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"What is the art of attention in Japanese?"

 asked, my client, a publisher for Rituals Magazine.

The word I chose was KIKUBARI

気　“KI” :  energy of our life force

配り “KUBARI” : distribute

KIKUBARI is a Japanese word that describes the act of paying appreciative attention to the people around you without expecting anything in return.

KIKUBARI brings a subtle smile to the hearts of both the giver and the receiver.

It is a thoughtful gesture of giving and sharing the energy of love and kindness.

This is one of the beautiful values that I cherish and practice. It is all about love and kindness to people around yourself as well as ourselves. The Japanese Tea ceremony is one of the finest examples of KIKUBARI.

This gesture comes from our pure self and not from our mind. It is only possible when we have space in our mind and when we are not clouded by our thoughts.

Stillness - Inner Peace - Present.

When the mind is empty, we are fully in the now.

We can create these moments not only when we are meditating, but also any time, anywhere.

It is a practice that creates as much of these moments throughout our day.

It takes dedication and focus to master this practise and create "KIKUBARI" - distribution of loving energy, give appreciative attention during even the mosted heated meeting or arguments.  It is all about awareness and you will find amazing results to transform any situations. 

Now, back to Rituals Magazine, it was beautifully designed and I was very satisfied with how my calligraphy came out. Making Calligraphy is one of my favourite practices to create Inner Peace and to be in the now. It is with great gratitude that I have the freedom of sharing the beauty of KIKUBARI to the collective world.

The magazine is now available through Rituals stores internationally, KIKUBARI from my Japanese SALON in Bussum to the world :-) 

Calligraphy + Meditaion courses and Tea Ceremony workshops are availble in my Salon, as well as your location internationally.

Let us create Inner-Peace together.

With Love, 

 Azumi

Risk-averse, hierarchy, apply-rules, indirect, attention to the details, conflict avoidance….

These are some of the general Japanese characteristics that are embedded in their subconscious mind, influencing their behaviours.

Some are quite an opposite to the Dutch and I receive tons of questions about the Japanese business culture. Today, I share some Japanese business “rituals” that will be handy to know when you are welcoming your Japanese business relations to your office.

This article is written for AKTEOS Nederland B.V.. For the Dutch version, please click here.

太陽の

光と影が

和を作る

August

The sun

Creating light and shadow 

Making the harmony.

-Azumi

 "Japanese art"  -  I guess the first thing comes to your mind would be the famous woodblock prints of "Ukiyoe" "Painting of Floating World" of Hokusai or Hiroshige. Van Gogh and Monet were those who were mesmerised by the woodblock prints. There are incredible collectors and researchers in Europe. 

On the other hands, more traditional form, Byobu - Japanese Screens are less widely known but these are the art where the Japanese love affair with the nature can be seen and felt....

7th July - Tanabata festival

Today is the day to make wishes.

Write your wishes on nice colored papers

Go wild and be with your wildest dream.

Let your thoughts out.

Let your dreams out.

Creating Haiku is simply to be in the now and express what we see, feel the season we are in, as to connect with nature, objects and ourselves, creating consciousness moment.

What is Haiku?

What Haiku brings us?

What is Haiku moment?

I am going to explore the answers deeper in this article.

夏至の夜

輝く空に

静けさも

June

Midsummer, at night

In the shining sky

Stillness, there is 

-Azumi

Post TEFAF dinner party @ Japanese SALON

I enjoy hosting dinners and high tea, brining people together to share art, ideas and inspiration. 

After almost forgotten the buzz of TEFAF in Maastricht, we, international art enthusiasts, got together here in Bussum.

The highlight of the evening is Art, Foods & good conversation! 

Interested in learning about Japanese culture for business before the trip? 

But no time for one day training ?

No problem.

I make it a concise, 30 min Dinner Talk for busy executives.

五月の木

自然の力

ここにあり

May

Tree in May

The power of nature

Here it is

-Azumi

In January 2017, I resumed my coaching sessions at my Japanese SALON at villa "Oud Holland", Bussum.

色淡い

春の青空

安らかに

April

Colouring soft

Spring blue sky

In peace

-Azumi

春の庭

金に輝く

木の芽たち

In the spring garden,

Shimmering gold,

New sprouts in the trees.

- Azumi

しずけさに

あわくかがやく

はかない美

 read more 

4 February is 立春 the day that the spring begins in the ancient Japanese (and Chinese). 

Still cold, but the feel more gentle light in the morning.

Here is the art of the month and Haiku of the month.

In Japan, January is an important month for our business and life. We start the year with many rituals to wish that good luck will follow through the year. I am curious to know how your company started a new year and how you started a new year.

I started New Year Calligraphy at Japanese Salon, in 2009 in Amsterdam and over the years, the program has evolved and became a poplar workshop for self development and team building throughout the year.

Making a crane in origami is a way to fold our wishes into it.

Read more

年新た

白雪のなか

歩み出す

New year beginning

In the midst of white snow

Stepping forward.

- Azumi

Proudly present the exhibition "The Seasons" with 12 art works of Jiro Inagaki with my Haiku for each month. Brining Japanese nature into Dutch office.

A law firm in Amsterdam Zuid, a newly renovated office with beautiful straight lines with black steel and glasses, a minimalistic Dutch design welcomed this warm natural touch and soften the office atmosphere. 

Jiro' Inagaki's art works have brought the touch of nature into the office and soften the working environment with earthy natural handcrafted paper collage.  

Last Saturday, I gave my second TED talk.

It was really a valuable experience again and I am going to share with you 5 tips if you are to give a talk like in the setting of TEDx. 

A group of talented young professionals and entrepreneurs from the Dutch gaming industry was making their trip to Tokyo Game Shows for meetings with some leading Japanese game companies.

Organised by Rangemu, who connect the Dutch and Japanese game industry, I have given a half day seminar, to prepare for their meetings and make communication strategy.