Parallel worlds

I think one of the reasons that people find the Japanese people so mysterious is what they view as important to them. When we look at ourselves, what’s important to us are things like success, happiness, love. The whole gang. They all belong in a same or similar category. However we can see a diversity, strange enough in such a homogeneous society, with what they love.

It’s not just love, and tranquility. It’s what brings those things. Such as nature. The Japanese are obsessed with nature. Every family strives to have at least one little garden, or even a miniature one. They want to connect with their ancestors, viewing the same cherry blossoms that others once watched. As much as they love nature and all its beauty, the Japanese are also obsessed with controlling their environments.

I walked through the Hama Rikyu gardens only to see that several of the branches and tree trunks were being supported by wood and rope, in order to bend the trees the way the owner saw fit. They trim everything just right, so they can have the utmost control over it. You can see some of the desire to control yet blend with nature in their architectural designs. A few buildings have been built to curve, allowing people to pour into the area. It seems more connected to nature than the other skyscrapers around it. Clearly this is a place of defined order.

From what I can see so far, is that the Japanese have a major sense of beauty, most being in nature, but the rest being in the falsified created environment. So their unique ability to admire both sides appeals and labels their true nature as mysterious.