essay about the beauty of nature

The Beauty About The Nature

To go into solitude, a man needs to retire as much from his chamber as from society. I am not solitary whilst I read and write, though nobody is with me. But if a man would be alone, let him look at the stars. The rays that come from those heavenly worlds, will separate between him and what he touches. One might think the atmosphere was made transparent with this design, to give man, in the heavenly bodies, the perpetual presence of the sublime. Seen in the streets of cities, how great they are! If the stars should appear one night in a thousand years, how would men believe and adore; and preserve for many generations the remembrance of the city of God which had been shown! But every night come out these envoys of beauty and light the universe with their admonishing smile.

The Stars Awaken a Certain Reverence, Because Though Always Present, They Are Inaccessible;

but all natural objects make a kindred impression when the mind is open to their influence. Nature never wears a mean appearance. Neither does the wisest man extort her secret, and lose his curiosity by finding out all her perfection. Nature never became a toy to a wise spirit. The flowers, the animals, the mountains, reflected the wisdom of his best hour, as much as they had delighted the simplicity of his childhood. When we speak of nature in this manner, we have a distinct but most poetical sense in the mind. We mean the integrity of impression made by manifold natural objects. It is this which distinguishes the stick of timber of the wood-cutter, from the tree of the poet . The charming landscape which I saw this morning, is indubitably made up of some twenty or thirty farms. Miller owns this field, Locke that, and Manning the woodland beyond. But none of them owns the landscape. There is a property in the horizon which no man has but he whose eye can integrate all the parts, that is, the poet . This is the best part of these men's farms, yet to this, their warranty deeds give no title. To speak truly, few adult persons can see nature. Most persons do not see the sun. At least they have a very superficial seeing. The sun illuminates only the eye of the man but shines into the eye and the heart of the child.

The lover of nature is he whose inward and outward senses are still truly adjusted to each other;

who has retained the spirit of infancy even into the era of manhood. His intercourse with heaven and earth becomes part of his daily food. In the presence of nature, a wild delight runs through the man, in spite of real sorrows. Nature says, — he is my creature, and maugre all his impertinent griefs, he shall be glad with me. Not the sun or the summer alone, but every hour and season yields its tribute of delight; for every hour and change corresponds to and authorizes a different state of the mind, from breathless noon to grimmest midnight.

Nature is a setting that fits equally well a comic or a mourning piece. In good health, the air is a cordial of incredible virtue. Crossing a bare common, in snow puddles, at twilight, under a clouded sky, without having in my thoughts any occurrence of special good fortune, I have enjoyed a perfect exhilaration. I am glad to the brink of fear. In the woods too, a man casts off his years, as the snake his slough, and at what period soever of life, is always a child. In the woods, is perpetual youth. Within these plantations of God, a decorum and sanctity reign, a perennial festival is dressed, and the guest sees not how he should tire of them in a thousand years. In the woods, we return to reason and faith.

There I feel that nothing can befall me in life,

— no disgrace, no calamity, (leaving me my eyes,) which nature cannot repair. Standing on the bare ground, — my head bathed by the blithe air, and uplifted into infinite space, — all mean egotism vanishes. I become a transparent eye-ball; I am nothing; I see all; the currents of the Universal Being circulate through me; I am part or particle of God. The name of the nearest friend sounds then foreign and accidental: to be brothers, to be acquaintances, — master or servant, is then a trifle and a disturbance. I am the lover of uncontained and immortal beauty. In the wilderness, I find something more dear and connate than in streets or villages. In the tranquil landscape, and especially in the distant line of the horizon, man beholds somewhat as beautiful as his own nature.

The greatest delight which the fields and woods minister, is the suggestion of an occult relation between man and the vegetable.

I am not alone and unacknowledged. They nod to me, and I to them. The waving of the boughs in the storm is new to me and old. It takes me by surprise, and yet is not unknown. Its effect is like that of a higher thought or a better emotion coming over me, when I deemed I was thinking justly or doing right.

Yet it is certain that the power to produce this delight, does not reside in nature, but in man, or in a harmony of both. It is necessary to use these pleasures with great temperance. For, nature is not always tricked in holiday attire, but the same scene which yesterday breathed perfume and glittered as for the frolic of the nymphs, is overspread with melancholy today. Nature always wears the colors of the spirit. To a man laboring under calamity, the heat of his own fire hath sadness in it. Then, there is a kind of contempt of the landscape felt by him who has just lost by death a dear friend. The sky is less grand as it shuts down over less worth in the population.

Chapter I from Nature , published as part of Nature; Addresses and Lectures

What Is The Meaning Behind Nature, The Poem?

Emerson often referred to nature as the "Universal Being" in his many lectures. It was Emerson who deeply believed there was a spiritual sense of the natural world which felt was all around him.

Going deeper still in this discussion of the "Universal Being", Emerson writes, "The aspect of nature is devout. Like the figure of Jesus, she stands with bended head, and hands folded upon the breast. The happiest man is he who learns from nature the lesson of worship."

It's common sense that "nature" is everything you see that is NOT man-made, or changed by man (trees, foliage, mountains, etc.), but Emerson reminds us that nature was set forth to serve man. This is the essence of human will, for man to harness nature. Every object in nature has its own beauty. Therefore, Emerson advocates to view nature as a reality by building your own world and surrounding yourself with natural beauty.

• The purpose of science is to find the theory of nature.
• Nature wears the colors of the Spirit.
• A man is fed, not to fill his belly, but so he may work.
• Each natural action is graceful.

"Material objects are necessarily kinds of scoriae of the substantial thoughts of the Creator, which must always preserve an exact relation to their first origin; in other words, visible nature must have a spiritual and moral side."

This quote is cited in numerous works and it is attributed to a "French philosopher." However, no name can be found in association with this quote.

What is the main point of Nature, by Emerson?

The central theme of Emerson's famous essay "Nature" is the harmony that exists between the natural world and human beings. In "Nature," Ralph Waldo Emerson contends that man should rid himself of material cares and instead of being burdened by unneeded stress, he can enjoy an original relation with the universe and experience what Emerson calls "the sublime."

What is the central idea of the essay Nature, by Emerson?

For Emerson, nature is not literally God but the body of God’s soul. ”Nature,” he writes, is “mind precipitated.” Emerson feels that to realize one’s role in this respect fully is to be in paradise (similar to heaven itself).

What is Emerson's view of the Nature of humans?

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6 What Makes Nature Beautiful?

Elizabeth Scarbrough

Introduction

As you have read in this volume, much of contemporary aesthetics focuses on the nature of art and artworks. The aesthetics of nature as a subdiscipline of analytic philosophical aesthetics gained prominence in the second half of the twentieth century. [1] Discussions about the aesthetics of nature are complicated by questions about the scope of the topic: Are we talking about natural objects? Natural environments? Whole ecosystems? What about human-created natural environments such as gardens, parks, and cityscapes? Exactly what counts as natural beauty?

In what follows I will present a brief overview of different theories of the beauty of nature. I will start by discussing two historical accounts that I believe have most impacted our current conception of the beauty in nature: the picturesque and the sublime. I will then turn to a discussion of contemporary accounts of the beauty of nature, dividing these accounts into conceptual accounts, non-conceptual accounts, and hybrid accounts of nature appreciation.

Historical Accounts of the beauty of nature

Anthropocentric accounts: the picturesque and landscape aesthetics.

The picturesque is an aesthetic category often applied to the aesthetic appreciation of nature. It was popularised toward the end of the eighteenth century in Britain. [2] At the core of the notion of the picturesque is the prospect of converting natural scenes into pictures. This “landscape aesthetic” assumes that one ought to employ a mode of aesthetic appreciation of the natural environment that is informed by the practice, and aesthetic criteria of, landscape painting. Eighteenth-century landscape painters used devices such as the “Claude-glass” to help “frame” the scene they wished to paint. These Claude-glasses became so popular in the eighteenth century that travelers and other flâneurs would use them without any intention to paint the vistas they saw. [3] While there were many disparate understandings of the picturesque during this time period, I will mention two seminal figures: Sir Uvedale Price (1747–1829) and Richard Payne Knight (1750–1824). [4] Price argues that the picturesque was an objective aesthetic quality that resided in the object (Ross 1998, 133). Price believes that the picturesque could be defined through its “roughness, sudden variation, irregularity, intricacy and variety,” and his list of picturesque objects included: water, trees, buildings, ruins, dogs, sheep, horses, birds of prey, women, music, and painting. In contrast, Knight thinks that the picturesque was a mode of association found within the viewer and thus any object could be picturesque. These associations, he believes, would only be available to those who had knowledge of landscape paintings:

This very relation to painting expressed by the word picturesque, is that which affords the whole pleasure derived from association; which can, therefore, only be felt by persons who have correspondent ideas to associate; that is, by persons in a certain degree conversant in that art. Such persons being in the habit of viewing, and receiving pleasure from fine pictures, will naturally feel pleasure in viewing those objects in nature, which have called forth those powers of imitation and embellishment. (Ross 1998, 155–156)

Thus, within the history of the picturesque we see differing ideas about the source of beauty: Is beauty subjective (residing in the perceiver’s mind) or is beauty an objective quality in objects? [5] Whether you believe beauty is subjective or objective, the picturesque is probably still the most popular (mis)conception of the beauty of nature. When we think of a beautiful scene of nature, our ideas are substantially informed by our past experiences with landscape paintings, and now landscape photography.

