can observe a series of annual traditional festivals to honor the deities of agriculture, fishing or lumbering. Today, these rural activities are still practiced but have been commercialized for urbanites, all in the name of ecotourism. This issue on ecotourism will be covered in the social aspect of my next post.

An example of a ritual festival, the Otaue rice-planting festival. Here, a dance is performed to welcome the God of agriculture and chase away bugs. (Source: Japan Quality Review Publication, 2012). 

Alongside Shinto is the Buddhist ideal of the Universal Principle, which is the core principle governing all life forms on Earth. Japanese believe that nature follows the Universal Principle, operating in an interconnected cycle of growth and decay. Hence, nature is seasonal. This concept of impermanence has undervalued nature and got the Japanese fixated on the idea that nature can live on even if it has disappeared.

Another Buddhist concept is the mu, also known as nothingness. This has greatly influenced how Japanese appreciate nature as they follow the ideology of reductionism. Most Japanese view true, empirical nature as one without any offensive elements. This means the removal of ‘dirt’ that destroys their idealized nature. Offensive elements could include intrusive forces such as Westernization, industrialization and urbanization (Robertson, 1988), all of which has altered their environmental landscape. At the minute scale, unwelcomed factors could be the protruding twig from a bonsai tree. Thus, Japanese spend much time pruning and grooming bonsai trees to make it more ‘natural’. 

Bonsai pruning by a local Japanese (Source: Hano, 2010).

Such attempt to domesticate nature into a miniaturized form aims to transform ‘wild’ nature into an idealized form. This is exactly how Japanese appreciates nature, in a highly controlled confined and idealized circumstance (Kellert, 1991). In fact, they have a disdain for wilderness as it is interpreted for ‘uncultivated’ people (Tyler, 1982). Wilderness is seen as threatening and to be avoided by the Japanese (Asquith and Kalland, 1997). Hence, the people tend to dominate nature to make it manageable. Man is thus seen superior than nature and this anthropocentric attitude is observed to be of greater extent than the Westerners (Kellert 1991, 1993).

Hence, we have observed both ecocentric and anthropocentric attitudes towards nature in the Japanese cultural landscape. The placement of man above nature in the Japanese hierarchy has led to an over-exploitation of natural resources today. On the other hand, the belief that man is living together with nature has disguised and allowed much environmental pollution. Nature is presumed to be self-healing, and thus renewable in this whole continuum. Such contradictory views of nature are then more destructive to our environment.

References

Asquith, Pamela J, and Arne Kalland. Japanese Images Of Nature. Richmond, Surrey: Curzon Press, 1997. Print.

Hano, Shigeo. 'Goyomatsu (Japanese White Pine)（４）Cultivate Nasu Goyo, Popular For Its Good-Looking In Europe And The United States - BONSAI WORLD | BONSAI'. Bonsai.shikoku-np.co.jp. N.p., 2010. Web. 

Japan Quality Review. 'Touring The Festivals Of Japan Vol. 5 - Art And Agriculture Share The Stage (June 14) - Otaue Rice-Planting Festival At Sumiyoshi Taisha - JAPAN QUALITY REVIEW'. N.p., 2012. Web. 

Kellert, Stephen R. 'Japanese Perceptions Of Wildlife'. Conservation Biology 5.3 (1991): 297-308. Web.

Kellert, Stephen R. 'Attitudes, Knowledge, And Behavior Toward Wildlife Among The Industrial Superpowers: United States, Japan, And Germany'. Journal of Social Issues 49.1 (1993): 53-69. Web.

Robertson, Jennifer. 'Furusato Japan: The Culture And Politics Of Nostalgia'. International Journal of Politics, Culture and Society 1.4 (1988): 494-518. Web.