Minimalist life 'without furniture' in Japan

For people living a minimalist lifestyle in Japan, furniture in the house is often very little and they do not place too much importance on material things.

Fumio Sasaki is one of the adults who are arranging his life in a “minimalist” style. With the motto “simple is best”, this 36-year-old editor owns very few furniture and no longer worries about money and material things. As for clothes, his wardrobe consists of only 3 shirts, 4 pairs of pants, 4 pairs of socks and some underwear.

Influenced by the principles of traditional Zen Buddhism, those who practice minimalist living have abandoned the habit of buying things on a whim like before. Sasaki was still a collector of books and CDs two years ago. He shared: “During those years, I always had to think about what I owned, what I lost, and what I didn’t have. But later I realized that those things no longer had any meaning.” He started selling his collections or giving them to friends. Sasaki expressed: “Instead of spending a lot of time cleaning or buying things, I have more time to hang out with friends, relatives and travel on holidays. Since then, I feel more active and positive.”

Some people think that minimalist lifestyle is for those who love to experience and want to have a free and liberal life. However, others argue that this can also be a need that comes from practical difficulties. In a 22 m2 apartment with only a table and a mattress in the middle of the house, Ms. Katsuya Toyoda has removed all unnecessary items from the house. For a country that suffers many disasters from earthquakes like Japan, the less furniture in the house, the better. Sasaki said: "30-50% of casualties in earthquakes originate from incidents of falling objects. However, if you own a room like I am living in, that is not a problem."

The minimalist lifestyle trend is also followed by many famous and wealthy people in the world, typically Steve Jobs - one of the founding executives of the giant Apple, handsome actor Robert Pattinson, New York mayor Michael Bloomberg... Although Bloomberg is a billionaire, he admits that he only owns 6 pairs of shoes and thinks that is enough.

According to Tintuc