Loved Before It Exists: The Heart of Creation
Charles Dickens once wrote: “The whole difference between construction and creation is exactly this: that a thing constructed can only be loved…
Category
Inspiration & Stories
Ukiyo: The Floating World
What Is Ukiyo? In Japan’s Edo period, ukiyo meant “the floating world”. A poetic description of life’s fleeting pleasures. Think kabuki theatres, geisha districts,…
Furusato: The Hometown That Stays With You
What Furusato Means Furusato (ふるさと) is the Japanese word for “hometown.” But it’s more than a place on a map. It’s the…
Kaizen | The Japanese Philosophy of Continuous Improvement (in Weddings) and Life
Kaizen: The Small Steps That Change Everything If Nagomi is calm, then Kaizen (改善) is motion. It means “continuous improvement,” but again … translation…
From Chips to Chips | What J.R. Simplot Taught Us About Building Something That Lasts
Visionaries Who Inspire Us | No. 1 Every so often, we look beyond the world of weddings … beyond the champagne toasts…
What a Lucky, Ridiculous Thing It Is to Even Exist
I woke up feeling grateful this morning. In Miami. On the other side of the world. And thought… What a lucky, ridiculous…
Ikigai: What Japan Really Means by a Reason for Being
The famous ikigai diagram isn't Japanese. What the word really means, what Japan's own surveys say gives people ikigai, and why a…
Lost in Translation | The Quiet Language of Connection
There’s a scene that still gets us every time. Tokyo. Night. Neon and noise. Two souls adrift in a city that hums…
The Rooms That Shape Us
No one gets to the top alone. And no couple ever truly walks down the aisle alone, either. Behind every wedding, every…
Yūgen: The Beauty You Can’t Quite Name
What Yūgen Means This one always gives us goosebumps. Yūgen (幽玄) is one of those Japanese words that refuses to be neatly…
Wa (和): Finding Harmony in the Chaos
There’s a Japanese word that feels like the thread holding it all together. Wa. It’s often translated as “harmony,” but it’s so much…