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OK! so someone asked me here a while ago (sorry I have forgotten who it was >.<) about two very popular 'tidying up' methods in Japan. One is Marie Kondo's KonMari method, and the other is called Danshari, proposed by Hideko Yamashita. (long thread) 1/
BTW: both systems became so popular IN JAPAN first because there is a dire need for people to do something about their Stuff! If Japanese people were so neat and tidy neither would have been the big hits they are. 2/
There are even Japanese slang words for extremely cluttered abodes: 汚部屋 oheya - "dirty room", and ゴミ屋敷 gomi yashiki - "trash (filled) mansion". 3/
Danshari is a few bit older than KonMari, and the better known method in Japan (the word itself has entered the lexicon). Danshari is written 断捨離. The first danshari by Yamashita was published in 2009, and the first KonMari book in late 2010. 4/
- Dan 断: to cut off the flow of things into your home or space.
- Sha 捨: discard (or give away, sell etc.)
- Ri 離: separate yourself from your attachment to things.
Yamashita says she took these terms from Yoga disciplines - 断行，捨行 and 離行. 5/
- Sha 捨: discard (or give away, sell etc.)
- Ri 離: separate yourself from your attachment to things.
Yamashita says she took these terms from Yoga disciplines - 断行，捨行 and 離行. 5/
KonMari takes its name from Marie Kondo's name, which is written 近藤麻理恵 in Japanese (Kondo Marie).
If you are a fan of the KonMari method you probably know already how it works, but here's a brief synopsis.
KonMari is basically a two-step process: 6/
If you are a fan of the KonMari method you probably know already how it works, but here's a brief synopsis.
KonMari is basically a two-step process: 6/
1. Decide if an object 'sparks joy' (in Japanese 'does it make your heart beat faster' - tokimeki o kanjiru ときめきを感じる）Discard the things that don't, keep the things that do. Give thanks to the things you get rid of.
2. Decide the homes of the items that remain. 7/
2. Decide the homes of the items that remain. 7/
The Danshari method is a 3-step process.
1. Dan - stop (cut off) the incoming stream of things other than ones you need for survival like food into your home or space.
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1. Dan - stop (cut off) the incoming stream of things other than ones you need for survival like food into your home or space.
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2. Discard the things that no longer belong in your life. When assessing each object, you need to consider whether it fits into your current life at all. If not, get rid of it.
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3. Separate yourself from your reliance on objects. Let go of the habit of accumulating stuff, and the urge to do so.
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The KonMari method is more cheerful and touchy-feely. Maybe more easy to translate (literally as well as fundamentally). It does pose some problems in that, not every object you actually need in your life is going to 'spark joy'. 11/
Example: my toilet brush is very practical and essential, but it doesn't spark joy for me really. 12/
The Danshari method is no-nonsense, and rather demanding. It really asks you to stop using objects as emotional crutches, period. 13/
There are parts in Danshari about putting things away, but like the KonMari method it doesn't really focus on like 'how to organize your kitchen cabinets' kinds of things. (By the way there are TONS of books of that nature in Japan too. Supply = demand, remember.) 14/
Here is Marie Kondo herself explaining the differences between KonMari and Danshari. She says her KonMari method is more 'sticky and gooey', more touchy-feely, appealing to ones emotions and so on. 15/
This difference may be why the KonMari method seems to appeal more to women, while the Danshari method became a hit beyond the usual 'disorganized housewife with cluttered home' market. Offices started doing danshari for example. 16/
Yamashita is older than Kondo (her bio says she was born in 1954), and in recent years she's been focusing quite a lot on danshari for elderly people and their children, a big topic in aging Japan. 17/
Both methods have the same goal in the end of making your space more open and free of Stuff, as well as reducing your emotional attachment to Stuff. So it's really a matter of which approach appeals more to each individual. 18/
As to why Danshari is not well known outside of Japan even though it's better known there, and KonMari has become an international phenomenon, it's probably a matter of very skillful marketing, timing, the fact that Kondo is closer in age to the 19/
...typical audience for self-help books, etc. (I'm just guessing of course.) 20/
About the religious and philosophical aspects of both. As mentioned above, the KonMari books in Japanese do not make any mention of Shinto or Buddhism. The Danshari name itself comes from Yoga as mentioned, but Yamashita doesn't really make the method itself that 'woo' . 21/
Bonus: like Kondo, Yamashita advocates for carefully selecting items that really make you happy after you have Danshari'ed yourself. Look at this fantastic handcrafted china cabinet she owns. I want.
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To sum up: The Danshari and KonMari methods both addressed a dire need in the post-modern consumerist society that is Japan, and in the end are pretty similar but with differences.
Thanks for reading. 23/end
Thanks for reading. 23/end
