Stages of minimalism on Fumio Sasaki's path to happiness

In recent years, minimalism as an approach to art has given way to minimalism as a lifestyle. Used not only as a means of reducing personal possessions, it becomes a personal quest for self-fulfillment beyond material acquisition. In the Japanese scene, two names emerge: Marie Kondo and Fumio Sasaki. Kondo, often associated with the simple living movement, has a pragmatic outlook that focuses on material detachment and clutter reduction. Sasaki, with a more traditional inclination, infers a conscious insight into socio-cultural values and how some are used to assess happiness. In his perspective minimalism contradicts modern standards of happiness, which are loosely based on consumerism, such as having expensive cars and high-paying jobs and other examples of consumption for the sake of appearance rather than need. By relegating material possessions to the far back of people’s lives he disproves the erroneous idea that the sum of one’s belongings equates to self-worth. This essay explores Sasaki's transition from materialist to minimalist.

Fumio Sasaki’s transition from materialist to minimalist can be divided into 5 stages, following the model proposed by Jennifer Hausen. No longer satisfied with the life he was leading, Sasaki was looking for practical ways to change. He began with Stage 1: Finding discontentment in one’s life. With a beginner’s mindset, he searched for minimalism on the internet, and was struck by the image of people with little to no possessions in their lives, and those who focused on living life through traveling around the world. Sasaki found names like James Altucher, a successful entrepreneur who claimed to own only a bag of clothes, a backpack with a laptop, an iPad, a phone, and nothing else. Or Andrew Hyde, a multiple business owner, who went as far as proclaiming to be homeless and owning only 15 objects.

Although he envied the freedom and the ease with which such people were able to prioritize what they consider to be essential for their lives, Sasaki had no intention of getting rid of his house. But it was the dissatisfaction with his own life that urged into the development of Stage 2: The decision to change. He wanted to distance himself from endorsing values, goals, and associated beliefs that center on the importance of acquiring money and possessions that convey status. 

Reassessing how to effectively resolve the inconsistencies between this desire for change and practicality triggered Stage 3: Introspection. Sasaki could not shake the feeling that his belongings owned him and no matter how much he would clean and organize, they were still there in his house, cluttering his living environment. He had acquired them with hopes that they would make him feel better. At some point, he wanted so much to become a photographer that he transformed his kitchen into a photographic darkroom that he barely used. He was so good at buying things that in his office he had a pile of Amazon boxes. He was just not as good at managing his possessions. So much so that he could feel them talking back to him. It took him a year of selling his over 150 books collection and CDs to a second-hand store, but gradually, he emotionally detached himself from these and so many other objects.

This gradual change reflects a reorientation, solidified in different life domains, bringing him to Stage 4: Solidification. Although there had been a notable change, Sasaki’s minimalist self still struggled with his materialist self. He still fancied a luxurious lifestyle and it did not help that the lady with whom he was infatuated married someone with an income much higher than his. He not only wanted to have a simpler lifestyle; he also wanted to have a deeper understanding of what could bring him happiness. He wondered, “Were minimalists and people that got rid of most of their belongings (like Gandhi and Mother Teresa) happier?” Or, “When Mother Teresa passed away, she only had an extra sari, a pair of sandals and a bag. Why didn’t she buy a trendy sari? Was she pretending?” He assumed that these people knew more about happiness than most people today. While studies on Japan’s GDP show four times more growth in the past decades, the line of happiness seems to be the same as four decades ago. The whole has not become any happier despite modern convenience. Sasaki does not claim Mother Teresa or Gandhi as minimalists, but for sure they endorsed material detachment as a means to lead a simpler life. Adopting concepts from Zen Buddhism into his life were propelling factors that helped him to solidify his commitment to minimalism as a practical lifestyle. He embraced emotional detachment from the material and a shift to a higher emphasis on the relationship with oneself and others, both key characteristics of Zen Buddhism.  

When it was time for Sasaki to move from the busy Tokyo streets to more serene Kyoto, it only took 30 minutes to pack because of how little he now had. He spends more time on his relationships rather than buying different products, reaching Stage 5: Renewed identity. This is exemplified by increasing prosocial tendencies, which he suggests is a positive benefit of happiness. Even his relationship with himself became healthier and underwent an overwhelming change. Currently, Sasaki spends  more time outdoors and in nature, a significant contrast to his prior sedentary material lifestyle. Visible physical health improvement, which in turn is associated with improved mental health, is seen in individuals identified as happy and/or positively satisfied with their lives. Minimalism for him was the beginning and the method not to become happy, but to “be” happier with himself and his life.

In contemporary industrialized societies, there’s normalcy around endorsing materialistic values in order to compensate for feelings of inadequacy. As this thought process proves to be ineffective, found alternative lifestyles emerge that counter consumerist culture and advocate for simpler lives. Sasaki’s depiction of minimalism accounts for reassessing and developing the habit of differentiating wants from needs. This, in turn, eliminated the disorder from clutter or consumption for self-indulgence. It’s almost certain that each a person will have their own version of minimalism, from the most radical such as Altucher and Hyde, to the more traditionalist such as Sasaki. However, these differences point to an essential quality: Introspection that is necessary to reassess personal values and the mutual influence of environment and culture. I wish to suggest that proposing a minimalist lifestyle for modern societies such as Japan could contribute to higher life satisfaction as well as posing more sustainable and ecological ways of living, which further research could certainly explore in more detail. Minimalism can promote a more sustainable lifestyle by combating exacerbated consumption and sweeping away the mistaken idea that happiness is rooted in material objects.

[The above essay is by Drusila Gomes. It is based on her 2020 graduation thesis at Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University in Japan, which was recognized as outstanding. While at APU she pursued studies in culture, society and media. This helped to develop her skills and gain knowledge of how modern societies can benefit from traditional wisdom and alternative ways of living. She's currently working as a language teacher in Japan and is exploring the nuances of the educational system.]