“Never forget your beginner’s mind,” was the phrase that Zeami (世阿弥, c1363~c1443), who perfected Noh (能), preached as the secret of the (performing) arts. The phrase appears in Kakyo (花鏡, 1402), the first volume of Fushikaden (風姿花伝, 1424), a treatise on the art of Noh that was a compilation of his writings over a period of about twenty years, beginning when he was in his forties.
To add a little more, Fushikaden is a book on the theory of Noh that was based on the teachings of his late father, Kan’ami (観阿弥, 1333~1384), and adds interpretations from the perspective of the art that Zeami himself had acquired, including Noh training methods, knowledge, acting theory, directing theory, history, and Noh aesthetics.
Zeami mentioned “Never forget your beginner’s mind” as a phrase that can be applied to anything, but “beginner’s mind” does not mean “the humble feelings and innocent aspirations of someone who has just begun something.”
Zeami’s definition of “beginner’s mind” is “the immature state of encountering something for the first time,” or, in other words, the mindset of a beginner. Beginners may not be able to do things well and may make repeated mistakes, but in order to overcome their immaturity, they need to continue to make effort and practice. And even after becoming accustomed to something, it is important to go back to when you were immature and make efforts to improve even further, and Zeami advocated that this beginner’s mind should not be neglected.
The flower of appearance (風姿花, fushi no hana) that Zeami pursued, which should be mastered at each age and throughout one’s life, is the ultimate expression of artistic beauty, which is gestures (身振り, muburi) and small bodily movements (しぐさ, shigusa) on stage.
There are many situations in life in which it is necessary to maintain one’s “beginner’s mind,” but Zeami particularly emphasized three principles that should never be forgotten.
1. “Beginner’s mind in deciding whether something is right or wrong” means that one should not forget the immaturity of the beginner’s days, which serves as the standard for judgment.
2. “Beginner’s mind at each stage or time” means that as one trains from beginner to elderly, one should not forget the beginner’s stage at each stage of one’s training.
3. “Beginner’s mind in old age” means that getting older does not mean the end; there are always new things even in old age, so one should still have a beginner’s mind and continue to master the art.
It is true that no matter how old we are, there are many things in life that we encounter for the first time, so if we keep in mind our own immaturity and that we have something to learn, and approach each stage and time with a beginner’s attitude and make an effort, we may be led to make some new discoveries. Zeami’s logic could be said to be the fundamental mechanism for lifelong self-development.
During the Edo period (1603~1868), there were two types of terakoya (寺子屋): general terakoya and Edo terakoya. General terakoya mainly taught reading, writing, and abacus, while Edo terakoya were like public schools where townspeople’s parents pooled their money to hire teachers and anyone could attend, regardless of their status.
Edo townspeople used the word “nurture (youiku, 養育)” rather than the modern word “education (kyoiku, 教育),” and terakoya were schools where townspeople’s children studied and acquired culture.
In other words, from the Meiji period (1868 onwards), when it has come to be called “education,” it has become mainstream to prioritize knowledge-based “intellectual training,” but prior to that, in the Edo period, it meant “nurturing and raising,” in other words, helping people grow as individuals and helping them integrate into society and live independently.
Therefore, emphasis was placed on developing the skills of “seeing,” “listening,” “speaking,” and “thinking.”
Unlike today’s education system, which simply crams students with given knowledge, the focus at terakoya was on fostering independence and self-reliance, the ability to think and make decisions for oneself, and practical studies were at the core of what was taught. Brainstorming and role-playing were also actively incorporated into the program, and students were encouraged to increase their vocabulary in their native language so that they would become familiar with the classics by the age of six and be able to speak to adults by the age of nine.
By the way, the classics of that time were the so-called the Four Books and Five Classics (四書五経). Therefore, in the terakoya scenes of historical dramas based on the Edo period, the passage from the Analects of Confucius, “The master said…” always appears.
Although it was called practical studies, it was not simply utilitarianism; it was about looking at things from a broad perspective and building the foundation for the ability to make judgments. So, practical studies here refer to the observation of nature, or in modern terms to all natural sciences and natural phenomena, and their scope was broad and deep, ranging from everyday behavior to how to behave in the event of an earthquake, fire, or flood.
By looking at and thinking about things broadly, the children were able to know that they, as living beings, are being kept alive, which helped them to understand academic knowledge and became the basis for cultivating a way of life as they grew up. Ultimately, the difference between modern schools and the terakoya schools of the Edo period can be said to be receptivity and spontaneity.
Furthermore, it can be said that the spirit of self-development that Zeami advocated during the Muromachi period continued to be reflected and utilized in the terakoya education of the Edo period as social wisdom for coexistence and symbiosis.