The sublime

The sublime is another theory of the aesthetic appreciation of nature. While the first reference to the sublime is in the first century CE (we see hints of its predecessor in Aristotle’s Poetics ), [6] the term really blossomed in eighteenth-century British philosophy. Anthony Ashley-Cooper (1671–1713), third Earl of Shaftesbury (now known simply as Shaftesbury) wrote about the sublime in The Moralist: A Philosophical Rhapsody . While viewing the Alps during his “Grand Tour” he wrote,

Here thoughtless Men, seized with the Newness of such Objects, become thoughtful, and willingly contemplate the incessant Changes of their Earth’s Surface. They see, as in one instant, the Revolutions of past Ages, the fleeting forms of Things, and the Decay even of their own Globe. … The wasted Mountains show them the World itself only as a humble Ruin, and make them think of its approaching Period. (Hussey [1927] 1983, 55–56). [7]

He praises the mountains as sublime, claiming that mountains are the highest order of scenery (Hussey [1927] 1983, 55). The sublime, for Shaftesbury, is not contrary to beauty, but superior to it.

The sublime is bigger, harder, and darker than the picturesque. Unlike the picturesque, whose beauty is aimed to charm, the sublime teaches us something. The two most influential theories of the sublime are those of Edmund Burke (1729–1797) and Immanuel Kant (1724–1804).

In his Introduction to Burke’s A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful, Adam Phillips writes, “Beauty and Sublimity turn out to be the outlaws of rational enquiry. Both are coercive, irresistible, and a species of seduction. The sublime is a rape, Beauty is a lure” (Burke [1757] 2008, xxii). The sublime is dangerous, full of terror. Burke’s sublime can be found in both art and nature. [8] For Burke the sublime exists in degrees, the strongest of which invokes astonishment from the viewer, mingled with a degree of horror (53). Burke claims that the strongest forms of the sublime are usually found in the ideas of eternity and infinity (57). In weaker forms, the sublime’s effects include admiration, reverence and respect (53). Burke states,

Whatever leads to raise in man his own opinion, produces a sort of swelling and triumph, that is extremely grateful to the human mind. And this swelling is never more perceived, nor operates with more force, than when without danger we are conversant with terrible objects, the mind always claiming to itself some of the dignity and importance of the things which it contemplates. (46)

When we experience the sublime, we feel as if the human mind has triumphed in the face of terror. This accomplishment is pleasurable, and thus we receive pleasure from what at first started as an unpleasurable experience.

Burke’s influence on Kant’s theory of the sublime cannot be overstated. Like Burke, Kant recognised that in experiencing the sublime, something pleasurable resulted from an experience that could not be called beautiful. Like Burke’s, Kant’s conception of the sublime is tied to notions of awe and respect, and, like Burke’s, Kant’s sublime is found in the infinite. Kant took Burke’s nascent ideas and from them developed a full-fledged theory of the sublime. Unlike Burke, Kant believed that the experience of the sublime resides solely in the minds of people.

Kant distinguishes two different types of the sublime: the mathematical and the dynamical. The paradigmatic example of the mathematical sublime is that of infinity (again, similar to Burke). With the mathematical sublime,

the feeling of the sublime is thus a feeling of displeasure from the inadequacy of the imagination in the aesthetic estimation of magnitude for the estimation by means of reason, and a pleasure that is thereby aroused at the same time from the correspondence of this very judgment of the inadequacy of the greatest sensible faculty in comparison with ideas of reason, insofar as striving from them is never less a law for us. (Kant [1790] 2001, § 27, 5:247).

For Kant, the imagination is the faculty we use to bring perceptions into our mind before we subsume these “intuitions” under concepts. With the mathematical sublime, my mind is incapable of perceiving the magnitude of what I’m witnessing. When I look up at the starry night, my mind cannot comprehend the magnitude of space. While I can’t comprehend the magnitude, I am none the less pleased at my ability to grapple with it. In sum, what Kant is saying here is that we feel displeasure in the fact that we cannot fully comprehend infinity but feel pleasure in the fact that we at least have the ability to try.

Kant’s dynamical sublime involves the recognition of the possible destructive forces in nature, which could result in our death. This recognition, while initially unpleasurable, leads to pleasure since these forces in nature (e.g., storms, winds, earthquakes) “allow us to discover within ourselves a capacity for resistance of quite another kind, which gives us the courage to measure ourselves against the apparent all-powerfulness of nature” (Kant [1790] 2001, § 28, 5:261). The experience of the dynamical sublime, then, is an experience of the enormity of nature and our role within it. We feel puny against the forces of nature, but also realise our reason gives us standing.

Now that we have discussed two historical accounts of the aesthetic appreciation of nature, I turn to more contemporary accounts.

Contemporary Accounts: (a) cognitive, (b) non-cognitive, (c) hybrid

Contemporary accounts of the aesthetic appreciation of nature start to gain traction around the 1970s. [9] This is no accident as the environmental movement was in full swing. In what follows I will discuss the contemporary accounts of the aesthetic appreciation of nature in two major camps: the cognitive (or conceptual) camp and the non-cognitive (or non-conceptual) camp. Loosely speaking, cognitive theories are those that emphasise the centrality of knowledge in the appreciation of natural beauty. These theories come in many flavours, but many of them (e.g., the theories of Carlson, Rolston, and Eaton [10] ) focus on the use of scientific categories in nature appreciation. Allen Carlson’s Natural Environmental Model (NEM) is a paradigmatic example of a cognitivist theory of the aesthetics of natural environments. For Carlson, the key to appreciating nature aesthetically is to appreciate it through our scientific knowledge. Carlson’s NEM borrows Paul Ziff’s notion of aspection (Ziff 1966, 71). Aspection (seeing the object first this way, then that) provides guidelines or boundaries for our aesthetic experiences and judgments of certain art objects. Different artworks have different boundaries, which will yield different acts of aspection. For example, while many paintings can be viewed from one location, other works of art (e.g., sculpture, architecture) require you to walk through space. Thus, painting and sculpture require different acts of aspection.

Drawing upon the insights of Ziff (and others such as Kendall Walton, [11] ) Carlson argues that the proper aesthetic appreciation of nature involves acts of aspection through the lens (or category) of scientific knowledge. [12] Just as knowledge of the art’s kind (e.g., opera, painting, sculpture) informs our appreciation, scientific information about nature informs our aesthetic appreciation of it. Thus, to truly appreciate an ecosystem or an object in that system, one must have (some) scientific knowledge in order to employ the appropriate act of aspection. Importantly, one must not treat nature as one would treat art, turning a natural object into an art object, [13] or transforming an experience of an open field into an imagined landscape painting (as theories of the picturesque might). [14] Carlson acknowledges that nature is importantly unframed and as a consequence when we try to frame nature by turning a natural object (e.g., driftwood) into a free standing object, or when one tries to frame nature by experiencing it as if looking through a Claude-glass, one imposes a frame that should not be there. Carlson’s approach is labeled “cognitivist” because it emphasises the importance of cognition in aesthetically appreciating nature well .

