Mindfulness meditation has been in the limelight recently in Japan. Zen meditation has had a long tradition in Japan and its spirit has greatly influenced arts—“道, or dou—such as tea ceremony, flower arrangement, and the martial arts. There are times when its fragrance is felt in our daily lives.
Even so, up to now, ordinary people did not embrace meditation with much interest. The context is the stress of modern society and the life difficulties that come with it. Living does not exist outside of its context. Meditation also has its life and brilliance in the context of practice, which is very important, even though it may seem obvious and easily forgotten.
Fusako Koshikawa, PhD
Waseda University
Convening Faculty
Koshikawa is a professor of psychology, Waseda University and the president of the Japanese Association of Mindfulness. Her research interest is the effectiveness of Eastern techniques, such as meditation and … MORE
