keynote address Why the Quietness Now Makoto Shimazaki President, Japan Finland Design Association (Japan) / Interior Design/ Prof. Emeritus at Musashino Art University Dear friends, ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of the board members of Japan Finland Design Association, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all of you for your participation in our seminar, here in Tokyo. Thank you and welcome. Now here the board members of Japan Finland Design Association of both nations are getting together. It began in June 2000 at the panel discussion of the first board meeting under the white night in Finland, followed by the discussion under full cherry blossoms in Tokyo in April 2001, and the third board meeting in snow and ice of Arctic Lapland in February 2002 from which I can recall the feeling at each occasion and the development of the discussions. Throughout those discussions, discoveries and developments from various views were made with the consistent theme of the Quietness. Our theme the Quietness, above all Designing the Quietness, is derived from the awareness about positive and negative aspects of amazing progress of civilization in the twentieth century especially the drastic change of our living environment in the second half of the century. We do not necessarily deny the fantastic fruit of the civilization that people created in the twentieth century. However, the progress has contained the reflection of our inclination to neglect humble and temperate intelligence and sense toward many aspects that we, as a human beings, and societies, should never lose. There were many arguments about the necessity of reflection and review on ourselves who have recklessly driven our time under the name of progress. The discussion was reflected by our awe to nature and deep fear of changing environment. In the course of the discussions, I found that Finnish sensibility on nature and their aspiration on environment are surprisingly well overlapped with our aspiration and culture. Cultures have their regional distinctions. Cultures can be defined as the phenomenon brewed from complicated mixture of climate, spiritual background, indigenous customs and the like. Therefore when I try to comprehend a different culture, I always confirm the geographic location of the region from where the culture is. Japan is an oblong archipelago stretching from the north to the south from 45ｰ30ｲ North Latitude. Finland is also an oblong country stretching from the north to the south but very different in climate because it reaches to the Arctic from 59'30" North Latitude. However, Finland and Japan closely resemble each other in their rich forest and water resources. Another thing in common, I suspect, is that the both are located at the dead end or a deposit of the cultural flow from other regions. Japanese culture came through roughly three routes. The first cultural route originated in Mesopotamia, came through Eurasia continent, Korean peninsula and Tshushima Island. Although it is generally said and true that Japanese culture was strongly influenced by Chinese, actually it was additionally influenced by Korean factors. I believe that this fact tends to be overlooked. The second is the direct route from China as the Han culture. This one was directly imported by ancient Japanese envoys to China without coming through Korea. The third originated in the Southern hemisphere tribal cultures brought by the Japanese current. This culture might be brought either by oceanic people by boat or drifted ashore on Japanese archipelago like being expressed in the lyric lines of "A Coconut" composed by Tohson Shimazaki. While we ask Mr. Sotamaa for a speech on Finnish culture, it also originated in the culture came through Eurasia. So their race is traced. Strongly influenced by Sweden and Russia and located in between the both, although the culture was brewed unique to Finland, it went out nowhere because of the Arctic. Although the cultures through the three routes were mixed and brewed as the one unique to Japan, they had no way out because huge Pacific Ocean was in the end. So that such "trough" kind environment worked as a winery brewing grape juice in long time. The culture is obtaining the characteristics unique to the region in very long period of time because the region is not a mere transient spot. However as you know, if it turns well, a good bottle of wine may come out but if it is poorly dealt with it has a risk turning out to be a bottle of vinegar on the other hand. I would rather leave it to your judgment which way current Japanese culture is going to. Now I would like to look at the Japanese culture and sensibility that had sustained until a hundred fifty years ago. Japanese islands belong to the Temperate Zone in general but some of them belong to nearly the Subtropical Zone up to their location. For that reason architectural style has become close to that of south eastern Asia. Because of its open structure, a garden had been taken as a part of extended housing. The garden is a part of the interior, at the same time the interior is an extension of the garden, and a no boundary between the both is not aware of. A distinction of traditional Japanese architectures are that they are structured with natural materials and have the deeply extended eves for heavy rain. The space underneath the eves were seen as a part of the interior when it is viewed from the garden, and seen as a part of exterior when it is viewed from the interior, so that it has no concept of clear division according to the different nature of the space. A few minutes ago, I said that Japanese interior and exterior are in some continued feeling, but it is the case taking them as a simple stretch of space, and actually they have a manner separating the space with invisible means. The special space in this way is called "Kekkai (a boundary stone)," and creating a unique sense of the space. The stone looks very natural here called "Tome- ishi (a blocking stone)," and it plays a role of