Azby Brown

Lessons from Edo Japan Can Help Fukushima Recover

One of the outstanding characteristics of pre-industrial Japan was a highly developed practical understanding of the natural environment.

November 29, 2013

Society

Living with just enough

By now we are all extremely familiar with the litany of challenges we face as a global species, the threats of scarcity which pit state against state and community against community, problems manmade and visible in nature: growing population, increasing urbanization, deforestation, damaged watersheds, overconsumption of resources, energy shortages, waste, pollution….All of us could easily add to this list. We know there will be no easy fixes, no panaceas, but nevertheless as we try to set priorities and search for the most promising ways to approach these problems, many of us find ourselves looking to different cultures and to earlier eras for inspiration. In this regard, the Edo period of Japan has a lot to teach us.

January 31, 2013

Leave a Comment