Khalid Birdsong
3 Creativity Hacks Inspired By Japanese Woodcarvings
What do monkeys; a cat and an elephant have in common? Believe it or not, inspiration for expanding your creativity!
Actually, the animals I’m talking about are ornately carved on structures made over 400 years ago at Toshogu Shrine in the city of Nikko, Japan. The famous shrine and world heritage site is just north of Tokyo, and was built as the final resting place of emperor Tokugawa Ieyasu. He founded the Tokugawa Shogunate, the final military dynasty in Japan that lasted from 1603–1867.
Even though Japan has been a part of my life for thirteen years I can’t recall hearing about this place until this summer. My family and I visited Nikko for several days and were quite impressed with the history and colorful beauty of the area.
Not only was it lovely, there were several takeaways I discovered about the creative process just from pondering these wood carved animals at Toshogu Shrine.
1. The Sleeping Cat shows us how we can receive inspiration while at rest
Nemuri-Neko, carved by Hidari Jingoro, is of a sleeping cat surrounded by flowers. It was placed at the entrance of Tokugawa Ieyasu’s grave to ward off mice and has become a famous recognizable symbol to Japanese people. What fascinates me is that the cat is sleeping and, similar to a real feline, still seems alert!
I’m reminded of how cats take frequent naps but are still aware of their surroundings and can wake quickly when approached. Just like when we’re trying to get creative inspiration for our projects, thinking hard doesn’t usually get results. It’s when we’re sleeping, taking a walk or even using the restroom that the great idea pops into our heads! If you jump right away and make a mental note or write it down, you can catch it like a little mouse.
Learn to fill your mind with images and information from research related to the project you need a great idea for. Then take a break so that it can all gel in your brain. When you let go by doing something different and turn your mind away, the answers will come!
2. The Elephant shows that if you commit to taking risks you can create something no one has ever seen before
On top of a building that was used as a warehouse called “Kamijinko” is a carving of an elephant. The artist never actually saw one in real life and I think it turned out looking pretty accurate. I assume he was going off of written descriptions of what elephants look like.
There must have been quite a bit of pressure because this was to be done to honor the emperor. Since there are no elephants in Japan and no cameras at that time, he had to use his imagination to create his own interpretation. Yes, we could say that no one else had seen real elephants back then either so he could have created whatever crazy animal he wanted, but it looks like he took it seriously.
The artist couldn’t see any references for what he needed to create but still took a risk and made it happen. I’m sure he sketched plenty of ideas early on (and probably hated all of them) but found something good eventually through continually doing the work.
When you’re coming up with a new idea or design, use what you know and have the courage to put down ideas even if they look or sound awful. Getting started is the key. Learning through continually working on and through your ideas by facing fears, taking small risks and trying styles you’ve never taken on before will create something amazing.
3. The Three Monkeys want you to train your brain and avoid evil
On the sacred horse stable or Shinkyusha are 8 carved boards along the top that depict the life of a monkey and caricature human life. One of the most famous boards illustrates the famous Buddhist teaching -if we hear no evil, speak no evil and see no evil; we can live a good life.
It’s something we have to train ourselves to do. I’m sure all of us have times when we get in deep trouble for speaking evil my mistake! As we grow in life, we learn when to speak up and when to stay quiet. You can also train yourself to be more creative as long as you understand that it will take time. It will take less time if you have a purpose.
Just like the monkeys in the carving you can make a point to avoid evil but pay attention to all the inspiration that you hear, say and see in the world.
Read more and make a point to remember one detail that you feel is important. Look at the work of artists you admire or despise and study what makes their work special. Learn a new skill. Spend time with people you think of as creative and talk with them about what inspires you. Question everything! The answers will create new inventions, characters and stories.
The bottom line is to make a point to take inspiration breaks while you work, commit to consistently taking risks and exercising your creative mind with more than just your art, music or writing. Keep these ideas in your head each day and watch your creative power expand in ways you never thought possible!
Of course, you should also take a trip to Nikko, Japan. It’s pretty amazing!
Happy New Year! Or, if you were in Japan, you would say “Akemashite omedetōgozaimasu!” That can be difficult to say- believe me I know- but it conjures up wonderful visions of the magic during this time of year.
If you’re living in Japan right now, you understand what I’m talking about. I lived in Osaka for two years and go back every summer to visit my wife’s family. Summer is fine but I really miss the New Year celebrations. We actually visited for Oshogatsu (New Years) two years ago and it was wonderful to be there for it all again.
New Years in Japan is something I’m sure you would enjoy! When you visit, make sure to go to a shrine on New Year’s Eve.
They are normally packed with people looking to ring in the New Year with a blessing. Even with the crowds, entering a shrine in Japan calms you. People do their best to visit on New Years day or within the first three days of the year.
What surprised me the most on my first visit were how many things they have for you to do…
You can say a prayer for health, happiness and prosperity and even get a fortune for the year. You might need someone that can read Japanese to translate your fortune because the little paper you receive is packed full of information. If it’s a good fortune, you keep the paper. If it’s bad, you can tie it to a tree in the shrine for better luck.
The smell of the cold fresh air mixed with food cooked by street vendors like okonomiyaki (Japanese pizza), takoyaki (fried ball of dough with a piece of octopus inside) and dango (round rice dumplings) helps you feel content as you walk through the shrine. You should take a chance and eat something you’ve never tried before. One of my favorite foods is yakisoba. They’re like stir-fried ramen noodles with veggies and pork. Oishii (delicious)!
Of course, the most important food to eat on New Year’s Eve is toshikoshi soba noodles. The long thin noodles represent a long and healthy life. You can go to a restaurant or buy some and make them yourself.