In particular, according to Rodrigo de Vivero (1546~1636), who visited Japan from Spain, around 1609 when the Tokugawa shogunate was established, Edo (present-day Tokyo) had a population of around 150,000, but within 100 years it had grown into the world’s largest city with a population of over 1 million. For this reason, it was considered socially important for each and every Edo resident to think about how they could maintain peace in their town forever, how they could prevent conflicts and bullying, and how they could coexist in peace without leaving anyone behind, and to live with that mindset.
One example of this is the act of expressing gratitude, called “On okuri.” “On kaeshi” means returning the favor to someone who has done something for you, and “On okuri” means doing something, even if it’s something small, for someone other than the person who owed you a favor, with gratitude to repay the favor. In other words, among Edo townspeople, there was no limit to who one could repay a favor to, so the gratitude went around in circles and kindness permeated throughout society.
In addition, in order to build good relationships and exchanges with other Edo townspeople, they devoted themselves to the study of human nature and psychology, and this developed into Edo etiquette, manners and gestures.
For example,
* Lend a hand if you see someone in trouble.
* Move away from them if it’s crowded.
* Pull your right shoulder and arm back to avoid bumping into each other when passing each other.
* Tilt your umbrella so rain doesn’t splash on them.
* Walk like a crab on a narrow road to avoid bumping into them.
* Giving a considerate nod when passing someone.
and etc.
These gestures, attitudes and postures became integrated into the lives of Edo townspeople as mental and physical expressions of good human relationships and as a part of Japanese cultural order for improving social cohesion.
These may seem like simple things, but they are proof that in their daily interactions with many strangers, Edo townspeople placed consideration for others above all else.
At the current scramble crossing in front of Shibuya Station in Tokyo, it is said that most Westerners who see a large number of people crossing the intersection at the same time in all directions, as if slipping through the mesh without bumping into anyone, are astonished and wonder how they can do that.
This is not simply a result of lifestyle habits, but originates from unconscious gestures, attitudes and postures inherited from the townspeople of Edo and accumulated in the body over the course of everyday life.
According to Shigusa no Nihon Bunka (Japanese Culture of Gestures, 1972) by Michitaro Tada (1924~2007), “I believe that the characteristics of human relationships among Japanese people are expressed by two different principles: ‘connection’ and ‘distance.’ …This refers to humility and restraint. …Restraint is a form of self-assertion among us. Being able to skillfully restrain one’s emotions is what defines a person’s value. The gestures and mannerisms that show how skillfully one holds back emotions highlight one’s value. Therefore, restraint is what defines one’s value.”
In Japan, gratitude and compassion were passed down and instilled through “On okuri,” and social virtues are cultivated through customs of restraint. These were also expressed in small, everyday actions known as “shigusa,” which effectively influence the maintenance of social harmony.
Because the climate changes very clearly throughout the four seasons, Japan prioritized symbiosis and coexistence with nature and prospered through agriculture. During the Edo period, agriculture was not only the basis of life and subsistence, but also the foundation of the Tokugawa Shogunate’s administration.
After the autumn harvest, the farming off-season of winter arrives, and then crossing the border of the year, and a new spring arrives, and planting begins. This is not just a physical cycle of the seasons, but also the end of one thing and the beginning of a new life, a cycle of reincarnation.
For this reason, the seasons have been taken into consideration in Japanese poetry since ancient times, and as early as the Heian period (794~1185), kigo, or seasonal words that represent specific seasons, were incorporated into waka poetry. The seasonal words has been passed down from the Manyoshū period (8 century) to the Kokin Wakashū period (c10 century ~ c12 century) and on to the present day.
Spring, summer, autumn, and winter are likened to the colors blue (青), vermilion (朱), white (白), and blackish brown (玄).
As can be inferred from these color assignments, the arrival of spring marks the start of planting and the beginning of activity, so people rejoice and celebrate the arrival of spring after the long, dark winter.
For example, the following poem from the Kokin Wakashū collection vividly conveys the feelings of longing for the arrival of spring. (Kokin Wakashū, Spring Poems Vol. 1, Poem 3):
Harugasumi tateruya iduko mi-Yoshino no Yoshino no yamani yuki ha furitsutsu
(trans.: Where is the spring mist rising? Snow continues to fall on the mountains of Yoshino.)
This poem expresses the feeling that although it is spring according to the calendar, snow is still falling and spring does not yet really feel like it is here. This is a masterpiece that expresses the psychological and chromatic contrast between the blue symbolized by spring haze and the darkness symbolized by snowy winter.
