Winter is a wonderful time to slow down, savor our learnt experiences this year and recap what went well and what we should adjust next year. Like Kari Leibowitz stated in How to Winter, the dark cold season can be enjoyed and utilized with the right mindset. I heed Kari’s advice and recollect the gems I collected in 2023 to align myself in the right direction this year.
In 2023, I continued my learning journey both professional and personally. Specifically, in AI (LLM, prompt engineering, RAG, agents), social design, life planning and mindfulness.
restore health the somatic way
After my recovery from a serious illness in 2023, I became interested in somatic therapy as suggested by my medical team. The idea is to unite psyche and mind and use one to change another. It reinforced what I practiced in 2023 during treatment when the part that was stronger at that time could help the other heal. For example, when my mood was affected by treatment drugs, I used body movement such as yoga and light jogging to help neutralize the anxiety and stuck emotion. The Zen saying “choshin, choshoku, choshin” (調身, 調息, 調心) which is to modulate the intangible by taking care of the tangible also reflects this thinking.
2025-6 update: I wrote a post on somatic healing to discuss the why and how.
designing for an aging society
Gerontological Design is another area I investigated this year, as I think both AI and social design (2 of my interests) will make a big impact here. Good gerontological design not just create elderly-friendly places, objects, media, etc., but can also influence social policymaking and provide the following benefits,
- turn away from treating senior as burden or people that need to be taken care of 24/7, into active community members
- unleash elderly’s potentials and unused bandwidth/energy to contribute to society, which has both economic and psychological gain
- improve the QOL of both seniors and caretakers
- increase elderly independence and sense of agency, while encouraging them to participate in more fulfilling and accomplishing activities.
- improve community engagement to cultivate a sense of belonging in mixed-generations settings, which are proven to be beneficial for cognitive maintenance in elderly population
- promote passing down of traditional and valuable skills/experiences
Again, NHK has produced several brilliant programs, which shows elderlies living with intent and deliberation, bravely striking forward in whatever they do, and wherever they are. Most of them devote their whole lives in their careers and at 80+, are still producing quality goods or preserving traditions for the community. It seems that having meaningful work and a supporting community are helping them thrive. The programs I recommend are Through the Kitchen Window and Hometown Stories, and here are the shows I like:
Never Too Old to Work shows Yokobiki (Central) Shutter Company which doesn’t have age restriction for its staff, unlike most Japanese firms. Many staff are over 65, and 82-yr-old Kanai is a lead designer who is looking forward to working continuously. Before joining Yokobiki, Kanai was an architect for a nuclear plant, but was forced to retire. In the show, all the elderly staff don’t look like their age and are very energetic, professional, alert, and technical! I read an interview by Yokobiki CEO Ichikawa which states that most businesses in Japan are small-medium enterprises. If every firm operates in his model, the society’s aging issues (strained healthcare system, declining tax, labor shortage) can be improved.
Lynda Gratton's Vision of Happiness Gratton, who authored 100 year life visited Japan and chatted with local experts on aging. According to a local professor, Japan is more a “self is we” country where relationship building seems to be prolonging life and giving people meaning. From elderly home staff who taught dementia seniors to cheer for soccer team, to Kanazawa housing community mixing seniors with college students, to companies removing retirement requirement and having senior staff coaching workshops, there are various way to instill vitality and meaning in old age.
A Craftsman's Roots shows a very cheerful grandpa who works along 3 generations of roof thatchers. It’s so nice to see him passing along his skills to his offsprings and happily working with them harvesting and grilling taro. His working till 96 and laughing all the time seem to be a potent recipe for longevity! His grandkids expressed their vocation to inherit the family business upon seeing his cheerful working attitudes, and that makes him even happier, like a good spiral.
Folk House Inn: Four Seasons: It is very refreshing to see a grandma passing down old tradition (patching paper door, using mosquito net, pumping water) to kids in summer. She says she lives to pass down her life experiences!
Active Seniors introduces us to a 104-year-old clock repairmen, 88-year-old programmer, 80+-year-old beauty sales. This is the episode that introduces me to Wakamiya Masako, the oldest programmer in the world. What a gem!
Bonding Through Soba: A Story of Four Grannies shows how to closely knitted community supports each other emotionally through work, and offer social safety net.
Grandma's Hands Reap Nature's Bounty shows ua a very happy grandma harvesting nori seaweed in Noto since teenage. She laughes all the time, and even high tides won’t dampen her lively spirit to work everyday to support herself.
