illustration : copyright (c) Hiroshi takatsuki

Since the ancient times, the Japanese have appreciated the delicate changes in the seasons and waxing and waning of the moon: sensitivities that evolved into the idea that “all things continue to circulate in regularity.” This idea of circulation -- as linked not only to nature but also to the death of humans and other forms of life ? has been intertwined with beliefs in reincarnation. This idea of circulation is manifested in the concept and practice of recycling during the Edo period, which is attracting renewed interest in recent years.

Traditional wisdom lives on！

Kawasaki City, an example of regeneration as eco-town
Once known as a pollution-ravaged industrial city, Kawasaki City has been transformed into a pioneering district for green industries. The city in Kanagawa Prefecture adjoining Tokyo has constructed numerous resource recycling facilities after being designated an “Eco-Town” by the government in 1997. Kawasaki seeks to realize intra-region zero emission by building on collaboration among different industrial groups within the region. One revolutionary feature of Kawasaki Eco-Town is that recycled products are used as raw materials in nearby plants instead of shipped to distant locations. This alternative, viable only when plants of different industries are clustered together, helps to reduce environmental load in garbage processing and through the use of recycled -- instead of new -- raw materials.

Is this another illustration of “wisdom?”

• Borrowing books or purchasing books at recycle shops, rather than buying them new
• Selling no longer needed items at flea markets or auctions
• Clothing your child with hand-me-downs

Key words that describe this wisdom

• Recycling system in the Edo period
• Renovation of Ise Jingu shrine every twenty years with wood harvested from trees grown in its compound
• “The petals fall but the flower remains intact” (from Shinto teachings)

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