telling people an off limit beyond the stone. In Japan, there is a ground breaking ceremony called "Jichin-Sai" conducted to get started a construction work. Right after a set of bamboo poles and ropes are set up in certain manner, a mere parcel of land turns into a sacred ritual space with deep meaning for the spirit of the earth descending to bless the work. The ritual facilities like "Tome-Ishi" and "Jichin-Sai" represent the very fact that a society based on a promise is actually functioning in our times. A moderate sign of a border, that can be easily broken by any person, is translated as a line of taboo among people who are intelligent enough to comprehend the meaning of the sign. This may be equivalent to a line in a racetrack that has a serious meaning of the border for a track racer. Japanese indigenous "sensibility on nature" is derived from the profound recognition of the gigantic force of nature and its existence far beyond human knowledge. Japanese has learned that human beings are utterly helpless to contend the force of nature such as typhoons, earthquakes, heavy rain alike. Namely Japanese has sustained the harsh nature in the way not to conquer it but accepting it and to wisely coexist with it. This is a big difference between Western point of view in general on nature to against it. The first human dwelling was a cave. However, when primeval people stuck on the cave, they couldnﾕt have the liberty of the location of the dwelling. So that the human beings of next generation gained the free choice of the location by building a dugout. However, they had to have water to sustain their lives. Water not only directly related to manﾕs life but it richly nurtured plants and animals and provided human beings with food. Trees also grow well in a water rich place. Wood is really a human material. Wood is easy and resilient enough for man to be crafted, and gives man a friendly feeling for its porous texture close to the feeling of human skin. While in general we often deem Japanese culture as a wood culture and Western one as a stone culture, I firmly believe that Finland is the country with a marvelous wood culture. To avoid misunderstanding from the terminology I used as "Western," I assume that Finland is not categorized in a region generally called Western. Their houses such as log houses strongly protect them from the menace of its arctic weather. However, they probably have accepted as it is for its overwhelmingly severe nature. This kind of feeling for nature must be a factor that both Japan and Finland are attracting each other. Finnish people also have nurtured their ability to induce natural power for their life through effort to co-exist with and to contemplate it. Until the early period of the twentieth century, less ornamented forms had been treated lightly. Something that was built with complex colors, forms and structures had been highly valued as "well built things." However, when it came into modern times, people had come to understand that something designed in lean concept was well planned thing. It was rediscovered that even a simple ornament in our daily life has a modernized feeling because of its simplicity as a matter of fact. Then people had realized that the formative expression inducing good use and fabrication could be materialized in a simple, humble and quiet thing, not in something only with strong self-assertion. The attitude inducing from what contemplated and co-existed with nature has created the sensitive awareness of "quietness." The "quietness" I am saying here doesn't mean physically dead silence. It is suggesting the quietness more profound to our sensibility. So this "quietness" will make us enable to contemplate nature, and make an opportunity to confirm an idea for the future and a new formative expression. This awareness also has led the interest to materials. It can be asserted, because human five senses have necessarily required right use of materials for right purposes, that the culture of using beautiful daily goods such as lacquered wooden bowls, thinly crafted ceramic cups and earthen pots with wild form and texture alike have been raised. Human beings have unique born sense toward sound. Human beings have kept holding the way of raising their own sensibility by hearing and surrounded by natural sound, not a sheer silence, such as sound from wind shaken tree leaves, wind felt by their own cheeks. These tradition and experiences even have raised a sort of super-sensibility to the extent of sensing a man behind a tree or living far way. Only in the "quietness," we are able to face ourselves . The quietness creates a dialogue between our own minds and ourselves. And we are able to find what exists in the bottom of our mind and contemplate it. When we quietly face ourselves, we are able to make maximum use of our five senses. Not talkative, not reticent, telling a rich context in selective words. Avoiding a louder voice and telling things in a voice as soft as for only strained ears. Such words will be settling in the corner of a listenerﾕs mind in heavy resonance. By facing right against our twentieth century experiences, it might be very necessary for us to contemplate what is the new "design of the quietness" in the twenty first century. It may get started by facing nature again and re--thinking how to co-exist with it. I now would like to seek a venue profound for the quietness where I will be able to meditate and to contemplate my deep self as a human being. I hope that active discussion among participants will take place at todayﾕs symposium of "Designing the Quietness." Last but not least, I also hope that a part of design philosophy and a criteria of our activities may be born. Thank you for your kind attention. Secretariat Japan Finland Design Association (Japan) c/o The Finnish Institute in Japan 3-5-39 Minami Azabu, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan 106-8561 c/o GK Graphics Incorporated telephone : 03-5952-6831 facsimile : 03-5952-6832 e-mail : jfda@gk-design.co.jp previous