IS UKIYO THE NEW HYGGE?
The Japanese word encouraging us to live more in the moment
Words
ED CUMMING
Photography
JACK FAIREY
English is not a snobbish language. It happily absorbs foreign concepts when they express something that chimes with us but for which our own dictionary is ill-equipped. There is still no equivalent for je ne sais quoi, or Schadenfreude. More recently, encouraged by an enthusiastic publishing industry, the Danish concept of Hygge – a chic, warm kind of cosiness – has been lodged in the consciousness. It seemed to arrive just when it was most needed.
Which foreign word without a neat English counterpart best suits the current moment then? Those who have emigrated might take solace in Saudade, the Portuguese concept of deep longing, or homesickness, for a place – or person – that may or may not still exist. Anyone in the early days of a promising new relationship might relate to the Scandinavian concept of Forelsket, literally 'in love,' which captures the heady giddiness that lies between a crush and a full-blown relationship.
But these are anxious times. With this in mind, another candidate springs to mind: the Japanese concept of Ukiyo. Literally meaning 'transient world', or 'floating world', it came to life in the Edo era of Japanese history. This was the period of stability that came after the end of the Sengoku era, a time of civil war, with samurai, geisha and shinbo, recently dramatised in the hit series, Shogun.
From dark times, however, came an era of relative prosperity, characterised by isolationism, urbanisation and art. Stable government and growing numbers of people living in cities gave rise to many modern pleasures. From this came the concept of ukiyo, which carries the idea of taking pleasure in the transient, fleeting pleasures: sex, art, music, a moment of pause looking at a gorgeous landscape. The greatest joys in life are all the sweeter for being fleeting; you never know what might be around the corner. So you might as well live for now. It is ironic that this era of 'floating pleasures' was one of the most stable periods in Japanese history.
The term also gave rise to one of the most influential Japanese art-forms, ukiyo-e (literally, pictures of the floating world): the style of woodblock prints of people and places that emerged during this period. The most famous example is Hokusai's The Great Wave off Kanagawa, the inspiration for a gazillion t-shirts and posters and imitators. It is no surprise that this art was one of the key inspirations for the Impressionists of the 19th century in Europe. They, too, were faced with an uncertain, bewildering world, in which the anxieties of industrialisation were off-set by the pleasures of the cities: bars, ballets, and pleasure gardens.
It is telling that ukiyo – both the art and the concept – remains such an evocative force. A Ukiyo drinks brand has won awards around the world. A large immersive exhibition of Ukiyo art is on a world tour – it is currently in Tokyo – bringing the old works to life using state of the art technology. Artists such as Shisamu Iwase make ukiyo-e prints depicting contemporary situations. Sakana, a Tokyo-based AI company, has launched tools that let users create ukiyo-style images of whatever they like. The spirit of ukiyo is alive and well. The lesson that when the world feels overwhelming, take solace in what is around you. In any language, what could be more timely?
Ed Cumming is a London-based writer and editor, currently at The Telegraph.