Non-Cognitive

Non-cognitive theories are those that emphasise the subjective aesthetic experience of natural beauty and often focus on the role of the imagination. These include theories put forth by various philosophers, including Hepburn (2010), Berleant (1992), Carroll (2004), Godlovitch (1997), and Brady (1998). [15]

Emily Brady presents one such non-cognitivist model in her article “Imagination and the Aesthetic Appreciation of Nature.” Using Carlson’s NEM as a foil against her own account, she argues that basing the aesthetic appreciation of nature on scientific categories is flawed because it is “too constraining as a guide for appreciation of nature qua aesthetic object” (Brady 1998, 158). She provides four core criticisms of Carlson’s scientific approach. First, she asserts that Carlson’s account rests on a faulty analogy: just as aesthetic appreciation of art requires knowledge of art history and criticism to help place art in its correct category, we should use natural history (e.g., geology, biology, physics) to place nature in a correct category. In a (now) famous counterexample to the NEM, recounted by Brady, Noël Carroll raises the worrisome case of the waterfall (Carroll 2004, 95). Carroll asks: What scientific category must we fit a particular waterfall in order to appreciate it aesthetically? If the only category that we need is that of a waterfall, then the NEM need not rely on scientific knowledge at all, but just rely on “common sense.”

Further, Brady argues that even if we grant that scientific knowledge could enrich an aesthetic appreciation of nature, it does not seem essential to aesthetic appreciation. Ecological value, she argues, is—and ought to be—a distinct (while still overlapping) category of value. Perhaps most convincing of Brady’s objections is that the scientific approach is too constraining, since proper aesthetic appreciation of nature requires “freedom, flexibility, and creativity” (Brady 1998, 159). We should have the freedom to explore trains of thought not related to scientific categories. When looking at the weathered bark on a tree, I need not know how it was formed; rather I may make associations between the weathered tree bark and the beauty of a beloved older relative’s face—the ravines in both adding a beautiful texture to the surface. She believes that the aesthetic appreciation of nature ought to use perceptual and imaginative capacities, such as those exemplified in my tree bark/relative example. [16] Brady claims that the most desirable model of aesthetic appreciation of nature will: (a) be able to distinguish aesthetic value from other types of value, (b) provide a structure to make aesthetic judgments which are not merely subjective, and (c) solve the problem of how to guide the aesthetic appreciation of nature without reference to art models.

Criticisms of this “imaginative approach” focus on the possibility of an unfettered imagination producing absurd trains of aesthetic inquiry. For example, one might look at the ripple pattern reflecting on the water of a lake and imagine that the ripples look like the ridges of the potato chips you recently cut out of your diet. From here you begin a train of thought which leads you to worry about processed food, factory farming, and fad diets. This seems like an unproductive, and unaesthetic, train of thought. To combat this “unfettered imagination” worry, Brady gives us some guidelines to prevent self-indulgence and irrelevant trains of thought. She believes the Kantian notion of disinterestedness can help prevent the sort of train of thought I just rehearsed. [17] Further Brady gives us guidelines for what she calls “imagining well.” She believes “imagining well” should be thought of like an Aristotelian virtue: it is acquired only through practice and only becomes a virtue once it is a matter of habit. This is a non-conceptual model of aesthetic appreciation in that it does not rely on previous concepts of art or nature for deep aesthetic appreciation.

If imagining well is like an Aristotelian virtue, then there should be a developing capacity on the part of the aesthetic participant to know when to employ scientific categories and when not to. Surely, sometimes focusing on scientific categories can cut aesthetic pleasure off at the knees.

An example of this phenomenon can be seen in Mark Twain’s Life on the Mississippi :

The face of the water, in time, became a wonderful book–a book that was a dead language to the uneducated passenger, but which told its mind to me without reserve, delivering its most cherished secrets as clearly as if it uttered them with a voice.  . . . In truth, the passenger who could not read this book saw nothing but all manner of pretty pictures in it, painted by the sun and shaded by the clouds, whereas to the trained eye these were not pictures at all, but the grimmest and most dead-earnest of reading matter. . . . I had lost something which could never be restored to me while I lived. All the grace, beauty, the poetry had gone out of the majestic river. . . .The sun means that we are going to have wind to-morrow; that floating log means that the river is rising; that slanting mark on the water refers to a bluff reef which is going to kill somebody’s steamboat one of these nights. . . . No, the romance and the beauty were all gone from the river. (Twain [1883] 1984, 94–96)

This much-discussed example shows that knowledge sometimes precludes aesthetic appreciation. Turning to another example, as a flute player I am aware of passages that are particularly hard to play. One reason for their difficulty is the lack of a natural stopping place to take a quick breath. Whenever I hear another flute player perform one of such pieces, I am on the edge of my seat, anticipating when he or she will take a breath. The in-depth knowledge about the piece precludes my appreciating the overall sound of the music. Instead, I find myself focusing on the technical ability of the artists. According to Brady, I am not appropriately disinterested in this instance. If that’s the case, then almost any amount of expert knowledge (including scientific knowledge) could preclude aesthetic appreciation. Is there a happy middle ground?

Hybrid Accounts: Can We Marry Cognitive and Non-Cognitive accounts to get the best of both worlds?

Perhaps instead of aiming for a uniform experience, we should be aiming for experiences that are aesthetically meaningful and reward our attention and efforts. In other words, we should allow for the co-recognition of a variety of experiences rather than defending one account of meaning over another when it is possible to countenance them all. In his book Natural Beauty: A Theory of Aesthetics Beyond the Arts , Ronald Moore (2007) details a pluralist model of aesthetic appreciation. Moore argues that the appropriate way to aesthetically appreciate nature is syncretic: rather than using any one particular model, we should draw from multiple models. This syncretic way of appreciating nature re-integrates our appreciation of natural objects and artworks. Moore insists that we “approach the qualities of things we think worthy of admiration in nature through lenses we have developed for thinking of aesthetic qualities at large—not art, not literature, not music, not politics, not urban planning, not landscape design, but all of these and more” (2007, 216). If the goal of our aesthetic appreciation is to use those parts of our intelligent awareness that suit the object, then this model can include all modes of aesthetic appreciation.

But while such a model enables us to explore many modes of appreciation, it does not tell us what modes of appreciation are relevant to which objects. Some might see this as a weakness of the syncretic account, but one might also argue that the charm of the syncretic model is that it challenges us to come up with specific accounts of appreciation for different types of objects.

One might worry that different modes of appreciation might preclude one another. When Moore declares that syncretism is “the Unitarianism of aesthetics” (2007, 39), a precocious deist might ask if one can be both Jewish and Buddhist, both Jesuit and Bahá’í? In my view, some models are not only compatible, but also ampliative. For example, non-cognitive models of the appreciation of natural beauty that focus on “trains of ideas” or “associations,” may be informed by more cognitive models such as Carlson’s NEM. [18] Scientific information about an object of delectation can spur more interesting, and perhaps, more productive trains of thought. If we know that a particular flower blooms but once a year, that scientific information can be utilised to ground a fruitful aesthetic experience.

But some models might be incommensurable; it might be impossible to employ two models at the same time, to have two experiences of appreciation at the same time. In this scenario we might decide to alternate between two different modes of appreciation. Take, for example, the film critic. Film critics often watch movies twice: once to allow themselves to enjoy the film—to immerse themselves, and the second time to focus on technical aspects of the production with an eye toward their criticism. The “technical” mode and the “immersion” mode might very well be incompatible, but one might be able to switch off and on between the two. If this is the case, there is nothing stopping me from having one experience after the other as the appreciation unfolds throughout time. These multiple avenues for aesthetic pleasure favor a syncretic model, or pluralist model, of aesthetic appreciation. We must draw upon whatever models we have at our disposal, including conceptual as well as non-conceptual models, artistic as well as natural models, historical and contemporary models alike.

In this chapter we examined some of the historical underpinnings of our appreciation of nature, namely the British Picturesque and the sublime. We then discussed cognitive, non-cognitive, and hybrid accounts of the aesthetic appreciation of nature. What I hope to have shown is that there is no one-principle-fits-all solution for all aesthetic experiences of nature. An immersive experience river rafting will be different from birdwatching. Knowledge in some cases will add depth to our aesthetic experiences, while in other cases will impede our ability to appreciate. We should thus embrace a pluralistic model of aesthetic engagement, one that allows us to employ different models to different objects—or different models at different times in our life. The appropriate response to nature, for the sublime, is awe and humility. This might be instructive for me at a particular time in my life. At another time, the NEM might allow me to gain access to experiences of unscenic nature otherwise inaccessible through other models (such as the picturesque).

I would like to leave you with one final thought: we need not go to a National Park to engage with nature. We live in nature and are part of it. It is accessible to us in the trees that line our streets, the urban animals who forage for scraps in our trash bins, and in the sunsets we watch through our car windshield on our commute home. The beauty of nature surrounds us and is available to all—free of charge.

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Walton, Kendall L. 1970. “Categories of Art.” The Philosophical Review 79, no. 3 (July 1): 334–67. https://doi.org/10.2307/2183933 .

