What if living with less made you happier? Once again, the Japanese way of life is a source of inspiration in the world.
Japanese minimalism is the art of refraining from the superfluous to allow the essential to express itself. A current that touches the fields of art, interior design, storage and philosophy. Extreme simplification, sobriety, modesty: minimalism is part of many aspects of Japanese culture and the Japanese seem to have fully integrated it into their way of life.
His master? fumio sasakifollower of less is more very popular in Japan advocating Danshari, a material and spiritual concept.
So how to adopt this particularly liberating philosophy? Focus on Japanese minimalism.
Japanese minimalism, back to basics
By dint of overloading ourselves with useless things, we end up losing the essential. The Japanese have understood this well. To be convinced of this, it is enough to visit a traditional house in the Land of the Rising Sun… You will not see frills or clutter. Today, this trend continues to grow and attracts more and more Westerners, victims of the consumer society. Reflecting Japanese culture, minimalism was popularized by fumio sasakia messy ex who transformed his life by growing this Art.
The traditional Japanese minimalist interior
Clean lines, partitions that let in daylight, neutral tones and raw materials… Traditional Japanese houses are not without charm. Naturalness, simplicity and the essential are at the heart of its architecture.
The omnipresent nature
In Japan, traditional houses are distinguished by their sobriety and natural elegance. the raw Materials such as wood, stone, paper, bamboo or even rice straw are the main elements used in architecture and interior decoration. Note that nature is omnipresent in Japanese culture. Thus, the inhabitants of the archipelago usually have Zen gardens or interior patios. Similarly, the ground is usually covered with tatami (woven straw) except at the entrance (genkan), toilets and kitchen.
A simplified architecture
Inside, we immediately notice the absence of walls as well as the simplicity of design Instead of walls, there are sliding doors that allow you to create modular spaces according to the needs of the moment. the Shoji They are wooden screens covered with paper. washi let in the light while the fusuma They are opaque panels.
The minimum necessary
We can see that the decoration of traditional Japanese houses is very refined. Thus, the furniture can be counted on the fingers of one hand and is quite located on the ground. Nothing is there by chance. Every object must be functional in a room.
Thus, the bedroom has only what is necessary to sleep. That is, a bed or a simple futon placed on the floor that will be stored in a closet during the day. The bathroom contains only a wooden tub called ” hot tub » as well as a toilet area with sink. In the living room, the furniture is reduced to a kotasu, a low table that acts as a radiator and the Zabuton, rectangular cushions that surround the table to eat or attend to your business. The most important element of the decoration is undoubtedly the tokonomaan elevated space dedicated to art where we expose a painting, a calligraphy or even floral compositions (Ikebana).
Fumio Sasaki, the leader of the minimalists 2.0
Fumio Sasaki Source: https://twothirds.com/blogs/journal/fumio-sasaki-longing-for-less
you know this japanese author, star of Japanese minimalism? your sales success The essentials and nothing more it has sold over 250,000 copies in Japan. Despite its popularity, fumio sasaki he is still a humble person. As proof, he lives on just 800 euros a month in a small apartment and has no more than four pants and three t-shirts in his closet! In a world where the influence of the media encourages more and more consumption, the author prefers let go of material things to dedicate yourself completely to human relationships, travel and nature.
This minimalist young man in his forties lives in a place stripped of trinkets and other trifles to have only the essentials at home: a desk, a bed, a table, a few books, a laptop and toiletries. Fumio Sasaki could break the record for the fastest move in the world. However, the smiling and serene man of today has not always been like this. In his youth, he was particularly a party animal. Furthermore, this collector had a hobby foraccumulate objects. One day, she got tired of seeing so much clutter around her and realized that she was too attached to things. So she turned to him. minimalism and adopted a totally different lifestyle. By getting rid of the business from him, Fumio Sasaki found more clarity about his core values and personality. Thus revealed, she feels happier.
The Danshari, the art of Japanese minimalist storage
At once practice et wittythe Danshari it is an art of living that questions the link with objects and the material world, in a society of hyperconsumption. By getting rid of the useless, the mind in turn is freed from the negative charges of the environment. More than a material issue, the concept aims to achieve fulfillment by getting rid of the useless, both from a material and emotional point of view.
Origin and etymology of Danshari
Danshari 断捨離 is made up of 3 kanjis that respectively mean ” Decline », « jeter ” and that ” pull apart “. From Zen Buddhism and wabi sabian aesthetic concept that honors simplicity and imperfection, Le Danshari it is at the heart of the Japanese minimalist movement. East philosophy that advocates the abandonment of materialism to find inner peaceis based on three pillars “Refuse to be burdened », “Throw away unnecessary things”, and “Separate yourself from the material”. Furthermore, the Danshari inspired the storage method invented by Hideko Yamashitathe first consultant in this field.
Danshari method: some rules to follow
After Marie Kondo and her famous Konmari method, storage has never been so popular in Japan. In 2016, Hideko Yamashita reveals the secrets of a house tidyWith a focus spiritual.
through his book DanShaRi, The art of storage », the author reveals how to get rid of the superfluous and gain happiness simply by respecting 3 rules:
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Refuse to take items home
It goes without saying that avoiding bringing trinkets and other unnecessary things into your house is the basis of order. -
Challenge your attachment to material things
In order not to accumulate things, it may be necessary to question our relationship with objects and find a certain distance with the material. -
Break with the desire to consume
By avoiding giving in to compulsive buying, even though the media encourages us to consume more and more, we regain our freedom.
As you may have understood, these three imperatives will help you maintain an orderly and pleasant home while guiding you towards a more serene life.
The Ma, the philosophy of Japanese minimalism
the Breast 間 is a very present concept in Japanese culture and especially in art. Sense ” interval », « distance », Breast It is neither more nor less than the emptiness that creates harmony. You know… that little change that makes a composition stand out. Ikebana, calligraphy, Zen gardens, and architecture take full advantage of this aesthetic notion. Also, the Breast it is so rooted in the archipelago that we find it even in social relations: it is the right distance that we can have with the other.
In fact, it is not really a void, but the space that connects two objects or two sounds. More than a spatial notion, the Breast is also a temporal concept that is related to rhythm. Every musician knows: a rest, or pause, is a great way to create rhythm. Artists and intellectuals have seized this japanese minimalist concept, which seems to have crossed borders. Therefore, we find the Breast in the West, in many areas such as music, the danceArt of the cinema or of the photograph et the architecture. 
To conclude this article, the feeling of abundance does not make you happier, contrary to what one might think. Stress, mental load, constraint, this is what we expose ourselves to when we live in excess. Against the grain of consumerism, Japanese minimalism tends to find happiness in dispossession. Everything points to the fact that true wealth does not come from what we have but from what it reveals to us.
