Japanese Aesthetics

Today when okaasan was talking about dinner, she mentioned that she wasn`t going to be around in the evening, so she would have to prepare something ahead of time. Otousan immediately said that he could prepare dinner tonight. He was firmly rejected. After he left the room, okaasan said that he can`t cook. Of course, I immediately thought that he was not able to cook. Then I remembered that he made the delicious curry last night. Just when I was about to ask, okaasan clarified. `He is ok making things like curry or okonomiyaki, but if I leave him on his own, his meals won`t have much color in them.` Her objection to his cooking was not the taste of the food. She objected to his cooking because the colors were not balanced and the meal would not look as appealing.

From what I have observed here, appearances are very important. This obviously applies to food - both as demonstrated in the home, and also for restaurants. Most of the restaurants and places to eat (including most fast food) have either 3D models of their dishes, or a photograph. There is never just a written description of the food, as far as I have seen. That would be unthinkable.

Appearances also matter for people. People almost always look their best when they go out (with the exception of rebellious school age students). This means most of the time they don`t wear jeans. Yes, as weird as it sounds to someone who loves to wear jeans, most people wear nicer pants when they go out.

Appearances matter in other areas too. They have the prettiest manhole covers I have every seen. Each city has their own design. I especially like the one in Sakai. I will have to try to remember to take a picture and put it up later. The cover has all of these birds on it. It makes the drains in Utah seem so boring. The gardens here are also very well designed. I don`t know that I can explain such a visual thing very well, but they are all visually balanced. They manage to fit gardens into tiny areas, making the streets look much better.

I don`t know exactly what goes in to these different aesthetically appealing presentations, but it is interesting to think about the mindset that must provoke these presentations. No matter how small the area, or how unimportant the material (drain covers), they all are all decorated to draw attention rather than detract from the surroundings. I wish my computer would let me upload photos, or at least that I could explain better, but this will have to do.