I’ve yet to come across a deeply religious Japanese person. The Japanese follow two main religions, Shintoism and Buddhism, but more, so they tell me, as a ritual or a superstition, than a matter of faith. But they have a new God, which they seem to follow blindly, the God of Electricity. Monuments to this God are everywhere, even in the most sacred Shinto sanctuaries. They are especially prominent on the mountain sides, as if to permanently remind us that the once beautiful virgin forests have been bulldozed and replaced with crytomeria pines. But it would be unfair to say the utility poles and pylons have ruined Japan’s urban landscape – it would be unremittingly ugly without them. The phrase ‘urban jungle’ could have been coined to describe the concrete bleakness of Japan’s cities.
Where, then, is the beauty in Japan? Well, not all the architecture is grim – the skyscrapers of Tokyo rival New York and Hong Kong. There is breath-taking beauty in Japan’s coastline, its lakes, temples and gardens. But the essential beauty of Japan is in the small details – a simple flower arrangement or an ornament in a tokonoma alcove.
Japan above all is the land of beautiful people. There’s nothing more depressing than standing in a queue behind an American who has let himself go – by which I mean let himself grow to twice his normal width. In Japan size zero is the norm; people take pride in their appearance and often look far younger than their years. Last year, at the Gardening World Cup one of the translators, who worked hard and played hard, had been out all night celebrating her birthday and the designers were wondering how old she was. ”27″ said one, “No, 24″ said another. She was 41, but like so many Japanese didn’t look her age because she hadn’t put on the weight which is associated with growing older. Very few men or women develop the middle-aged spread which we think is inevitable, so that their waist measurement at 60 is the same as it was at 30. The Japanese look good and to see them makes me feel good and takes my mind off those utility poles.
It has been fascinating talking to the other designers as we all strive to finish our gardens in time for judging day. They seem to inhabit a different world from me with their talk of ‘harmony’, ‘balance’ and ‘an appreciation of spatial awareness’. I’m just looking to create something which the visitors think is beautiful and which tells a story to which they can relate.
The Health and Safety wallahs at the Chelsea Flower Show would have a fit if they visited the build up at the Gardening World Cup. At Chelsea, even casual visitors have to wear steel-capped boots and high-viz jackets. Here at Huis Ten Bosch, where the frenzy of construction is just as fierce as at Chelsea, there are no rules at all. No-one wears high-viz jackets. Some of the construction workers wear hard hats, but many prefer bandanas. And as for footwear, most of the workers wear Jika-tabis, which are light-weight split-toed shoes. They are made of cloth with very thin, but ultra-tough, rubber soles and are preferred by workers because they can feel exactly what’s under their feet. They can also, because of the split toes, pick up objects with their feet as well as their hands. It’s a marvel to see them bound across the roof of Mr McGregor’s Cottage in what appear to be little more than bedroom slippers. It’s clear that the Japanese worker feels safer in this footwear- the trade-off for greater vulnerability to falling objects is their greater sure-footedness. If I were on a roof, I know which I’d choose. Come to think of it, I’ve heard they’re very popular with gardeners, so I must buy a pair, even though its unlikely that I’ll ever need to pick anything up with my toes.
Japan is dark green, England pale green. The dark green of Japan is the forest which covers three quarters of its land mass. The pale green of England is its agricultural land- what we fondly call our “green and pleasant land”. The stark contrast between our two countries came home to me today in a 500 mile plane journey from Tokyo to Fukuoka. There was no cloud cover, so you could see the country clearly set out before you, from coast to coast. Essentially, Japan is one mountain range after another; steep mountian sides which are useless for farming, hence the dense forest. All the people and all the cultivation are crowded in the few flat parts, which are mainly along the coast. Japan has one quarter of the usable land of the UK and double the population.