One of the coolest parts of spending time at the shrine is when the clock strikes twelve. The shrine will ring a large bell 108 times to get rid of the 108 human sins and worldly desires in the Buddhist belief system. The bells remind me to stop and think about the year that has passed. The bell ringing truly helps me feel like any negativity inside of my body is being cleared away.
The first three days of the year are sacred for Japanese people. They take time off of work and relax at home with family. Children are given gifts of money called Otoshidama. The amount they receive can be anywhere from $50-$150! You can see that it’s a nice chunk of change that can help kids learn about how much to spend and save for their future. My daughter loved receiving money but I think she was more excited about the envelopes with manga characters on them that they came in.
If you get a chance to spend time with a Japanese family during Oshogatsu you can enjoy eating traditional cuisine called Osechi Ryori. The selection of fish and vegetables are beautifully arranged inside of three tier boxes and look like works of art. You can buy osechi ready made and there’s plenty of food so bring your appetite!
The New Year in Japan is full of food, family and lots of drinking!
Travel is significantly cheaper compared to other times of the year if you’re flying in from another country. You can get great deals so look into them and decide where you would like to visit. Tokyo is fun but of course I’m partial to the Osaka or Kansai region because I have family there. There’s so much to see in Kansai like the gorgeous historical area of Nara, the city of Kobe and one of my favorite places to visit shrines, Kyoto.
Start planning your trip now! That way, you can have all year to look forward to the enchanting experience of celebrating the New Year at a shrine in the extraordinary country of Japan!
You are afraid.
I love to travel but I hate how scary it is. Going to a place you’ve never been before and you can’t even speak the language…
Not easy!
One of the reasons I draw Fried Chicken and Sushi comics is to inspire people to get up off of their butts, conquer their fears and take a trip overseas.
You gotta see what’s really out there!
Yes. It can be expensive. I must admit it can also be frustrating dealing with culture shock in a country you’ve never set foot in.
The surprise gift of it all is being forced to grow as a person.
As you probably know, personal growth ain’t easy! There can be a ton of laughter and tears but I know you can do it. Some of you already are.
When you read my comics each week I want you to feel the reality of living in Japan (aside from the magical Tanuki). The ups and downs of travel or living in another country can be full of humor and fun with a bit of sadness thrown in for good measure. All of this helps open your mind and push you to become more tolerant, patient and aware of who you really are.
One of my goals is to help you see that anyone can leave their comfort zone, travel very far away and still be a success. Even if they make a pile of mistakes along the way!
If you’re thinking about taking a trip overseas, start making concrete plans and take consistent action to make it happen. That might mean saving a little money each month, or researching your dream country online. Take it one step at a time and you will be enjoying mind-boggling experiences on foreign soil before you know it!
Thanks for joining Karl and his family each week on their adventures in Japan.
Now, go out and create yours!
Best of luck,
Khalid
Are you one in a billion?
If you travelled internationally in 2015 then you are. In fact you are 1 in 1.2 billion. According to the United Nations World Tourism Organisation that’s how many international trips were made last year. And by 2030 it will be nearly 2 billion.
2030. 2 billion people. Spending just over $2 trillion, in all corners of the world. 2 billion people, experiencing new cultures, sharing new friends, creating new business. 2 billion people providing jobs and an income for 400 million people.
By 2030, Travel & Tourism will be 11% of the world’s economy. Each and every person who travels will play a part in this story of growth, adventure and experience.
But will this story have a happy ending?
When we’re on holiday we can consume double the amount of water we do at home, and can create up to three times the amount of waste. We can alienate local communities by wearing inappropriate clothes, or by going to areas they hold sacred. We can trample on precious biodiversity, or visit places that cannot cope with our presence. We take 32 million flights creating 781 million tonnes of carbon each year.
2030. 2 billion travellers. 4 billion footprints.
We are already seeing the challenges play out.
We need to change how we think about travel if we really want to be sure that the positive impacts outweigh the negative.
The notion of travelling ‘sustainably’ or ‘responsibly’ is certainly not a new one. Since the Brundtland Report first coined the term ‘sustainable development’ in the late 1980s, tourism’s role has been promoted, questioned, and debated. Economic vs environmental impact. Foreign vs local ownership. The visitor vs the visited.
Amongst academics, the international development community, businesses, industry organisations, and NGOs the debate has raged for 30 years. Groups and individuals from around the world have dedicated themselves to raising awareness of the issues around unchecked tourism growth, providing solutions, campaigning for change, and developing new ways of doing tourism that ensure positive impacts.
Across the globe, there are great examples of sustainable tourism in action. WTTC’s Tourism for Tomorrow Awards highlight but a few.
But of last year’s 1.2 billion international travellers, how many knowingly or unknowingly took steps to travel more responsibly?
Evidence suggests relatively few.
Speaking at WTTC’s Global Summit in Dallas, USA, last year, ocean campaigner Fabien Cousteau said: “I look forward to the day when there is no sustainable tourism, just tourism”.
As the realities of climate change begin to emerge, social and political tensions rise across the world, and resources become scarcer in the face of growing populations, there needs to be a step change in how people undertake their travel.
We need to combine the forces of those thought leaders who have been driving the sustainable tourism agenda for so many years, the businesses who provide the means for tourism to happen, and the experts who know how to deliver sustainable development on the ground, with the power of the people who travel.
The seminal phrase of the Brundtland report was “sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.
We need tourism now and future generations will need tourism. Not just for jobs, livelihoods, and economic growth, but for peace, community, and wellbeing.
It is no longer enough to congratulate ourselves on what we are doing well, or point fingers at what we are not doing so well. We need to pose the tough questions and find the solutions together. What sets tourism apart from other sectors is the fact that most of us who work in it, are also consumers of it.
We each have a perspective but we are in it together. From now on it needs to be “just tourism”.