Ichigo Ichie
Hi there! Welcome back to another blog.
Preparing this blog, revisiting some pictures and walking through my notes between the pages made me feel so peaceful. This blog will include some part of my Japan trip and the Japanese art of ichigo ichie. If you quickly search in your browser for what is this ichigo ichie, the first thing you will probably see the below;
“a Japanese four-character idiom that translates to ‘one time’, ‘one meeting’ or ‘once in a lifetime’. It’s a cultural philosophy emphasizing that every encounter and moment is a unique, irreplaceable treasure that can never be replicated, urging people to be intensely present ”
I see my Japan trip is a memory deserving to be treasured, a unique encounter in my life that can never be replicated, even if I return there in the future.
Japan is the most unique country I've visited so far. It was my first time visiting that part of Asia. Actually, the only other part of Asia I've been to is Turkey :) Anyway, compared to my experiences in Europe, Japan has been the most unique and different destination so far. We started our trip in Tokyo, then continued to Kyoto, and our final stop was Osaka.
Tokyo gave me the city vibe I had missed so much. It's always awake, vibrant, and full of life. Despite being such a huge metropolis, it has a beautiful balance between ultra-modern buildings and traditional or historical sites, and plenty of green spaces. Tokyo made me feel like a tiny human in a massive urban jungle, and I loved that feeling. I had missed it ever since I left İstanbul. Then we moved to Kyoto, where it became even clearer just how much of a business city Tokyo is. Kyoto felt more traditional, slower paced, and more spacious. I felt that it had a completely different rhythm. As for Osaka, we only spent two days there. That's hardly enough time to really get to know a city, but unfortunately, it ended up being my least favorite. I still enjoyed my time there, though. I mean... I'd rather not think about how much money we spent on arcade games and toys. Don't blame us... blame the planets. They were probably aligned in a very strange way, and we just happened to move with them.
During our trip, wherever we went, I was amazed by the trees and their colors, on top of all the other beautiful things I saw in those cities. Wherever I go, trees always catch my attention and fascinate me. I took countless photos of them, and I still revisit those pictures from time to time. There were also things I didn't take photos of because I've kept them in my memory; a particular smell, a taste, or simply a feeling.
I could write pages about the places we visited, the restaurants, the food, the shopping, how clean everything was, and the kindness of the people. And you can already find thousands of similar recommendations on the internet. That isn't the purpose of this blog. Instead, I want to share one of the biggest take aways from my trip to Japan: ichigo ichie.
I first encountered the concept of ichigo ichie in Kyoto during a traditional tea ceremony. We booked a chanoyu experience, where you dress in traditional Japanese clothing and learn how a tea ceremony is performed. Before the ceremony began, our host explained the meaning of ichigo ichie to us. The first photo below was taken at the moment it was introduced to us. I took a picture of it so I could read more about it later.
Did I read about it later? Yes, I did. Was I fully present throughout the ceremony? Yes, I was... except for a few brief moments when I felt the need to take some photos so I could look into it later.
After we returned to the Netherlands, my husband found this book in a bookstore and gave it to me as a gift. It's the second photo below. I read it slowly, taking plenty of notes along the way.
I don't think I'm always fully present, and I think that's only human :D But I do care about being present in the moment, and I admire people who can do it effortlessly, embracing each moment as it comes, whether it's good or bad. I don't think most of us can do that.
Anyway, while I was reading this book, I started thinking about my own ichigo ichie moments. The moments when I was completely absorbed in the present.
One of those moments was when we visited Meiji Jingu in Tokyo early in the morning, probably around 6:30 a.m. The entrance to the forested area and the long path leading to the shrine, lined with big trees on both sides, felt magical.
In the first photo below, you can see the sunlight filtering through the trees. I noticed it, stood there watching it for a while, and then took a picture. It wasn't a long moment, but it made my mind simply stop. Later, I learned that this phenomenon is called komorebi in Japanese.
Another unforgettable moment was walking along the path itself. In the second photo, you can see me standing there. I asked my husband to take a picture of me because I wanted to preserve that moment not only in my memory but also in a photograph. I felt my heart expand with gratitude, and I felt completely refreshed. Thousands of people walk this path to reach the shrine. If you're one of them, I wonder what your experience of this place was like.
Visiting Meiji Jingu, walking beneath those trees, sitting quietly for a while, taking in the surroundings, and allowing ourselves to experience everything at a slow pace... If you ever visit Tokyo and are drawn to places like this, I hope you'll set aside some time to experience it.
Another ichigo ichie moment was buying my first camera! I can still feel the childlike happiness I experienced when I walked out of the store with my camera in my hands. I don't really know how to use a camera effectively yet, but I've always wanted to learn. So I thought, why not now? A good second hand camera seemed like the perfect place to start and a great way to find out whether photography is truly something I'll enjoy.
We visited a second hand camera store and completely lost track of time. I don't think there was a single moment when I felt bored, overwhelmed, or distracted. I was fully present and enjoyed every second of being there. In the end, I bought a Fujifilm camera and hardly used my phone to take pictures for the rest of our trip in Japan :)
The last moment I'd like to share is about how I preserved an ichigo ichie moment. The book mentions that our brains store memories well especially when they're connected to a scent. That's exactly how I preserved my memory of Kiyomizu-dera Temple.
There is a large incense burner used as part of a purification ritual, where people wave the fragrant smoke over themselves. I watched the people around the burner and did the same. I don't usually like the smell of incense, and maybe that's another reason this memory has stayed with me so vividly. Standing right next to the burner, surrounded by the thick incense smoke, became a moment I can still recall in incredible detail, hahah :D
Now, whenever I smell incense, I'm instantly back at Kiyomizu-dera, back in that very moment.
Together with the moments I shared here, and the many more I didn't, my entire trip to Japan is ichigo ichie to me. As it is written in the book of Ichigo Ichie;
‘At the end of chanoyu, say goodbye with ichigo ichie, to remind yourself that you have experienced something unique that will never happen again in the same way and that is therefore a memory deserving to be treasured.’
Time stands still when you experience a state of flow. That's exactly how I feel while writing this. There are no timelines, no distractions… fully absorbed in my writing.
Sonraki yazıda görüşmek üzere!
Until the next post!
Deniz