Ziff, Paul. 1966. Philosophical Turnings: Essays in Conceptual Appreciation . Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.

• Ronald Hepburn’s 1966 article, “Contemporary Aesthetics and the Neglect of Natural Beauty,” is a good place to start and a must-read for anyone interested in the topic. This essay, and many others I discuss in this chapter, can be found in Allen Carlson and Arnold Berleant’s edited volume, Aesthetics of the Natural Environment (Carlson and Berleant 2004). ↵
• The term seems to have first appeared in 1768, in an essay by Rev. William Gilpin (1724–1804) entitled, “An Essay Upon Prints,” where Gilpin defined the picturesque simply as “a term expressive of that peculiar kind of beauty which is agreeable in a picture” ([1768] 2010, xii). ↵
• Allen Carlson, whose Natural Environmental Model we will discuss in the next section, has noted that if we are to adhere to the landscape cult’s practice of viewing the environment as a landscape painting, we are essentially forced to see the natural environment as static and as a mere two-dimensional representation. This leads us to have an incomplete and shallow aesthetic engagement with the natural environment. ↵
• While I will discuss only Sir Uvedale Price and Richard Payne Knight, two other men would be relevant to a longer discussion about the picturesque: William Gilpin and Humphry Repton (1752–1818). ↵
• As we will see in the next section on the sublime, Kant’s theory of judgment places beauty in the minds of the spectator. ↵
• The first reference to the sublime is thought to be Longinus: Peri Hupsous/Hypsous. The sublime was said to inspire awe. Aristotle believed that horrific events (in tragic plays) call upon fear and pity, resulting in a catharsis in the spectator. Elements of this view can be found in many theories of the sublime. ↵
• See also Shaftesbury ([1709] 2010) ↵
• Burke believed that anything that contained one or more of the following attributes could be perceived as sublime: (1) Obscurity, (2) Power, (3), Privation (4), Vastness, (5) Infinity, (6) Succession, (7) Uniformity ([1757] 2008, 61–76). ↵
• Please note that I have skipped over the nineteenth century aesthetics of nature here. In G.W.F. Hegel’s (1770–1831) aesthetics, philosophy of art expressed “Absolute Spirit” and nature was relegated to a footnote. Only a handful of Romantic thinkers thought and wrote on the aesthetics of nature, and many of these were in the United States. For a good introduction read Henry David Thoreau's (1817–1862) “Autumnal Tints” (Thoreau [1862] 2012), George Perkins Marsh (1801–1882) ([1865] 2018), and the environmentalist John Muir's (1838–1914) “A View of the High Sierra” (Muir 1894). ↵
• An introduction to Carlson’s cognitive model for the aesthetic appreciation of nature can be found in his “Appreciation and the Natural Environment” (Carlson 1979). For an introduction to Holmes Rolston III’s cognitive model, please see his “The Aesthetic Experience of Forests” (Rolston III 2004). A good introduction to Marcia Muelder Eaton can be found in her “Fact and Fiction in the Aesthetic Appreciation of Nature” (Eaton 2004). ↵
• Carlson also draws upon Kendall Walton’s “Categories of Art” (1970) in which Walton argues that we need art historical information to make well-informed aesthetic judgments. For example, if I were to judge Jeff Koons’s “Balloon Swan” as a failure of minimalist sculpture, I wouldn’t be attending to the properties of “Balloon Swan” which makes it a successful piece of (non-minimalist) contemporary pop sculpture. In order to appreciate “Balloon Swan” appropriately, I must categorise it appropriately. ↵
• While Carlson gives priority to appreciation informed by scientific knowledge, he does acknowledge the role of common sense in our aesthetic appreciation of nature. ↵
• The “object model”—as Carlson calls it—asks the appreciator to take the object out of its natural environment and observe its formal properties such as symmetry, unity, etc. When we do this, we appreciate the natural object as an art object, thus only appreciating a limited set of aesthetic properties, namely those formal properties that we find in art. In rejecting this model, Carlson demands that our appreciation of a natural object requires us to place it in its natural context. For example, we should see the honeycomb as part of the bee life cycle and appreciate the purpose and role it plays in nature. ↵
• The “landscape model” asks us to aesthetically appreciate a natural landscape as we would appreciate the painting or picture of that natural landscape. We are asked to attend to the scenic qualities of the landscape, to appreciate its lines and form. Unlike a painting, which is already presented to us as a framed object, we should likewise frame the landscape. This model reinforces the subject/object distinction, by asking us to place ourselves outside or in opposition to the landscape that we are trying to appreciate. ↵
• Non-cognitive accounts may further be divided into imagination accounts (Brady) and immersion accounts (Berleant). While I focus here on imagination accounts, Berleant’s immersion account is instructive. Berleant argues that the appropriate way to appreciate nature is through engagement; this non-conceptual model (of engagement) correctly emphasises humanity’s continuity with the natural world and nature’s boundlessness where other models do not. ↵
• Brady details four different types of imagination: (i) exploratory, which is the imaginative search for unity in perception, (ii) projective, where we intentionally see something as something else, (iii) ampliative, which moves beyond mere imagination to draw upon other cognitive resources, and (iv) revelatory , where the ampliative imagination has led to the discovery of an aesthetic truth (Brady 1998, 163). ↵
• The First Moment in the Critique of the Power of Judgment tells us that judgments of taste (which are judgments about beauty) are “disinterested.” Kant details a few different ways in which these judgments are disinterested: we must not ask if the object is good (or good for something), we shouldn’t invoke sensations of the agreeable, and we shouldn’t care about the real existence of the object. Let’s take these three forms of interest in turn. First, when looking at something beautiful (let’s say a flower) I shouldn’t care if the flower is good for something (such as being good for medicinal purposes). I shouldn’t also care if the object is morally good. Second, when I make a judgment of beauty, I am not saying that the object is “agreeable” or pleasing to me. Going back to our flower example—Kant doesn’t want us to say something like, “this flower is agreeable to me since it is the kind my mother used to give me when I was sick.” Finally, we shouldn’t care whether or not the object is real. A mirage of a flower and an actual flower should hold the same judgment of beauty. In this sense we are disinterested in whether the object is real or imaginary. ↵
• Those who argue for “associative” models of aesthetic experience might include Archibald Alison (1790), who argues that objects spur “trains of ideas of emotions”; John Dewey’s discussion of “trains of ideas” ([1934] 2005); and Emily Brady on “Imagining Well” (1998). ↵

What Makes Nature Beautiful? Copyright © 2021 by Elizabeth Scarbrough is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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How nature can make you kinder, happier, and more creative, we are spending more time indoors and online. but recent studies suggest that nature can help our brains and bodies to stay healthy..

I’ve been an avid hiker my whole life. From the time I first strapped on a backpack and headed into the Sierra Nevada Mountains, I was hooked on the experience, loving the way being in nature cleared my mind and helped me to feel more grounded and peaceful.

But, even though I’ve always believed that hiking in nature had many psychological benefits, I’ve never had much science to back me up…until now, that is. Scientists are beginning to find evidence that being in nature has a profound impact on our brains and our behavior, helping us to reduce anxiety, brooding, and stress, and increase our attention capacity, creativity, and our ability to connect with other people.

“People have been discussing their profound experiences in nature for the last several 100 years—from Thoreau to John Muir to many other writers,” says researcher David Strayer, of the University of Utah. “Now we are seeing changes in the brain and changes in the body that suggest we are physically and mentally more healthy when we are interacting with nature.”

While he and other scientists may believe nature benefits our well-being, we live in a society where people spend more and more time indoors and online—especially children. Findings on how nature improves our brains brings added legitimacy to the call for preserving natural spaces—both urban and wild—and for spending more time in nature in order to lead healthier, happier, and more creative lives.

Here are some of the ways that science is showing how being in nature affects our brains and bodies.

1. Being in nature decreases stress

It’s clear that hiking—and any physical activity—can reduce stress and anxiety. But, there’s something about being in nature that may augment those impacts.

In one recent experiment conducted in Japan, participants were assigned to walk either in a forest or in an urban center (taking walks of equal length and difficulty) while having their heart rate variability, heart rate, and blood pressure measured. The participants also filled out questionnaires about their moods, stress levels, and other psychological measures.

Results showed that those who walked in forests had significantly lower heart rates and higher heart rate variability (indicating more relaxation and less stress), and reported better moods and less anxiety, than those who walked in urban settings. The researchers concluded that there’s something about being in nature that had a beneficial effect on stress reduction, above and beyond what exercise alone might have produced.

