Mottainai

 I've been thinking a lot about what we consume.  Not just food, but everything we buy, from clothes to electronics.  From cosmetics to cleaning supplies and everything in between.

One reason this is on my mind is looking at the storage place we have here. It is packed full of stuff. I posted photos of the upstairs room, but downstairs is just as bad. The garage area is big enough for two cars, but it's full. Another reason is from watching these videos of people who buy storage lockers and resell what they find. These videos are from America, I don't think they do that in Japan. A lot of the stuff is no good, but sometimes there are things that have value. One, I watched they found about 10 pairs of sneakers, brand-name sneakers, each pair worth over 100 dollars. The sneakers were new, still in the boxes with tags on. Another unit had brand-name bags, again new, with tags on, over 2000 dollars worth. All I could think was, what a waste, mottainai!

Mottainai is a Japanese philosophy of cherishing what we have. The core idea is an expression of regret over waste. Buying things that aren't used is mottainai; it encompasses the misuse of resources, a respect for the inherent value of things. 

I've heard this word so much since I came to Japan. My students would use it if they didn't finish their course book, but had to quit studying English. Some of my neighbours would gift me vegetables from their garden, stating that it would be mottainai if the vegetables just rotted away. I've used it as I passed on baby furniture that I bought for Hannah. I knew I wouldn't have any more kids, but just keeping a baby crib would be mottainai.

The word mottainai is common in Japan, I hear old ladies tut about the waste a supermarkets, teachers at school when prints that are made aren't used, and office staff wondering what to do with the extra supplies. The word gained internal attention when Kenyan Nobel Peace Prize laureate Wangari Maathai heard about it during the Kyoto Protocol. She adopted it as a universal slogan for environmental protection.

Even though convenience is king in modern Japan, the spirit of mottainai is remarkably relevant.

In modern Japan, food waste is discouraged, with creative ideas for leftovers becoming more and more popular. One thing that I do is to use up leftover curry. I make curry bread, basically I butter one side of sliced bread, put panko on it, that makes the outside of the sandwich, put curry in the middle, with bread on top, panko side on the outside, and fry!  Leftover spaghetti sauce gets turned into pizza bread.  If I make too much oatmeal for breakfast, I use the leftovers to make pancakes.

Japan has few natural resources, so people are encouraged not to waste resources. Most electronics have an "Eco mode" on them. During the summer, most public places have the air conditioners set to 28C, which is supposed to be comfortable without using too much energy. Recycling is a big thing here.  There are recycling stores, but most cities have recycling centers as well. When the kids were little, we went to one and bought some yard toys for about 1,000 yen, new they would have cost over 10,000 yen.

I'm thinking a lot about how to embrace this idea more. One thing I do is I try not to impulse buy. At the moment, we don't have any extra cash, so impulse buying is out of the question. I've done it in the past and regretted it every time. So, thinking before buying saves waste down the road. 

I'm trying to reduce food waste. I plan meals, and I also have ideas on how to use any leftovers. We have our main meal at lunchtime, which means that any leftovers can be used in the evenings. I love a bargain, but I realized that buying something because it is cheap doesn't save money! 

Another idea of mottainai is to appreciate what you have. Look after your things, from the smallest item to the largest item. We live in an age of fast fashion and extreme consumerism. But over-consuming doesn't help. The buzz that we get from clicking on something on Amazon, then getting a package, or two or three. doesn't last! Appreciating what we have, taking care of things so they last, can give one a sense of peace. I'm not saying never buy things, but being aware and wonder if buying things is mottainai.

Is anybody going to embrace mottainai? Let me know in the comments!!