Japan's gardens of repose offer solace in pandemic times

KYOTO, Japan -- The Japanese word shinrinyoku (forest bathing) refers to a kind of spiritual refreshment and mental cleansing experienced through immersion in nature, in the wilderness of a wood.

The concept sits neatly beside a number of other Japanese self-healing approaches that function as paths to well-being, among them mindfulness and ikigai, denoting the discovery of a cherished reason for being. Many of these ideas repackage concepts that have been around for millennia, practiced in ancient times by Japanese monks, hermits, poets, spiritual seekers and the philosophically inclined.