The Japanese Art of Regenerative Living
A toolbox of philosophies and practices for nourished living.
In exploring mountain villages and seaside towns, speaking with grandmas, fermenters, geologists, and artisans up and down the Japanese archipelago, I have had the great privilege of being in the company of deep-seated wisdom.
These wisdoms have defined my foundation. Grounding me, to me, in a way that I had never experienced before. I now know how to better eat for my unique body to feel my happiest. I now know how to better care for my emotions by connecting them to the rhythm of the natural world. I now know how to better nurture my relationships with my family and friends so we can learn and lean and love with pleasure.
And I thought… I can’t keep this to myself! I must share them with each of you! Because if everyone had access to these wisdoms, then … world peace? Maybe!
So I have boiled the wisdoms down into practical tools to realize a truly rich and satisfying life, no matter your cultural background or region of the world. This is the kind of life where you see through rose-colored glasses (Why not?! I love rosey. And perception is a choice.), and where each morsel, each hug, each word that you type, feels luxurious. If you are going to do it anyway, isn't it nice to experience it in this way?
The Japanese art of regenerative living is derived from koyomi-advised skills and practices of ishokujyu.
… what?!
koyomi: The traditional Japanese microseasonal calendar tells the story of the people and rituals, skies and earth, seas and mountains, flora and fauna that create a single year. The year consists of the four seasons, twenty-four sub-seasons, and seventy-two microseasons. It is through this story that we better understand our place in the natural world and our great privilege in being a part of it.
ishokujyu: The word that means “to live” or “to create living” is a mashup of three separate words: clothing, food, home. As it is through these three lenses that we express, and experience the world. Clothing are the fibers that swaddle you and help you to express yourself to the world, food are the ingredients that unite you with the earth and nourish your soul, and home are the materials that protect you from harsh weather and create a comforting place to rest.
All to say that the Japanese art of regenerative living are a set of tools that have been derived from the relationship between the traditional microseasonal calendar and the fundamental pillars of Japanese living.
Japan Food Study
Japan Food Study is an online community education program. I share 12 of these tools through the food culture medium. All of us eat, it's our common denominator, and many of us relish in the eating experience, so I find it to be the most fun way to learn the 12 tools that are of greatest benefit in achieving that luscious life you seek. My intensive studies across the Japanese countryside, learning directly from grandmas, fermenters, geologists, and artisans, have been poured into Japan Food Study. Through me, now their wisdom becomes your wisdom. I want to arm you with new parameters, new vocabulary, new lenses. Like after the most delicious meal, I want you to feel like wow, today was SO nourishing.
Microseasonal Journaling
And if you only have the head and heart space to incorporate one new tool right now, then it's Microseasonal Journaling. Don't worry, you're fully covered here. The guided experience to a more intimate relationship with your natural environment and your ancestral roots, is the best first step in realizing a truly rich and satisfying life. This is the foundation. Microseasonal awareness is the toolbox itself. From there, you can begin adding the tools that resonate with you most.