What does “Clothing” mean to you?
Something I wear for the purpose of expression.
By using something that was born out of the climate and that was originally part of nature to protect the body, its functionality begins to be used.
As clothing gradually comes to be seen as one part of the body, through clothing enveloped in passion, which is held inside by the skin outside of the body, people became able to express themselves.
I think that the standpoint within the group is such that clothing came to be used in such a way that it is distinguished by the shape, color, materials, volume of the fabric, and decorations attached to the clothes. People who understand such fields more deeply came to be treated as experts.
Since then, with the environment you are born into, as you grow as a person, the characteristics and skills that you take on came to be used as things that show where you belong.
From region to region there are all kinds of traditional clothes that have existed since ancient times, and the different characteristics of each of those express climate. Just as the way you handle different materials varies depending on climate, one can see the very cultures exhibited in those regions. Through the ages, clothing of various shapes that met the circumstances of the times was created one after another, and came to be guided by style.
More recently, rather than the importance of culture or where one belongs, clothing has come to tell a tail of what individuals wish to convey to the outside world. Led by clothing craftsmen (designers), thanks to their naturally connecting philosophies, each and every person is able to express himself as he wishes as the characteristics of clothing takes on limitless possibilities. I think the world has changed into one where, through self-expression, people can understand and sympathize with one another. Into a world where you can express yourself freely.
What does “Contemporary Life” mean to you?
It’s an age where I don’t think but act according to the heart.
Up until now I have only been able to study certain fixed things, and I mostly feel that I’m taking a path with few options.
I am taught one thing by all the functions that have been added to life with advancements in technology and the development of the Internet, and that is that I can speak up myself. No matter through what organization I have developed an interest in something, I can approach an answer if I just open the mobile phone that I have at hand. Thanks to that, we can take our lives, in which we play the lead role, in a direction we want.
The very things that all the different religions of the world have tried to teach us since ancient times are now the voices that are starting to resonate within each of our hearts―they are the expression of love and passion. If you love yourself, you can love all of the people around you, who are your brothers. If so, sympathy arises, and you can interact with limitless kinds of people. If minds connect with each other with a pure perspective, little by little you can foster each other’s growth, and build your own self. In response to hints to maturity that are always in front of us, it is necessary to work to maintain a stance where we are ready to receive them.
The world of spirituality has become popular beginning several years ago. It shows that we can only find what satisfies us when we have turned our consciousness inward. We notice the method for investigating what we are seeking and notice how good breath is. It is said that with this tool we have that lacks the distinction of the self, if we query our hearts, which are made from that invisible love, we can attain any answer. Our self, which is the creator of the life we wish to live, is given the power to choose freely, regardless of the circumstances.
The state of the inner self is the cause of the outside world, and when we realize that it is the root of our spirit, we look at others’ statements and behavior and learn from them.
However, there is one condition. On the path to attaining that which you wish to achieve, no matter what the stage, it is important to choose while being moved by the passion (love) with which you choose.
What are the things you are thinking about lately?
Work hard to be moved by love.
For us who are made by our experiences, I felt that customs are very important. I try my best to wake up every day at the same time, and before I set my feet on the ground, I control my breathing while I’m on the bed, and I try to be moved by a feeling of gratitude at the start of a new day full of opportunities. If I can get up feeling like waking up is like being a newborn baby, I stand in front of the mirror, and so that I can accept the various events that can happen within the flow of the day with a well-ventilated mind, I tell my self several types of affirmations depending on how I feel that day.
Throughout the day, to the extent that I can I try not to take things home with me that would pollute the environment, and by doing so I think of new uses for many things.
I simply thought about how, depending on how we get food and drink, which are the basis for living, we could reduce pollution of the earth. With the exception of food I cook and eat myself, I thought that in terms of methods with the least burden on the earth, the best option would be to eat out at cafes and restaurants. I do not consume any animal products other than honey, and as I leave eating vegetable products that are mostly naturally grown, I noticed all sorts of changes in my body, such as it getting lighter. In traveling around the country, I was surprised by all of the cafes and such that specialize in such ingredients, and how they were in places that you wouldn’t expect. I think it is part of a fantastic recycling system when such places use local ingredients to make unique dishes in these areas while working for the benefit of the planet. I strongly hoped that this was not limited to within the household. We can stop the massive amounts of ingredients purchased and prepared daily at many restaurants from being discarded at the end of the day and this fine source of nutrients from becoming waste.
Another thing I’m working at is the amount of water I drink in a day and how I drink it. With a feeling of gratitude, I put at least some of this water, which before it hits our mouths travels through plumbing and finally becomes drinkable water, into a water bottle that I always carry around, and as I neglect the bottle until the water is purified, so I drink it after time has passed. I aimed for an average of 2 liters a day, and as I drank it little by little, as a visual result, I felt that my thoughts are becoming alert.
Aside from these, in order to decrease the amount of energy I consume, I only flush the water in the toilet when either I or my two cats have defecated. I heard from an acquaintance that Vivienne Westwood has long done the same thing, and I was impressed by this attractive custom, so I tried imitating her.
These are merely things that I am working at, and I think that as ways of thinking differ from person to person, there are nearly infinite ways of protecting the earth. I believe that you can gain new ideas and ways of doing things from listening to people or speaking with them, such that the willingness to evolve gradually heightens. I think that even if it is a little thing, if you find your own way to contribute, it will be useful for the next bigger thing.