Wabi Sabi and Katachi
Last Saturday and Sunday, I went to Philadelphia. My friends went there a day before me. Since I thought there was not much to see in Philly, I decided to stay there for just two days. As I expected, there were really not many tourist spots that we even visited a Japanese garden. Yet, it turned out to be one of the best memory in the trip to Philly.
The garden is not really big which is around the size of two standard swimming pools. Half of it is a lake and the other half is a traditional Japanese house. It only took me less than half an hour to walk through the whole garden. Since I need to pay $10 for the entrance fee, the first impression of the garden to me was a scam! When I prepared to leave, my friend asked me to join the guided tour. So, we followed a guide wearing green t-shirt with a character tattoo on his left hand. Although he was not a funny guy, the content he told really drew my attention especially the two cultural concepts of Japan, i.e. Katachi and Wabi Sabi.
The former one describes a combination of functionality and beauty in designing a product. There is a chain of rings connecting the rooftop and the pool in the middle of the house. I thought it was just a decoration but it was indeed a drainage pipe to guide the rain water from the rooftop to the pool. The guide demonstrated how the water was passing through the rings. It was so therapeutic to see and listen to the water going through the rings. I guess this is Wabi Sabi.
For Katachi, it describes the beauty of nature and aging. Many people appreciate the natural beauty but how come getting old is also beautiful? No one can get rid of aging which is a natural process. We need to learn how to praise its beauty so we can learn how to get comfortable of growing old. Usually, we try to hide the scar of repair but the house owner is willing to show us the places that were broken before.
The main takeaway of this trip is not Japanese culture but a different attitude of travelling. Sometimes you really need to dig deep to find out something valuable.
