While Western culture focuses on interior perfumes, scented candles and electric air fresheners, the Japanese approach to the home offers a completely different perspective. For the Japanese, the ideal is not a home that smells like vanilla or freshly washed laundry, but a home that simply doesn’t smell like anything…
Japanese culture places great emphasis on the so-called “primordial calm”. The home is supposed to be a refuge for the senses, which are constantly bombarded by many stimuli at the same time in the noisy and visually saturated outside world. At the same time, smell is the fastest sense – odor molecules travel directly to those parts of the brain that are connected to emotions and memory. Any strong smell, even if it is pleasant to us at first, actually represents a constant burden for the brain. It forces us to react and process information, even if we don’t even realize it.
Also watch a youtube video from the Indoor Air Quality Association:
Give your nose and brain a rest
The Japanese believe that the real one we achieve only when our senses do not have to work with anything at all. Their concept of a clean, neutral space without disturbing scents is therefore not only an aesthetic choice, buta long-proven philosophywhich has surprisingly strong support in modern science and neurobiology.
Eliminate olfactory stress
The latest scientific studies published in professional journals suggest that the Japanese intuition was correct. It turns out that more and more people suffer from the so-called sensory sensitivity. For people with a sensitive nervous system, artificial and natural fragrances can be used a source of invisible stressfatigue or even impaired concentration. Paradoxically, the phenomenon of a “fragrant home” becomes a source of anxiety instead of relaxation. The Japanese way of neutrality is thus perceived as a certain form consideration towards themselves and potential guests.
Destroy all odors
It is true that achieving such neutrality requires much more effort than simply lighting a candle. In Japanese households, the focus is on right in the bud. The basis is proper air flow and the use of natural materials that have the ability to actually absorb odors, not just mask them. Modern The Japanese mainly use activated carbon from bamboo for this purpose, which works as a silent and invisible cleanerwhich does not release any chemicals into the space, but on the contrary absorbs all moisture and odors from cooking or washing.
Enjoy food and drinks
This approach to the “smell of nothing” is also related to respect for food and tea. The Japanese believe that an interior saturated with artificial fragrance devalues the taste experience. If your living room smells of lavender air freshener, you’ll never fully enjoy the subtle notes of matcha green tea or fresh sushi. (As with these typically Japanese matters, however, it is in a purely Czech environment.) Clean air is perceived as a space in which only those smells and tastes that really belong there at the given moment and that have its time and purpose.
It’s more complicated, but convenient
Transitioning to a neutral Japanese-style home can be off-putting at first for someone used to intense scents. However, it is the way to deep internal hygiene. By removing scents, we give our brain a chance to reboot. A home without an odor does not mean a home without a soul. On the contrary, natural materials, silence and natural light stand out in such a space. It is back to basicswhere the main role is played by cleanliness and space for breathing. So next time, instead of buying another candle, try to open the windows and let the air enter the apartment, which is “ordinary” but will be the best medicine for your tired mind.
