Abstract
Traditional Japanese poems with strong nature themes are still very relevant today as relatable statements of environmental consciousness and the value and appreciation of nature, and can be a useful tool for environmental education. This paper is a brief study of various aspects and elements of these poems, particularly the related aesthetic and philosophical perspectives of wabi-sabi and Zen Buddhism and the importance of nature and season, with the goal of developing greater appreciation for their relevance and communicative power. To illustrate these concepts, related but otherwise independent poems are presented in several coherent groupings and analyzed with regard to wabi-sabi/Zen terms, season terms, and additional nature terms. Wabi-sabi is one of the core concepts and defining perspectives of Japanese culture, has its roots in the Zen perspective, and exemplifies many of the core tenets of Zen. The wabi-sabi and Zen perspectives in Japanese poetry with particularly strong environmental themes provide a vehicle for environmental communication with great emotive power. National and international government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and institutions of higher education have all created or hosted online haikupages to facilitate their environmental education missions. In particular, the universal appeal, timelessness, and nature-focus of the wabi-sabi and Zen perspectives contribute to the continued relevance of these poems to developing environmental awareness and addressing contemporary concerns about the environment, including the intractable problem of climate change, the solution to which is unlikely to be found in the same technoscientific paradigm that created it.
Highlights
Traditional Japanese poems with strong nature themes are still very relevant today as relatable statements of environmental consciousness and the value and appreciation of nature, and can be a useful tool for environmental education
The universal appeal, timelessness, and nature-focus of the wabi-sabi and Zen perspectives contribute to the continued relevance of these poems to developing environmental awareness and addressing contemporary concerns about the environment, including the intractable problem of climate change, the solution to which is unlikely to be found in the same technoscientific paradigm that created it
There is a great deal of overlap between wabi-sabi and Zen, as discussed above, so they have been presented as a single category to avoid arguments about how best to categorize any particular term
Summary
Traditional Japanese poems with strong nature themes are still very relevant today as relatable statements of environmental consciousness and the value and appreciation of nature, and can be a useful tool for environmental education. This paper begins with a brief study of various aspects and elements of these poems, the related aesthetic and philosophical perspectives of wabi-sabi and Zen Buddhism, the importance of season, and additional nature terms, with the goal of developing greater appreciation for and understanding of the poems. Having established this essential background, the remainder of the paper presents several coherent groupings of related but otherwise independent poems and analyzes them with regard to these aspects and elements. The universal appeal, timelessness, and nature-focus of these perspectives contribute to the continued relevance of Japanese poems to environmental education, including broadly developing environmental awareness in both informal and formal educational contexts, and to addressing contemporary concerns about the environment
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
