茶道と政治に共通するものWhat Tea and Politics Share
In recent days, in response to inquiries from two separate readers, I addressed the disparate themes of "The Way of Tea and Politics" in succession. For me, though the materials were entirely distinct, it served as an excellent opportunity to contemplate where their common aporia lies. That is to say, I was observing the current state of the Tea Ceremony—a representative of Japan’s traditional culture—superimposed upon the current state of Japanese politics. At a glance, these two images may seem to occupy positions entirely unrelated to one another. Yet, as I spent these days weaving my thoughts through writing, I realized that a certain singularity lurks beneath them both. It is a Japanese concept known as Omoiyari [思い遣り].
The true essence of the Way of Tea (Sado, Chado), which traces its lineage to Chanoyu, lies not in its forms or aesthetics, but in the Omoiyari the host holds for the guest, and the guest for the host. I posit that the reason the current Tea Ceremony has become a hollow shell is precisely because this Omoiyari has been lost. While gazing at this reality—where the primal source of the Tea Ceremony has vanished, leaving only a skeleton of form—I proceeded to examine the political side. It suddenly struck me: we are standing in a "world where Omoiyari is lost." While my themes may be Japanese tradition and politics, I always treat Japanese subjects with deep insight while treating global themes synchronically. I do this because I believe the universal resides therein. Therefore, I am beginning to think that a "world without Omoiyari" is the very source of the greatest problem facing our modern era. In this piece, I shall begin with a philosophical inquiry into this untranslatable concept of Omoiyari.
As is evident from the behavior of politicians in every nation, one sees only the corrupt figures of irresponsible mobs screaming without prudence or deep intellect. Why is this so? It is because they possess no Omoiyari. In the speech and conduct of a world devoid of Omoiyari, agitation inevitably erupts. By losing this Omoiyari, are Japan—and indeed the world—not inviting their own extreme decline and devastation? Intellectuals and politicians seem to debate daily at international conferences in an attempt to solve modern problems, yet they turn a blind eye to the fact that, despite countless discussions, the situation has not changed one iota—indeed, it is worsening. I harbor a strong suspicion that these are merely performances continued without ever looking at the root. If this stems from an ignorance, or a slighting, of Omoiyari—something so intrinsic to the human being—then it seems to me that a tremendous shift is required. Omoiyari is generally translated as "compassion," yet I feel a distinct incongruity with that word. Therefore, let me present this concept of Omoiyari through a unique definition.
In Japanese, we write Omoiyari [思い遣り] or the verb Omoiyaru [思い遣る]. This is a combination where the two concepts of Omo-u [思う]—meaning "to think" or "to feel"—and Ya-ru [遣る]—meaning "to do" or "to send"—are coupled in non-separation. The fundamental meaning here is that everything begins with one’s own act of "thinking/feeling." However, "thinking" alone is merely a fantasy; it does not constitute living as a human being. Therefore, one must not merely "think," but must execute that "thought." If one does not, it is not truly "thinking." This is the essence of Yaru (doing). The execution of this Yaru must manifest truly from the source of the Omou (thought/feeling); it is the act of "sending" that sentiment to oneself and to others. The troublesome point is that if one understands this in a state where "thinking" and "doing" are severed, as mentioned before, a perversion occurs where thought and action are grasped separately, leading to a disjointed state rather than one of non-separation.
Personally, I believe that for modern people to reclaim themselves, it is first required that they thoroughly Omoiyaru (think of and tend to) themselves. Upon that foundation, one then "sends" (Yaru) to others, much like sharing the crops harvested from one’s own field. This is Kokorozukai [心遣い]—the active employment of the heart.
What is crucial is that Omoiyari involves no separation between self and other, or subject and object—whether one is thinking of oneself, thinking of others, thinking of the seasons, or thinking of nature. The essence is that this sensation flows as a current, literally resonating with all life. In other words, I perceive this "Heart of Omoiyari" as something possessed by anyone who is human. However, history shows that due to circumstances and social conditions of the times, people’s hearts are constantly alienated from this source, and they lose sight of themselves. The more civilization advances, the overwhelming majority of people lose sight of this origin. Yet, the interesting aspect of human history is that this number never reaches zero.
I must be very careful in how I phrase this, but the heart of Omoiyari unravels the separation between self and other, becoming the kinetic cause that allows the "Heart of Omoiyari" within the other’s source to manifest. The locus of Satori—enlightenment—resides here, and religious dialogues (Mondo) are merely attempts to aim for this through their respective methods. Since the heart is something each individual possesses, when one receives that Omoiyari, their heart emits a response; the heart answers. Through such dialogue, it is possible to make human life vibrant and vivid. Incidentally, it is a mistake to think that such dialogue always requires words. As I will touch upon, the dialogue constantly shifts by discerning the characteristics of each person. Some attain Satori through words, others through action, and some through silence. Satori is pluralistic; there is not merely a single answer.
In short, to possess the "Heart of Omoiyari." Is this not the most important thing for us surviving the modern age? Rather, if we are to survive the coming era of upheaval, I believe this "Heart of Omoiyari" is the fundamental root we must absolutely possess.
The current world is indeed complex, filled with various problems—a pile of issues so high that no one can solve anything anymore. Even if an individual merely tries to look at all the problems, they are inevitably distanced from what they should be doing daily, and are busy to the point of obliteration. Furthermore, the troublesome reality is that amidst this, everyone is asked for their opinion by a nameless pressure and is often forced to make some sort of decision. But if you ask whether that is truly necessary for your path in life, or if it is your mission, the reality is that for most people, it is completely unrelated. Precisely because we are in a situation where everyone is asked for an opinion, it is necessary to dare not to opine. After all, as long as humans are living in the same era, even if you do not speak on a specific issue, speaking on your own theme inevitably synchronizes with the times.