Kakinomoto no Hitomaro wrote the following poem to praise the arrival of spring. (Manyoshu, Volume 10, Poem 1812):
Hisakata no Amano-kaguyama kono yuube kasumi tanabiku haru tatsurashimo
(trans.: On this evening, mist hangs over Mount Amanokagu-yama. It seems that spring has arrived.)
This poem expresses joy at the end of the harsh and gloomy winter hibernation, as all living things and plants on Earth awaken from their deep slumber and begin to move about. It is a hymn to the life of the sun.
Incidentally, this color coding is also used for the four cardinal directions, north, south, east and west, and the four divine beasts are assigned to them: the Blue Dragon in the East, the White Tiger in the West, the Vermilion Bird in the South, and the Black Tortoise in the North. In China, yellow, which symbolizes the sun, is placed in the center. The reason why the four colors of blue, white, red, and black were chosen to represent the four gods is said to be the ancient Chinese theory of Yin and Yang and the Five Elements, which explains the creation and change of all things in terms of the conflict and harmony between the two forces of Yin and Yang, and the interactions between five elements.
Let’s continue talking about spring. There is a word called “Harumeku.”
It is unclear whether this expression means feeling spring while it’s still winter, or feeling spring while it’s still cold in early spring, but the first flowers to bloom in spring are daffodils, with their bright yellow petals that resemble the sun. When green buds appear above the ground in mid-February and they all bloom at once in March, many people will have the impression that their previously dark and gloomy gardens have suddenly become lively and vibrant.
The classification method and number of color words that describe color names differ depending on each cultural sphere, but the three pairs of opposing colors – white and black, red and green, and yellow and blue – were considered by Leonardo da Vinci during the Renaissance to be the basic colors that form the basis of all colors. At the end of the 19th century, these were considered to be the primary color sensations in a psychological hypothesis known as Hering’s opponent color theory.
It is said that even infants before they have learned to speak can distinguish the differences between these six colors, and in the late 1960s, American anthropologists Paul Kay and Brent Berlin proposed that the response to these six basic colors is a biological factor that all humans share, regardless of culture, and they attracted attention by discovering a linguistic universality that applies to all human beings.
There are many colors, but yellow in particular gives a gentle, soft, and warm impression, perhaps because it is a color that makes us feel the blessings of the sun. For this reason, when people see yellow daffodils bathed in gentle sunlight, they may feel that spring is coming.
Another flower that represents spring is the yellow-flowering dandelion, known in Japan as “tampopo,” which many people may have heard of as it is also the title of a movie (1985) about ramen.
According to Kunio Yanagita (1875~1962), the founder of folklore studies, the area in which this yellow plant was called tampopo was previously relatively small, and he speculates that the origin of its use as standard language today may be due to it being called tampopo, pipi-bana, ganmomo, or tetepopo in children’s slang in the Kyoto region.
Tampopo is a dandelion in English, which sounds like it could be the name of a Godzilla-like kaiju monster, but just as its name suggests, it can be a nuisance to garden lawns.
However, the reason why there is not a single poem in the Manyoshu that talks about tampopo, which heralds the arrival of spring, is said to be because tanpopo were called fujina, tana, or kujina, and were considered to be eaten rather than appreciated. The entire tampopo plant can be eaten, from the young leaves to the flowers and roots. The leaves are good for boiled greens, sesame dressing, and dressing with hanasanbai vinegar, as well as for shira-ae, and the roots can be made into kinpira or kakiage. It is also said that it is good to make tea from it or pickle it in sake.
Tampopo is also widely used for medicinal purposes around the world, and is said to be a bitter stomachic that is good for gastritis and indigestion, improves the functioning of the organs that control secretions and excretion in the body, has a detoxifying and strengthening effect, promotes milk secretion, and is said to be good for neuralgia, rheumatism, and other arthritis.
Before synthetic dyes were invented in England in the mid-19th century, dyeing was done with pigments extracted from natural sources such as minerals, plants and animals. Plant dyes are made by drying and then boiling tree bark, roots, flowers and fruits, and the pigments contained in these are used to dye threads and fabric using mordants such as alum or lye. The most familiar color in Japanese dyeing is indigo, but with the exception of reds such as madder, safflower, sappan, and safflower root, most are yellow-brown in color.
When thinking of the traditional Japanese flower color yellow, yamabuki-iro (bright yellow or golden yellow) immediately comes to mind, whereas in the West there are many yellow flowers such as chrome yellow, marigolds, sunflowers, and nasturtiums. On the other hand, Japan has a very rich color vocabulary for intermediate colors, more than any other region in the world, and yamabuki-iro is one of them.
