Where does the serenity and aesthetic sensibility embodied in a single pot of bonsai, a traditional Japanese art form beloved worldwide, truly originate? Tracing its roots reveals Shinto, a one-of-a-kind faith born from Japan's natural climate, and the story of Japanization, which emerged as this faith fused with foreign cultures throughout history.
While various religions such as Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam exist around the world, Shinto, Japan’s indigenous faith, possesses distinctly different characteristics. The most prominent difference is that it is not expressed with a suffix meaning "teachings." Many religions have a specific founder or prophet, as well as sacred texts or scriptures compiling their doctrines. However, Shinto has neither a founder nor definitive scriptures. Shinto is an original Japanese faith born from the very lifestyle and way of living of ancient Japanese people, who found divinity in all aspects of nature—such as mountains, seas, winds, and trees—and lived with respect and gratitude toward nature. Because it is not something taught, but rather an attitude and way of living alongside nature, it came to be represented by the word "Do," meaning "path" or "way."

This concept of "Do" serves as a foundation for Shinto spirituality and has been passed down into various traditional cultures that Japan takes pride in, such as Sado (tea ceremony), Kado (flower arrangement), and Kodo (incense ceremony). The common thread among these cultures is that they are not merely technical skills or hobbies for appreciation, but are elevated to spiritual practices that discipline one's mind and harmonize with nature and all creation through prescribed etiquette and movements. Tea, flowers, and incense originally came from continental China between ancient and medieval times. However, rather than leaving them as mere imported items, the Japanese people bound them to the Shinto spirit rooted in deep reverence for nature and gratitude for the unseen, sublimating them into an unprecedented culture of "Do."

Bonsai, a representative of Japanese aesthetics, was also born through the fusion of Shinto and foreign cultures. In ancient Shinto, evergreen trees such as pines were yorishiro—objects where deities descend—and sacred entities harboring the vitality of mother nature. From the Kamakura period to the Muromachi period, Zen Buddhism introduced from China became deeply intertwined with Japan's Shinto culture. As the spirit of Zen, which embraces nature's severity and impermanence, was influenced by Shinto, it merged with the heart that reveres nature as it is, giving birth to Japan's unique sensibility of wabi-sabi. Bonsai is the very art that distills the majesty and vitality of nature into a small tree above a pot through the spirit of Zen, an aesthetic of stripping away imperfection and excess.

Throughout history, Japanese people have adopted superior cultures and technologies from overseas, reconstructing them in a distinctly Japanese way through their unique sensibilities and elevating them to higher dimensions. We call this process Japanization. Creating Hiragana from Kanji, transforming imported tea and incense into a "way," and refining potted plant culture into bonsai imbued with wabi-sabi—the greatest factor enabling such remarkable Japanization is the spirit of Shinto rooted in the subconscious of the Japanese people. It was precisely this Shinto sensibility—finding the divine in all things, harmonizing with nature, and flexibly embracing and reconciling everything—that allowed foreign cultures to be sublimated into Japan's own beautiful traditional culture.

For those of us living in the modern era, Shinto may be so deeply integrated into daily life that we rarely consciously notice it. Yet, as we visit shrines for the new year, decorate with kadomatsu during New Year celebrations, and join our hands in prayer at shrines, the spirit of Shinto continues to live on in our blood today. The serenity, dignity, and respect for nature found in Japanese traditional crafts and culture, including bonsai, are all flowers that bloomed from the rich soil of Shinto. Precisely now, as international interest reaches an all-time high, we as Japanese people must correctly understand our own roots in Shinto and the true essence of our aesthetics, passing them down with pride to the next generation and the world.