Life on a Sloping Farm A 82/75-year-old couple tending a 40-degree sloped farm in Tokushima, growing soba used in winter to make soba rice soup. Village population declined from 50 to 9 and the protagonist is always on the lookout for neighbors by periodic house check. He says that when he was young, he didn’t appreciate the place, but now he really enjoys the scenary from up the hill, as there are things that only aging can bring enjoyment. Wife says she doesn’t know exactly what makes her happy, but she is very happy now.
A Country Doctor in 2024 - Brightening their Twilight Years 74-year-old retired bioinfo researcher/professor took up a rural clinic. He is like Kannon, not just curing for people’s body but their mind by listening. He organizes events to boost morale and build a close community, and take the time to know each resident to comfort them. He and the 60+-year-old farmer (who taught young newcomers traditional farmer methods) both have confidence and upright spirit as they strongly believe in what they are doing.
social design to foster connections
I’ve always been a keen observer of social changes. This year I began to look deeper into community design (a form of social design) and how deliberate change in the environment helps to increase people’s quality of life, especially in aging societies. Specifically, I am looking for ideas to nurture connections in the modern society, to facilitate idea exchange, community revival and a sense of belonging. Professor Yamazaki Ryo’s books contain a lot of working examples in this domain, where he led projects that enticed residents to participate, brainstorm and solve their own social problems. These projects not just designed new solutions, but built valuable social capital (a term that Yamazaki used to include a closely knitted network of human connection and mutual trust, held up by rituals and traditions). Residents are nurtured to become active stakeholders that have a sense of agency for their livelihood and how their town should be run. This is what he termed “soft design” that solves problems without changing the “hard” infrastructure like buildings.
The NHK programs DESIGN × STORIES and DESIGN TALKS plus also contain a lot of shows around this topic. Here are the ones I recommend:
Hotels Inspiring Lifestyle Design shows a paradigm shift of changing hotels from “a place to stay” to proposing new lifestyle. From stuffing everything inside a hotel, to deliberately spacing each function (checkin, dining, sleep, library) in corners of a town, so guests will explore the whole town to encourage economic revival. One popular hotel will attract other shops to open nearby, similar to the shotengai revival project in “Vacant Home” show in which 5 shops open when one starts to bloom.
Vacant Homes shows a revitalized street with 5 active, fun shops, to attract traffic so more shop will open.
Shaping Spaces Around Books inspired me to blog about Japanese bookstore innovations
Creating Better Accessibility to Local Resources provokes the questions what is resource? and what is assessibility (in terms of disability). In a tiered farm 90 minutes from Tokyo, an architect built community-focused facilities for different groups, that include city dwellers to connect to the land, remote workers needing open air office, and disabled workers that need truely assessible (not just ramp or special equip) restaurant/timber shop to integrate to community. The architect also shared how we can learn from past structures to rebuild and utilize resources (e.g. thinned out timber) that are in the neighborhood.
Active Communities shows a rebuild project in Shimokitazawa (a hip district in Tokyo) along old rail track with small shops with character and open space encouraging public mingling. There’s also a laundry specifically designed with wide community space to provide a stop for locals.
Opening New Doors for Children's Futures Architect Tezuka thinks that social issues, education and architecturee are connected. This episode shows 3 schools he built, all aimming at using design to promote connection, as he believes sharing is key to turn knowledge into wisdom. Instead of dividing a building into square classrooms, he created open space with circle, so there is no “deserted corner”. He also discussed engawa and how it promoted connection and sharing in old houses.
Revitalizing Old Homes - Traditional Cityscapes An architect turned a 110 year old hilltop house overlooking Onomichi bay and mountain into community space, with help with students. In Tokyo, an architect turned a nagaya (house for bath staff) to community gathering space for both bather and locals, with slat windows so locals can see who’s passing by and initiate chat.
Shared Living, Shared Spaces introduces an elderly care facility with public laundry and cafe so seniors have more external stimulus and social interaction with mixed generation visitors. The designer intentionally create a space with inviting features such as outdoor benches, so passerby are invited to sit and hang out with others. Another shared space aims to rent space cheaply to weekend hobbyist to sell their food for a living, and locals can give them immediate feedback.
Fostering Connected Communities - 100 Ideas to Save the World shares 4 stories on how new ideas can promote communication, healthy habits and cultural preservation in the community. The Mikan library where residents communicate via notes in a community-built library. Travelers enrolled to work locally in temporary jobs to understand issues facing the local community (things they cannot see as a tourist), and community benefits from outside workforce. A dying tradition (Iwami Kagura) is revived by collaborating with outsiders who bring in novel performing methods. Community nurses provide much-needed health checkup/advice in shopping street for busy workers who don’t have time to make extra trip to clinics, and reward good hygienic behaviors with shop discounts.