For the townspeople of Edo, “iki (粋)” and “shibui (渋い)” were aesthetic values that expressed a simple charm that emanated from deep within, and were the ultimate expression of one’s individuality and a way of life. The patterns commonly used in Edokko kimonos were rather subdued, such as solid colors, small patterns, and vertical stripes, and the colors favored were subdued neutral colors such as brown, gray, and indigo, but there is no doubt that these also played a role in highlighting the depth and charm that seems to emanate from the inner self of people and objects.
However, it is inappropriate to say that a large number of color words equates to a rich color culture. In fact, almost all of the 800+ languages found in Africa have only two or three basic color words such as white and black, or white, black, and red, yet it is widely known that their lifestyles and cultures are extremely colorful, including makeup, accessories, furniture, and ritual tools.
There is an irregularity in that Western children tend to use red when drawing the sun, but in any case, it seems that the yellow color of the sunlight that nurtures life and the color of yellow flowers are associated with the image of spring, regardless of whether it is in the East or the West.
The light around 580 nanometers in the spectrum is the yellow of yellow, but no other color family changes its impression as much as yellow does depending on its lightness. Dark yellow is gloomy and somber, and in some cases mysterious. Clear yellow like lemon is a symbol of cheerfulness, warmth, and health. At the same time, it has the meaning of “meanness” while containing the image of gold, which represents wealth and glory.
In China, yellow is placed at the center of the four directions, that is, blue, white, red, and black, and is associated with authority and wealth, that is, gold, as the symbol color of the emperor.
In English, the color yellow is associated with old age, illness, cowardice, jealousy, and other negative connotations. In France, people who are “yellow” are those who disrupt the unity of those who are not members of a union. The Italian yellow book Libro Giallo is a detective novel or mystery novel, while the Japanese ki-byoushi (黄表紙, yellow cover) and the British yellowback are popular books characterized by intellectual, nonsensical humor and realism based on the real world of the times.
To add a little more, the original authors of kibyoshi in the Edo period were initially samurai from the intellectual class of the time, who published works satirizing the politics of Okitsugu Tanuma (1719~1788) and Sadanobu Matsudaira (1759~1829), which gained popularity. Later, however, authors of townspeople origins, such as Kyoden Santo (1761-1816), took over the mainstream, and the content changed to one that incorporated local literary elements based on the space of Edo, offering parodies of classics based on topics and incidents from the city.
In recent years, there has been a saying in Japan that using yellow in advertising will not be successful, but the standard color for headline text is kin’aka (金赤, golden red), which means a red with a slight yellowish tint (CMYK: C:8 M:80 Y:99 K:0).
On the other hand, yellow does not generally seem to have a negative image in English-speaking countries, and in the United States, there are many successful advertisements and products that make extensive use of yellow, including the Yellow Pages.
There are many regions around the world that consider the sun to be an ancestor deity, but in ancient Japan, people who were well versed in astronomy and calendars were respected and called “日知り (Hijiri, 聖), meaning people who knows the sun (日), and from around the 6th century, the imperial court established Himatsuribe(日奉部) or Hiokibe(日置部) department to be in charge of calendar matters.
People in ancient times knew that the sun was the source of life and power, and even though its light is given equally to everyone, they never looked down on it, but worshiped and respected it. In that sense, yellow can be said to be a color that nurtures life.
The Edo period concept of iki (粋) had a deeper meaning related to one’s qualities and way of life, and arose from traditional Japanese values such as personal maturity, social harmony, and a respect and appreciation of the beauty and grace of nature.
Living a “iki” life means valuing harmony between the inner and outer self, not being swayed by trends or social pressure, neglecting self-development and inner maturity, having one’s own beliefs and values, having respect, compassion and humility towards others, and living a rich and fulfilling life that values harmony.
In the city of Edo, the concept and spirit of “iki” that people incorporated into their lives and lifestyles – modesty yet inner richness, refined sensibilities, a natural yet dignified state, consideration for others and a rich heart – became widespread as an important social element that people desired.
In sociology, the desire for exclusivity and disapproval is cited as factors that suppress tolerance of the “heterogeneous others,” cause concern and controversy, and even lead to the formation of conflict structures.
Some may say that it was only possible because of a policy of isolation that distanced the region from globalism that their magic of suppressing intolerance was possible, but there was once a place in a corner of a small island in the Far East that should serve as a model for the present: Edo, a city permeated with freedom, equality and peace, based on the principles of coexistence and symbiosis.
Sincerely grateful for your financial support.
Sources and references:
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