In another study , researchers in Finland found that urban dwellers who strolled for as little as 20 minutes through an urban park or woodland reported significantly more stress relief than those who strolled in a city center.

The reasons for this effect are unclear; but scientists believe that we evolved to be more relaxed in natural spaces. In a now-classic laboratory experiment by Roger Ulrich of Texas A&M University and colleagues, participants who first viewed a stress-inducing movie, and were then exposed to color/sound videotapes depicting natural scenes, showed much quicker, more complete recovery from stress than those who’d been exposed to videos of urban settings.

These studies and others provide evidence that being in natural spaces— or even just looking out of a window onto a natural scene—somehow soothes us and relieves stress.

2. Nature makes you happier and less brooding

I’ve always found that hiking in nature makes me feel happier, and of course decreased stress may be a big part of the reason why. But, Gregory Bratman, of Stanford University, has found evidence that nature may impact our mood in other ways, too.

In one 2015 study , he and his colleagues randomly assigned 60 participants to a 50-minute walk in either a natural setting (oak woodlands) or an urban setting (along a four-lane road). Before and after the walk, the participants were assessed on their emotional state and on cognitive measures, such as how well they could perform tasks requiring short-term memory. Results showed that those who walked in nature experienced less anxiety, rumination (focused attention on negative aspects of oneself), and negative affect, as well as more positive emotions, in comparison to the urban walkers. They also improved their performance on the memory tasks.

In another study, he and his colleagues extended these findings by zeroing in on how walking in nature affects rumination—which has been associated with the onset of depression and anxiety—while also using fMRI technology to look at brain activity. Participants who took a 90-minute walk in either a natural setting or an urban setting had their brains scanned before and after their walks and were surveyed on self-reported rumination levels (as well as other psychological markers). The researchers controlled for many potential factors that might influence rumination or brain activity—for example, physical exertion levels as measured by heart rates and pulmonary functions.

Even so, participants who walked in a natural setting versus an urban setting reported decreased rumination after the walk, and they showed increased activity in the subgenual prefrontal cortex, an area of the brain whose deactivation is affiliated with depression and anxiety—a finding that suggests nature may have important impacts on mood.

Bratman believes results like these need to reach city planners and others whose policies impact our natural spaces. “Ecosystem services are being incorporated into decision making at all levels of public policy, land use planning, and urban design, and it’s very important to be sure to incorporate empirical findings from psychology into these decisions,” he says.

3. Nature relieves attention fatigue and increases creativity.

Today, we live with ubiquitous technology designed to constantly pull for our attention. But many scientists believe our brains were not made for this kind of information bombardment, and that it can lead to mental fatigue, overwhelm, and burnout, requiring “attention restoration” to get back to a normal, healthy state.

Strayer is one of those researchers. He believes that being in nature restores depleted attention circuits, which can then help us be more open to creativity and problem-solving.

“When you use your cell phone to talk, text, shoot photos, or whatever else you can do with your cell phone, you’re tapping the prefrontal cortex and causing reductions in cognitive resources,” he says.

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In a 2012 study , he and his colleagues showed that hikers on a four-day backpacking trip could solve significantly more puzzles requiring creativity when compared to a control group of people waiting to take the same hike—in fact, 47 percent more. Although other factors may account for his results—for example, the exercise or the camaraderie of being out together—prior studies have suggested that nature itself may play an important role. One in Psychological Science found that the impact of nature on attention restoration is what accounted for improved scores on cognitive tests for the study participants.

This phenomenon may be due to differences in brain activation when viewing natural scenes versus more built-up scenes—even for those who normally live in an urban environment. In a recent study conducted by Peter Aspinall at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, and colleagues, participants who had their brains monitored continuously using mobile electroencephalogram (EEG) while they walked through an urban green space had brain EEG readings indicating lower frustration, engagement, and arousal, and higher meditation levels while in the green area, and higher engagement levels when moving out of the green area. This lower engagement and arousal may be what allows for attention restoration, encouraging a more open, meditative mindset.

It’s this kind of brain activity—sometimes referred to as “the brain default network”—that is tied to creative thinking , says Strayer. He is currently repeating his earlier 2012 study with a new group of hikers and recording their EEG activity and salivary cortisol levels before, during, and after a three-day hike. Early analyses of EEG readings support the theory that hiking in nature seems to rest people’s attention networks and to engage their default networks.

Strayer and colleagues are also specifically looking at the effects of technology by monitoring people’s EEG readings while they walk in an arboretum, either while talking on their cell phone or not. So far, they’ve found that participants with cell phones appear to have EEG readings consistent with attention overload, and can recall only half as many details of the arboretum they just passed through, compared to those who were not on a cell phone.

Though Strayer’s findings are preliminary, they are consistent with other people’s findings on the importance of nature to attention restoration and creativity.

“If you’ve been using your brain to multitask—as most of us do most of the day—and then you set that aside and go on a walk, without all of the gadgets, you’ve let the prefrontal cortex recover,” says Strayer. “And that’s when we see these bursts in creativity, problem-solving, and feelings of well-being.”

4. Nature may help you to be kind and generous

Whenever I go to places like Yosemite or the Big Sur Coast of California, I seem to return to my home life ready to be more kind and generous to those around me—just ask my husband and kids! Now some new studies may shed light on why that is.

In a series of experiments published in 2014, Juyoung Lee, GGSC director Dacher Keltner, and other researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, studied the potential impact of nature on the willingness to be generous, trusting, and helpful toward others, while considering what factors might influence that relationship.

As part of their study, the researchers exposed participants to more or less subjectively beautiful nature scenes (whose beauty levels were rated independently) and then observed how participants behaved playing two economics games—the Dictator Game and the Trust Game—that measure generosity and trust, respectively. After being exposed to the more beautiful nature scenes, participants acted more generously and more trusting in the games than those who saw less beautiful scenes, and the effects appeared to be due to corresponding increases in positive emotion.

In another part of the study, the researchers asked people to fill out a survey about their emotions while sitting at a table where more or less beautiful plants were placed. Afterwards, the participants were told that the experiment was over and they could leave, but that if they wanted to they could volunteer to make paper cranes for a relief effort program in Japan. The number of cranes they made (or didn’t make) was used as a measure of their “prosociality” or willingness to help.

Results showed that the presence of more beautiful plants significantly increased the number of cranes made by participants, and that this increase was, again, mediated by positive emotion elicited by natural beauty. The researchers concluded that experiencing the beauty of nature increases positive emotion—perhaps by inspiring awe, a feeling akin to wonder, with the sense of being part of something bigger than oneself—which then leads to prosocial behaviors.

Support for this theory comes from an experiment conducted by Paul Piff of the University of California, Irvine, and colleagues, in which participants staring up a grove of very tall trees for as little as one minute experienced measurable increases in awe, and demonstrated more helpful behavior and approached moral dilemmas more ethically, than participants who spent the same amount of time looking up at a high building.

5. Nature makes you “feel more alive”

With all of these benefits to being out in nature, it’s probably no surprise that something about nature makes us feel more alive and vital . Being outdoors gives us energy, makes us happier, helps us to relieve the everyday stresses of our overscheduled lives, opens the door to creativity, and helps us to be kind to others.

No one knows if there is an ideal amount of nature exposure, though Strayer says that longtime backpackers suggest a minimum of three days to really unplug from our everyday lives. Nor can anyone say for sure how nature compares to other forms of stress relief or attention restoration, such as sleep or meditation. Both Strayer and Bratman say we need a lot more careful research to tease out these effects before we come to any definitive conclusions.

Still, the research does suggest there’s something about nature that keeps us psychologically healthy, and that’s good to know…especially since nature is a resource that’s free and that many of us can access by just walking outside our door. Results like these should encourage us as a society to consider more carefully how we preserve our wilderness spaces and our urban parks.

And while the research may not be conclusive, Strayer is optimistic that science will eventually catch up to what people like me have intuited all along—that there’s something about nature that renews us, allowing us to feel better, to think better, and to deepen our understanding of ourselves and others.

“You can’t have centuries of people writing about this and not have something going on,” says Strayer. “If you are constantly on a device or in front of a screen, you’re missing out on something that’s pretty spectacular: the real world.”

About the Author

Jill Suttie

Jill Suttie, Psy.D. , is Greater Good ’s former book review editor and now serves as a staff writer and contributing editor for the magazine. She received her doctorate of psychology from the University of San Francisco in 1998 and was a psychologist in private practice before coming to Greater Good .

