The iron knife and cutting board I acquired in Kappabashi in Tokyo weren't cheap, but the feeling when I held them in my hands were exceptional.
Iron knives require a lot of maintenance - TLC (tender loving care). If you don't wash and dry them immediately after use, they'll rust, so I understand my husband's preference for stainless steel knives, especially in a humid climate.
Even so, for me, it's precisely this characteristic of "rusting" is what deepens the bond between the knife and its user. Through the act of caring for it, my affection for the knife grows. It's just like the expression in Japanese "the more you inquire, the more your love deepens". I place the cutting board, take the knife in hand. I cut the ingredients, wash it carefully, wipe it dry, and return it back to its original place. Through this series of actions, I experience a strange sensation, as if my energy is seeping into the knife.
It's hard to put into words, but the feeling when I use this knife is that the blade, the ingredients, and my hand all softly become one. There is an indescribable comfort there. The wooden cutting board is light and easy to handle, and its moderately soft surface gently receives the blade. It feels like the knife and the cutting board are resonating with each other at a place that goes beyond mere point of contact.
Suddenly, I became curious about the origin of the word "dogu" (tool in English) and looked it up. It originated in Buddhism and means "to help oneself and advance one's path and be an instrument to promote good."
Tools are not just inorganic objects, but quiet partners that help us achieve our mission. We live together, coexist with them.
For example, if you want to master the art of cooking, good tools will surely illuminate your path.
In our daily lives, they quietly stay by our sides, lending us their strength so that we can be more active—irreplaceable companions.
I think this way of thinking can be extended from tools to technology. Technology, including AI, is evolving at a tremendous speed. For example, the text and images generated by AI have the potential to stimulate our creativity and create new forms of expression.
But wait a minute.
Tools and technology are not just convenient "things."
This way of thinking can be expanded to include everything from tools to technology, including AI, which is evolving at an incredible speed every day.
Tools only have true meaning when "we" who use them continue to ask ourselves what kind of future we want to envision and how we want to live.
We need to consider whether the information generated by AI is unbiased, whether there are ethical problems, and, above all, it is important to keep thinking and imagining, and to continue looking beyond. Tools and technology do not exist to make humans lazy, but to help people go further.
Spending time with tools that fit comfortably in your hand makes your daily life more careful and enriches it.
How do we engage with tools, and how do we engage with technology?
By continuing to ask these questions, perhaps the future may be shaped little by little.
