Looking at the decoration of most Japanese apartments, one can only be surprised that there is practically no furniture in their living space. The reasons for this phenomenon lie in the special philosophy and eternal cultural traditions of the people who profess Buddhism and Shintoism. It is in these religions that one of the main principles of existence is emptiness (lack of filling), which is akin to purity. And a clean house, as you know, will always be a guarantee of good luck and favor of the deities.
In recent years, it is Japanese interiors that have become more and more popular and even compete with the "classics" and Mediterranean style. The modern man no longer sets himself the task of accumulating a huge number of fashionable trinkets or a mass of pretentious outfits.
Today's youth strives for complete freedom from unnecessary things, including bulky furniture. That is why most people try to learn from the experience of the Japanese, who since ancient times did not suffer from the accumulation of everything and everyone, but quite the opposite, they adamantly followed the strict principles of purification. But such a vision of maximum emptiness among the inhabitants of the Land of the Rising Sun has developed for a reason.
Considering that the Japanese live on an island where cataclysms often occur to nature, and destructive earthquakes are a fairly common occurrence, they tried not to furnish their homes with large-sized furniture or acquire a large number of household items and personal items. It is enough for them to have a thick cotton mattress (futon), which is used instead of a bed at night, and if it is folded, it can be used as a table and you can even dine at it. But most often for these purposes, small futons are made or bought in the form of pillows.
The unpredictability of the forces of nature has developed in the Japanese absolute practicality and rationality. If a lonely person lives in a house / apartment, then it is enough for him to have only one set of cutlery, and not a whole arsenal of spoons, forks and all kinds of plates for a huge company of guests, which may someday appear. The situation is similar with clothes and shoes - the Japanese acquires only the most necessary things and in his wardrobe there will never be extra shirts or many pairs of shoes at the same time.
Such practicality does not mean at all that there are no storage systems in a Japanese dwelling. Their style of interior design provides for a large number of built-in wardrobes, which are skillfully disguised in the color of the walls. In order to achieve such a fusion, the Japanese choose furniture with smooth facades, without textured carvings, all kinds of decorations or drawings, and, of course, without accessories. As a rule, such built-in systems occupy the longest wall without windows, which provides owners with a large number of shelves, drawers and rails, where almost all things are hidden.
There is another very important place that acts not only as a place for rest, communication, eating or sleeping, but also with a spacious storage system - this is the podium. It is this structure that occupies the lion's share of the living space. Most often, the podium serves as a dining area, both in huge houses and rather small apartments. This is a very practical structure, inside which spacious boxes, hatches with shelves or niches hidden from human eyes are correctly and rationally distributed.
In ancient times, the Japanese organized a meal around a kotatsu (similar to a table), and tatami (wicker mat) or futons already known to us, which were located on the podium, served as chairs.
Help from Novate. Ru editors: Kotatsu is a traditional Japanese piece of furniture that resembles a table, only on a low wooden frame. This base is covered with a futon or thick blanket, then a countertop is placed under which a heat source (ember or electric heating) is hidden. And in the old days, a tansu (box) served as a table, in which the most important and necessary things were hidden. Tansu was equipped with wheels or was small in size, so that in case of danger, the owners could quickly take it with them.
In addition to the dining room, an overnight stay is also organized on the podium. To do this, it is enough to get a large futon, a couple of pillows and a blanket from a secluded place. And in the morning all this goodness is again hiding in a hidden drawer or cabinet, and therefore the impression of absolute emptiness and purity is created.
The innate practicality and the ability to be content with little helps modern Japanese to feel great in tiny apartments, without being burdened with various rubbish and unnecessary things.
Despite the fact that most of the inhabitants of Japan have already moved away from using futons and kotatsu in the traditional sense, they have adapted the "alien" European furniture to their canons of practicality and beauty. So, for example, instead of a mattress for sitting, they can use a chair that is familiar to us, but only without high legs. The Japanese also transformed the tables. In order not to construct a kotatsu, the legs were simply filed at the table. Now, sitting practically on the floor, it has become quite comfortable to eat.
The Japanese are still not very fond of open shelves and use them only to put Buddha statues or any other religious attributes. Most owners, even books and magazines, very rarely display them on shelves or shelves, they also hide them in a closet or in niches under the podium, adhering to the same canons of emptiness, maximum space and cleanliness.
To maintain the appearance of emptiness, the Japanese skillfully use lighting and zoning using traditional Japanese doors made of translucent paper stretched over a thin wooden frame (shoji), various partitions and laconic curtains.
In no traditional Japanese house you will see pompous canopies or curtains made of heavy plush fabric, and in their houses there is no room for elaborate lambrequins. They use only natural textiles in calm colors and the size of the window or door. The Japanese categorically do not accept frills, deep folds and bows.
The Japanese prefer screen or panel curtains made from cotton, silk, linen or rice paper that fit snugly around the perimeter of the window. They long ago learned to see beauty in small things, and not in the presence of pretentiousness in everything and everyone and flashy luxury. These people sincerely believe (and adhere to it!) That a clean, uncluttered space significantly improves a person's emotional state and contributes to complete relaxation after a hard day.
Unfortunately, not all Japanese can boast of such interiors, but not because they ignore traditional philosophy or do not worry about complete pacification. Just they are forced to huddle in tiny apartments, the area of which barely reaches 6-13 square meters and in these conditions it is definitely impossible to do without clutter, because even a second pair of shoes or a sports bag will create a mess.