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USC School of Architecture

Nature-inspired Principles of Beauty in Japanese Culture

Justin Wan, B. Arch ’22 -Recipent of the Jon Adams Jerde Traveling Fellowship

An antagonist in the fight against climate change is the collective lack of obligation to protect the environment, whereby humans see themselves as separate from nature. My research examines ways of strengthening human connection with nature by challenging biophilic architecture in the way it creates an idealistic depiction of natural landscapes that in turn intensifies the disconnection, or, as it is known, biophobia. Biophobia is innately tied to the emphasis on protectiveness ingrained in urban environments, which became more prominent during the COVID-19 pandemic as growing concerns over the virus have spiked a surge in material consumption to keep living spaces clean. The environmentally damaging practice of creating sterile environments has made our bodies accustomed to protection, resulting in negative psychological reactions from contact with foreign stimuli. Studies on biophilia become an opportunity to reevaluate the relationship between natural and built landscapes, allowing me to reimagine architecture as a tool for improving human responses to nature.

In the winter of 2022, I had the opportunity to travel to Tokyo, Japan to explore the ways nature and its constituent elements are integrated into the Japanese culture and customs, and in turn, influence Japanese principles of aesthetics and perception of space. The two-week trip focused on two main areas of interest: 1.) Traditional Japanese social customs & ritual mannerisms and 2). Japanese architecture, to delineate the intrinsic connection between design and nature. The sites visited during this trip compare traditional buildings with contemporary examples, revealing Japanese architecture as physical manifestations of traditional values as these virtues persist through time.

To begin, I should first note that Japan is a religious country with ideals influenced by two major doctrines, Shinto and Buddhism. Being an archipelago nation, Japan is made up of 14,125 islands with which approximately 70% of its land areas are covered with forests and trees. The diverse range of climates, terrains, and landscapes has given rise to the indigenous religion of Shinto ( 神道), or nature worship, where supernatural entities and forces are believed to inhabit all living things and gestures. In this sense, nature becomes the greatest agent in inspiring the Japanese way of life. While Buddhism was later introduced to Japan in the 6th century, religious syncretization has made both religions practically inseparable and promoted ideologies of similar views. In both religions, the notion of Mujo ( 無常), or impermanence, forms the overarching theme of the Japanese attitude to life, whereby the awareness of the transient nature of life highlights the beauty in impermanence. In this sense, the passage of time and traces of constant change are celebrated, and the juxtaposition between life and death, light and dark, gives meaning to one another. The fleeting moment of sunrises and sunsets, the metamorphosis of chrysalises into butterflies, the wilting of blossomed flowers, and the decay of trees all exemplify the impermanence of life. While these ideas are frequently witnessed in the natural environment, Japanese society has integrated these ideals borrowed from religious teachings into their customs and outlooks on life.

Eight Manifestations of the Japanese Aesthetic

In light of the previous discussion about religious teachings and per, I frequently visited ideas discussed in Eight Manifestations of the Japanese Aesthetic by Kurokawa Masayuki, which examines the intimate relationship between design principles and the Japanese consciousness of the natural environment. The text defines the intrinsic connection humans share with nature as an outlook on life through exploring the eight principles 微 (bi) 、并 (hei) 、气 (ki) 、間 (ma) 、秘 (hi） 、素 (so) 、假 (ka) 、破 (ha). Kurokawa compares Japanese architecture to vessels that emulate the ambiance of natural environments, the form of which originate from trees, where columns and roofs represent tree trunks and canopies. Interior spaces are designed to be fluid and open, with ample connections to the outdoor elements. On the other hand, ancient Western typologies which are inspired by cavern landscapes, are designed to keep the elements out and protect the inhabitants. As civilizations expanded through colonial means, the fortification of buildings intensified the disconnection between humans and nature, which the biophilia hypothesis argues against. However, contrary to the biophilia hypothesis that theorizes the innate human affinity for nature as a biological response, Kurokawa suggests how nature exists in multiple facets of Japanese traditions and gives rise to these eight principles. These principles are reenacted within the sociocultural aspects, and are likewise, embedded within the conception of architecture and design.

Cave-inspired Western Typology vs. Tree-inspired Japanese Typology

(Courtesy of the “ Eight Manifestations of the Japanese Aesthetic” by Kurokawa Masayuki)

微 (bi) defines the idea that details are not just parts of the whole, but in specific moments, represent a microcosm of the whole.

E.g. Individual trees are not seen as a part of the forest but as an ecosystem on their own that harbors other forms of life.

并 (hei) defines the idea that details exist as microcosms of the whole, and therefore, can function autonomously alone and grow in aggregation .

E.g. Individual trees are microcosms of an ecosystem and can multiply to form new forests, communities, and villages.

气 (ki) defines the distinctive aura or atmospheric quality, surrounding and generated by all life forms

E.g. Wood is seen as warm, and stone and concrete are seen as cold. Wood, therefore, gives out an aura of liveliness and vitality.

間 (ma) defines mutual respect and harmony between life forms by displaying an awareness of personal space and thresholds

E.g. Acknowledging the presence of another animal or life form while maintaining distance and not disrupting the harmony by approaching or touching the animal. A bow or even a head nod are examples of Ma.

秘 (hi) defines mysteriousness as giving freedom and space for imagination through the absence or partial concealment of the whole.

E.g. Fog can conceal, but can also allow for opportunities to imagine what is hidden behind. A forest?  A ledge? An animal? Or nothing?

素 (so) defines the beauty of purity and simplicity

E.g. Appreciating the materials in their purest form and the physical changes they undergo, such as the yellowing of bamboo, the cracks left in timber, the weathering of stone, etc.

假 (ka) defines the acceptance of impermanence and the flow of natural forces

E.g. Leaving flowers and fruits fallen from trees where they are and willingly accepting the natural processes to take place, whether to sprout a new plant or to wilt and die.

破 (ha) defines the beauty in organized chaos by breaking symmetry and objects in perfection

E.g. Pruning and maintaining the shape of bonsai trees but leaving certain branches to grow to achieve a more natural appearance.

These eight principles display the significance nature plays in influencing Japanese culture, and it is precisely this relationship with nature that such ideals have become incorporated into every facet of Japanese living. Order is installed by embracing the impermanence of life and coexistence between perfection and that which breaks it. Architecture becomes a tool to echo the designers’ response and personal approach toward nature, people, and life.

These eight principles have helped foster a deeper understanding of how “nature” is defined in Japanese culture and design. In this light, nature is no longer limited to describing life forms or that which came from natural processes, but could also be used to describe gestures and attitudes learned from nature. The poeticism of the approach to life and design became a new direction in my research to eye-witness how these philosophies are reenacted in real time and space.

Nature in Traditional Architecture

Looking at examples of traditional architecture in Japan, I was particularly interested in the entryways, and thresholds as they delineate contrasting ideas: that of light and shadow, indoor and outdoor, yin and yang, whereby one would not exist in the absence of the other, and connect humans to nature.

門 (Mon), or gate, is an important feature of traditional Japanese architecture that serves as a signifier of entryways, space, and directionality in religious spaces. Often built out of wood, Mons are believed to have purifying and cleansing properties, which are placed along the processional pathway that leads to the Shinto Shrine. While Mons are traditionally a Shinto architecture feature, the religious influence is evident in Japanese Buddhist architecture. The Mon at the entry marks the transition from the human to the sacred realm and consecutive Mons are placed as markers to create a sense of anticipation for the inner sanctuary of the religious spaces. It is believed that the closer the Mon is to the inner sanctuary, the more holy the space becomes.  The symbolic significance of the Mon demonstrates the entanglement between nature and Japanese religions. Furthermore, architecture becomes a medium to continuously harness and perpetuate this intricate relationship between the two ideas.

金龍山浅草寺 (Kin Ryu-San Senso-Ji) Senso-Ji is the oldest Buddhist temple in Tokyo founded in 645AD. The temple ground of Senso-Ji houses numerous features belonging to Buddhist and Shinto architecture, including, gates, pagodas, and temples. Of all the buildings the precinct of the Senso-Ji has to offer, I focused on architectural features along the main axis of the temple ground, which includes features from the entrance gate to the center of complex: 1. 雷門 Kaminarimon (Thunder Gate) 2.  仲見世通り Nakamise Dori (the street leading to the temple from Kaminarimon) 3. 宝藏門 Hozomon (Treasure Gate) 4. 金龍山浅草寺本堂 Kin Ryu-San Senso-Ji Hondou (Asakusa Temple Main Hall).