Moreover, we have already realized that standing still in this stagnation achieves nothing. Therefore, even in this current state, questioning democracy or similar matters is not what is important. The sole, singular issue is to return once more to the true root: "What is it that we have not been thinking about?" If we do not, we will be unable to escape even one step from this decline—or rather, this demise—and it is inevitable that we will head toward a destiny where eight billion people suffocate. Viewed broadly, I believe humanity will conclude in this suffocating fate, but that does not mean I have any obligation to commit a lovers' suicide with them.
The fundamental shift of this inquiry may seem difficult when thought of with the head, but it is not difficult at all. After all, everything begins with firmly re-examining the "Heart of Omoiyari" that each person holds as their essence at the source. Thus, I view the essential factor causing global discussions to fall into a waste of time as this: the protagonists of those discussions take the stage without having performed the introspection of examining their own hearts, speaking as they please. Words born from facing one’s own introspection with sincerity are full of prudence, not as decorative language, but because one understands the "Heart of Omoiyari." A person who Omoiyaru (thinks of/cares for) themselves will never slight another. However, as I will state from here on, this implies never placing "Humanity"—an indefinite multitude—as the object of a global mission. This is completely invisible to those who have hitherto thought of matters by global standards.
The heart of Omoiyari is something everyone possesses, something that flowed through daily life in various forms. Why, then, has this heart of Omoiyari been lost? Why have people departed so far from the position of the source that they cannot even realize it? I strongly feel that the key to the turning point where humanity fell into confusion on a global scale—where humans ceased to be human—lies in this insight.
Here, I believe it is useful to consider this through the strata of "Service" and "Hospitality" as a suggestion. I will start with a broad distinction. Service is set in a position where Omoiyari is diluted. That is to say, no matter how good the service is, it fundamentally holds a structure where Omoiyari inevitably vanishes and inverts with time. It means the loss of the heart that thinks of others and thinks of oneself.
On the other hand, hospitality is entirely different in quality from Service in its thoroughness of letting Omoiyari flow from beginning to end. One must be careful to note that Service and hospitality are not discourses within the same realm. The domain of thinking is fundamentally different. In short, when one sets the problem as "Service or hospitality" within the same realm, one has already fallen into inversion. Hospitality exists in a world that nullifies time, never deteriorating or falling into ruin with the passage of time as Service does.
To put it in a word: Hospitality is to do everything for the sake of "the one." Service is to provide a certain quality of service to an indefinite multitude.
Therefore, the iron rule of Service is that there must not be a speck of variance. Japan is often spoken of as a country with good service, but those with high sensibilities will likely feel a sense of incongruity, or even psychological aversion, when receiving service in Japan. And that sensation is correct. I find Japanese service to be extreme in its baseness and it only makes me uncomfortable, so as a major premise, I absolutely do not enter shops that operate on service systems. In fact, there is no place more optimal than Japan to think about this problem of Service and hospitality, not just with the head but with the body. Rather, by seriously contemplating this problem in Japan, it is possible to attain Satori.
Japan is a peculiar country that has inverted into the world’s most service-oriented nation, where service has become the fundamental principle supporting the social system. Yet, there was actually no country as "non-service" as Japan once was. Japan’s essence lay in hospitality, but over the years it was conquered by Service, and there was an era where hospitality was erased. This distortion of a warped structure can still be felt in various places in Japan today. Although hospitality has been outwardly erased by the service society system, traces and remnants of such hospitality barely remain. However, merely trying to find this requires considerable time and effort. This is because, unlike Service, hospitality is the person.
Service stands on the premise that there must be no variance, providing equality and averages to all people. Hospitality, however, stands on the premise that it is natural for variance to exist. Because it looks only at that person; it does everything looking at only "the one." Therefore, if that "one" changes, naturally the method and everything else changes. It is a world of flux.
The variance here requires the mindset that it is inevitable as long as humans are human. However, unfortunately, the modern world considers the concept of equality so roughly and carelessly that there is no end to people who regard this hospitality as discriminatory or elitist. This perversion is absolutely wrong. Hospitality is the very breakthrough to advance beyond the modern impasse we are stuck in. This problem is common not only to culture but to technology, medicine, science, education, and everything else. The important thing is not to replace everything from Service to hospitality, but for individuals not to depend on the balance that has collapsed due to an excessive over-reliance on Service, and for people to create places of hospitality simultaneously and multifariously in various regions. You may have already noticed, but Service encodes sustainable "upward growth," whereas hospitality dissolves when it meets its end through Omoiyari for "the one." In other words, it is not a world of upward accumulation.
Service forcibly erases and scatters the variance inherent in each person that hospitality holds, unilaterally homogenizing them. Moreover, now that it has become a service deployed globally, transcending regions and nations, a service society is established in a domain that ignores the absolute condition of hospitality—that humans are essentially all different—and continues to disguise itself by linking the world system to it. Related to this, if you think this far, you will begin to see whether the existing perspective that social media has destroyed human relationships is valid.
As a result, people adapt to receiving a certain level of service and lose sight of hospitality. And because they are tamed by the homogeneity of Service, they cannot understand hospitality performed for "the one," falling into the inversion of thinking it is discriminatory or elitist. What is extremely important is that at this moment, what has vanished from them is Omoiyari. To speak plainly, becoming a "developed nation" means that at a certain stage, everyone enters the work of erasing this. And the conclusion of a developed nation is that it inevitably heads toward a similar horizon.
I am sure this contemplation will birth many thoughts in each reader. If you begin your speculation by asking what you feel is incongruous with the world and why the current state exists, you will likely come to see the loss of this "Heart of Omoiyari"—the greatest theme for modern man.