Takaya Kurimoto and Yoko Kawai of PED had the pleasure to give an online live talk at Shofuso, a Japanese house with a garden, hosted by the Japan America Society of Greater Philadelphia.

Our talk examined how the concept of Michiyuki, traveling or procession in Japanese, could help us be aware of the present moment. Can our physical environment, such as architecture and gardens, foster mindfulness? How does it do it? Could we make such space at home or work?

It was great to see many people attended!

After Yoko’s short lecture, Takaya offered a tour of Shofuso, both its architecture and garden, explaining the process of Michiyuki in which you see different views while moving your body in various ways and tempos. How wonderful to be able to do that in the REAL SPACE! And Shofuso is so beautiful and exquisite. We also offered some contemporary examples of how you can materialize Michiyuki at home and offices.

Lastly, here are some educational resources we gave at the lively Q&A session. I wish we had more time!

Organizations where you can learn the topics around Michiyuki and/or mindfulness: North America Japanese Garden Association (NAJGA), Architecture, Culture, and Spirituality Forum (ACSF), Academy of Neuroscience of Architecture (ANFA)

Authors who discuss body and space: Yasuo Yuasa, Kitaro Nishida, Daisetz Suzuki