Precinct Guide of Kin Ryu-San Senso-Ji (Courtesy of Asakusa Kannon Senso-Ji)

Visitors are greeted by the Kaminarimon which marks the entrance gate to the Senso-Ji. The gate serves metaphorically as the threshold between humans and sacred grounds. It was believed that by traversing past the gate, one’s soul gets cleansed and becomes closer to god. Interestingly, on either side of the front elevation of the gate stands two statues of Shinto gods, 雷神 Raijin (Thunder God)and 風神 Fujin (Wind God), and two Buddha statues on either side of the back of the gate, 天龍 Tenryu (Sky Dragon) and 金龍 Kinryu (Golden Dragon). Despite this being a Buddhist temple ground, the statues and architecture display influences from the Shinto religion, showing the syncretization of religions mentioned before.

Picture taken outside of the Kaminarimon Gate

Pass the Kaminarimon is the Nakamise Dori , a street that leads visitors further into the inner sanctuary of the complex. Historically, the street is holy ground. Now, it is a popular tourist attraction filled with stores selling traditional foods and arts. At the end of the street is the Hozomon.

Traditional Red Bean Cake from Artisanal Store at Nakamise Dori

The Hozomon is the last gate leading to the Senso-Ji temple. Unlike Kaminarimon, Hozomon is a 二重門 nijuumon (Two-story gate). The significance of the Nijuumon is that it provides additional rooms for storage and enshrining statues of deities. The gate has five rooms on the ground floor level, with two rooms on either end enshrining statues, and the rest are in the center of the gate used as passageways. On the second floor of the Hozomon gate are rooms that house two 20 feet tall Buddhist statues, treasured Buddhist Sutras, and scriptures.

Back elevation of the Hozomon gate

At the end of the street is Kin Ryu-San Senso-Ji Hondou , the center of the temple ground. In front of the temple entrance are incense holders and wells. These stations are used for cleaning purposes, to symbolize the act of cleansing oneself before entering the sacred temple. The hall itself is made up of three primary sancta which store the most prized Buddhist statues in the entire complex. Each sanctum is divided into 内陣 naijin (inner sanctum) and 外陣 gejin (outer sanctum), where the naijin is used to enshrine and store statues and Buddhist scriptures, while the gejin is the space that visitors occupy before the altar to pray and pay respects to the Buddhist deities. However, since photos are not allowed inside the temple, only views of the temple front could be shown.

Front of the Kin Ryu-San Senso-Ji Hondou with incense burners and cleansing wells (right) & Western Corner of the Kin Ryu-San Senso-Ji Hondou (left)

On the way to exit the temple via its western doorway, I noticed the attention to detail in using its threshold as a device for framing specific views out from the temple. Situated in front of the Western elevation of the temple is a koi carp garden with a small prayer house next to it. The garden is designed to mimic traditional zen gardens with carefully curated features to create the illusion of a microcosmic landscape. From the temple’s point of view, the carefully framed scenery of the garden reenacts the principle of 秘 (hi) , whereby concealing the full scene of the garden beyond the frames of the door gives space for imagination and opportunities to ponder what the garden looks like. From the garden’s point of view,  并 (hei) is reenacted where the curated landscapes become the physical manifestations of a microcosm, with flora and fauna, and the architecture of Buddhist-Shinto origins, serves as the backdrop of this scenery.

Garden in front of the Western elevation of the Kin Ryu-San Senso-Ji Hondou

靖国神社 (Yasukuni Shrine) Yasukuni Shrine is a Shinto Shrine built to commemorate those who died in service of Japan during wars from the late 19th to the mid-20th century. Serving as a form of memorial, the site has been a place of controversy as many of those commemorated are war criminals. However, the visit I paid to the site was strictly of genuine interest in the architecture and customs of Japanese culture. Similar to the Senso-Ji, the Yasukuni Shrine is designed with an informal precinct around it, and a main axis that connects the entry to the center of the precinct where the shrine sits. Trees are planted along the axis to mimic the natural environment where ancient Shrines were often built, located at the top of a hill accessible only by a thin path with gates placed at intervals along the path. Similarly, the entrance of the complex is marked by a Mon, or in the case of Shinto architecture, a 鳥居 torii (literal translation: bird abode), with an uphill walkway that leads visitors to the main shrine at the end of the path

Torii Gate at the main entrance of the Yasukuni Shrine & View of the inside of the Yasukuni Shrine

To reach the shrine, one must pass through three Torii , one at the entry, one in the middle, and one at the end of the pathway, and a Mon . However, the shrine displays architectural features that make it different from its predecessors. Traditionally, shrines are built as one long, continuous rectilinear storage space, with stilts that raise the building 6 to 8 feet off the ground to protect the architecture from moisture and vermin. These structures are protected from the rain with a steeply sloped, and wide-eaved overhanging roof thatched with rice straw. Either end of the roof spine is often ornamented with 千木 Chigi, forked roof finials. Torii gates are placed in distanced intervals along the pathway leading to the shrine. These features are often used exclusively on Shinto buildings and can be used to distinguish them from other Buddhist architecture. Interestingly, the configuration of the gates and main shrine of the complex does not appear much like that. Instead, features of the shrine typology are applied to one of the Mons , and the actual shrine appears with features closer to that of Buddhist architecture. The examples seen here make the architecture an interesting blend of Shinto and Buddhist designs.

Park Spaces

Nature is a huge part of the Japanese way of life, where parks are seen as pockets of spaces that mediate between the built and natural environment. Green spaces represent 24% of the land area in the city center of Tokyo and 52% of the land area in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area, with development underway to provide more green spaces for people. While Tokyo is Japan’s most developed city, the statistics come to show the prevalence of connection with nature within the country. The term 森林浴 shinrin-yoku (forest bathing) is a term coined by the Japanese, defining it as the act of immersing oneself in the atmosphere and air of the forest. To perform shinrin-yoku is to actively engage in appreciating all the elements nature could offer, the breeze, the moisture in the air, the temperature, the smell, etc. The Japanese believe that shinrin-yoku is an essential part of daily life that could help free our minds from stresses and burdens and heal our souls through the natural energy the forests give off. The next part of the research is to visit sites and experience the healing powers of nature.

北の丸公園 ( Kita-no-maru Park)

Kita-no-maru Park, originally a medicinal garden and residential compound for members of the Tokugawa family in the Edo Castle, is a public park precinct. Given its past, the park is surrounded by deep moats with heavily fortified entries left from the original castle. The main entrance into the park is an artifact left from the original Edo Castle, made out of stacked stone with a wooden gate.

   Moat at the Kita-no-maru Park                                      Fortified entryway

Within the park are numerous types of landscapes that create the illusion that the park is located in the countryside, rather than in the city center. As a part of my expedition to “bathe in the forest”, the diverse range of landscapes I came across has been a pleasant surprise the longer I stayed and wandered around the park. I was able to discover terrains such as deep tree forests, water features, bamboo forests, and even red maple left from the earlier season.

Bamboo forest                          Gingko Forest                                    River Bend

The delight of walking through different parts of the park has allowed me a sensorial experience of the different ephemeral qualities nature offers through sight, hearing, smell, touch, and even taste. I was especially drawn to a pavilion located at the top of a hill overlooking an area full of red maple trees with the sound of a moving stream in the background. The sensation of looking at a canvas of diverse colors, the sound of running water, the smell of grass and trees, the touch of the wind, and the taste of maple in the air combined for a very therapeutic experience.

Pavilion on top of a hill overlooking red maple trees and a running stream

Nature in Contemporary Culture and Architecture

When studying contemporary examples, I was especially drawn to designs that demonstrate an association with nature whether by physical appearance, atmosphere, concept, or all of the above. The objective of the following expeditions is to understand how architecture has reimagined aspects of traditional typologies and incorporated ideas borrowed from nature into contemporary designs. Going off of the therapeutic properties nature has on humans, I visited buildings where the architect focused on harnessing the healing powers of nature through the designs. The next two buildings are designed by Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP as sister buildings to each other, one as a chapel and the other as a cemetery community hall, in Sayama of the Saitama prefecture.

  狭山の森 礼拝堂 (Sayama Forest Chapel), Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP

Sayama Forest Chapel is designed as a praying ground open to various religions and denominations. The building’s concept is derived from its environmental and site context, where the land sits adjacent to an existing cemetery. The site is located in a deep tree forest at the top of a mountain with huge ponds adjacent to the forest. Given the contrast between the blooming forest and the cemetery, the architect saw the site as a physical manifestation between life and death, where one gives, and the other takes. In the architect’s words, he “envisioned an architecture that reflects on the way of life as it lives by the water conserved by the forest, and eventually returns to this place after death.” The architecture became a point of neutrality that mediates between life and death on the site, acting as a place of prayers that allows the living to pray for the dead.

The design consciously avoids interference with the existing landscape and trees by tilting the walls of the building inward. The construction method is inspired by the traditional 合掌 Gassho-style (Praying hands) structure but composed three-dimensionally with beams leaning against each other in an undulating fashion. The beam members extend to the floor to behave as both the roof and as columns of the structure.

Exterior and interior views of Sayama Forest Chapel

狭山湖畔霊園 (Sayama Lakeside Cemetery Community Hall)

Down the road from the Sayama Forest Chapel and past the cemetery is the Lakeside Cemetery Community Hall, designed as a space of meditation and resting for visitors of the cemetery. Although the location of the building overlooks scenic views of a lush forest from the top of the hill, the architect envisioned the design to have controlled apertures out into nature. The degree of closure is designed to reflect the idea of bringing closure to the friends and family of the deceased. The building exhibits aspects of shinrin-yoku where the concept of 木漏れ日 komorebi (sunlight leaked from tree foliage) is actively employed to create an interior environment that is calming  and warm. The building is arranged in a circular plan with controlled views open to the outside with a reflecting pool surrounding the building. The placement of the reflecting pool is both an operation to resonate with the local context of the nearby Lake Sayama and to enrich the interior spaces with water reflections cast on the ceiling of the building.  In any instance, the movement of water could both be seen and heard. The circular plan of the building brings visitors from the entrance into the core where the roof beams slant down from the ridge to form a low-ceiling structure that is cozier and seemingly more closed-off. Near the top of the roof is a row of clerestories to allow komorebi to take place, where gentle sunlight is filtered through the forest trees and illuminates the interior of the building. The combined effects of architecture and nature become a healing experience for visitors that come to mourn the passing of their loved ones.

Interior views of Sayama Lakeside Cemetery Community Hall

Cultural Projects

武蔵野美術大学図書館 (Musashino Art University Library) , Sou Fujimoto Architects

The Musashino Art University Library rethinks the relationship between the activity of reading and space. The interesting aspect of the library is its primary structure in which the structural members are made from bookshelves. As the culture of reading slowly dies away at the wake of the digital age, the architect wanted the library to explore and manifest physically in itself how he imagined reading should feel, an endless whirlpool of knowledge and books. With that in mind, the interior space of the library is configured in the form of a spiral by bookshelves. The spiral eventually expands to wrap around the inner periphery of the building to allow the bookshelves to be seen from the outside, thus, informing visitors of the building’s interior functions. The interior spaces are arranged to allow the spiraling to occur across different levels, adding complexities to the architecture and making spaces appear more labyrinth-like. All primary structures of the building are made from wood to create the illusion that visitors are surrounded and sucked into a forest of books.

Interior & Exterior Views of the Musashino Art University Library

根津美術館 (Nezu Museum) , Kengo Kuma and Associates

The current Nezu Museum is an addition of the original museum with parts of the building replacing the original warehouse for art storage. The Nezu Museum consists of the main gallery space, a landscape garden located behind the gallery, along with a hidden cafe in the woods. The entrance to the museum grounds is hidden from plain sight by a screen of bamboo. Only upon entering the complex does the passage leading to the gallery building become revealed, subtly immersing its visitors into a peaceful oasis away from the busy traffic adjacent to the site. The building houses a reception, a museum store, the main lobby, and two exhibition rooms. Since most of the artwork stored in the gallery dates back to ancient Japanese and Chinese cultures, the exhibition rooms are relatively dark to protect the artwork from sun exposure. However, the other spaces are well-lit by natural sunlight. By extending the overhanging eaves of the roof just above eye-level into the outdoor garden space, the boundaries between indoor and outdoor spaces are blurred, creating the illusion that parts of the lobby are outdoors in nature. The design operations used in the building to obscure the definition of indoor/outdoor encourage its visitors to move from the gallery space into the garden to enjoy opportunities for shinrin-yoku where the landscapes are designed to heal and bring peace to the mind and soul.

Nezu Museum in Minami-Aoyama, Tokyo

Views of the Nezu Museum landscape garden in Minami-Aoyama, Tokyo

微熱山丘 (Sunnyhills Minami-Aoyama Stor), Kengo Kuma and Associates

Sunnyhills is a cafe and dessert store designed with a bamboo lattice exoskeleton. Using a joinery system called 地獄組 Jigoku-gumi (literal translation: Interlocking Hell), bamboo studs in vertical and diagonal orientations are connected to form a muntin grid. Structurally, the joinery system makes for a very rigid shell. Aesthetically, the nest-like lattice allows natural light to enter the interior, producing the effects of Komorebi, where light is filtered through tree foliage. On the interior, the material choices of wood, paper, and bamboo create a warm and welcoming environment. The deliberate placement of apertures and vantage points out into the bamboo screen outside the architecture creates visual connections between the indoor environment and nature.

General and Closeup interior views of the Sunnyhills Store in Minami-Aoyama, Tokyo

Louis Vuitton Ginza Flagship Store, Jun Aoki & Associates

The Louis Vuitton store at this specific location is designed with an undulating facade that mimics a water ripple effect. The facade utilizes a curved double-glazed system with a dichroic film coating to create the pearlescent effect of water reflection. The concept of the design came from the context of the site which was once on the peninsula of Tokyo Bay. In relation to the concept of the design, the designer also interprets the project as an opportunity to experiment with using water as a material phenomenon. Although it is not currently possible, the effects are very convincing and make for a poetic and playful design.

General and Closeup views of the Louis Vuitton Flagship Store Facade in Ginza, Tokyo

Tokyo Toilet Project

The Tokyo Toilet Project is an initiative promoting public health and wellness in cooperation with the Shibuya government to revamp and redesign public toilets in 17 park locations within the Shibuya district. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the restrooms are designed with touchless technology to promote a healthier and cleaner environment for the users of these public facilities. Traditionally, bathrooms are considered private and intimate spaces. Yet, some of the examples of this initiative suggest how bathrooms challenge this notion and connect their users to the outdoor and natural environment.

Nishihara Itchome Park, Takenosuke Sakakura

The 3-stalled public toilet is designed as a gender-neutral facility with amenities and cleaning mechanisms for people of all genders. In front of the stall entrances is a sparse screen of landscaping trees planted to provide an extra layer of privacy. The stalls are built using frosted glass with tree-patterned vinyl adhered to the surfaces for aesthetics and comfort. The shadows cast onto the glass panels by landscape trees outside the bathroom also add to the nature theme. Cleverly, the stall also has built-in voice-activated sensors to play natural white noises in the background for better experience and comfort.

Nishihara Itchome Park Public Toilet

Nabeshima Shoto Park, Kengo Kuma and Associates

The 3-stalled public toilet is designed as a gender-neutral facility with amenities and cleaning mechanisms for people of all genders. The facility is ornamented with wooden slats, with shrubbery and ivies growing on the slats. The door to the bathroom is discreetly placed and inside the stall are tree trunk discs nailed to the wall for aesthetics.

Nabeshima Shoto Park Public Toilet

Haru-no-Ogawa Community Park & Yoyogi Fukamachi Park, Shigeru Ban

These two 3-stalled public toilets are designed as a gender-neutral facility with amenities and cleaning mechanisms for people of all genders. The stalls are built using translucent privacy smart glass which becomes frosted when the door is locked, and transparent when the door is unlocked. The designer’s intention is to create a design that can avoid the awkwardness stemming from people knocking on doors to check for vacancies in public bathrooms. In this case, the facade becomes an indicator of vacancies. The designer has designed two versions of the same toilet in two locations, each with a different color palette.

Conclusion:

The research conducted and the buildings I saw during this trip have taught me the importance of nature in influencing Japanese culture and architectural designs. To the Japanese, nature does not exist as a separate entity from humans. Instead, it revolves around all aspects of life. As architecture is merely a facet of human invention to mimic aspects and moments of natural phenomena, it should fundamentally express its intrinsic connection with nature. The Western idea of “sustainability” does not carry the same weight as it does to Japanese society as the practice of protecting the environment has always been a part of their way of life evident in their mannerisms, social customs, and even designs. As designers and innovators continue to develop novel ways to protect or do less harm to the environment, we should turn to Japanese design philosophies to understand how the world can protect the world more effectively in a systemic manner.