Japanese Culture: Why Japanese Like Moss

What is moss?

Moss, to put it simply in laymen term, small green plant that grow on wet and shaded soil.
You can find them under tree shades which is also usually wet since it is not exposed to direct sunlight, thus the ground moisture is not easily evaporated.

 

Is moss a weed?

Some consider moss as a weed.
Moss is a weed when you try to grow grass, and your grass lost to the moss.
But well, if you are growing moss, grass will be the weed.
It mostly a matter of perspective.

Personal experience with moss

For me, I didn't like moss at first. Moss makes the ground slippery.
When I was a child,I was jumping around in the garden and I accidentally landed on a ground covered with moss.
I slipped and fell on the ground.

My body landed flat on the moss covered ground.

There is also a certain moss smell to it that I can remember until today.
Surprisingly, I kind of like the smell of the moss. It is rather refreshing in my opinion.

There were also a time, I was wearing a white shirt with a pair of jeans and I leaned against a wall. I didn't realize that the wall was covered with moss.
Yucks!!! My shirt and jeans had some green moss attached to it.

Some people hate moss

Whereas, there are also some that feel that moss is an eyesore.
Moss can grow on their rooftops and driveway.
They would prefer the rooftops to be in rooftop color and not green moss colored.
For that, some people hate moss.
If you hate it, you hate it.
They would go all the way to kill moss.
They would buy moss killing spray of super strong moss killing chemical, bleach the moss growing area and if you are rich, hire professional to remove moss, etc.

Some people like moss

While some people hate moss, some like moss.
While some people think it is an eyesore, some think it is a beauty.
Just a matter of aesthetic perception.
While some people want to kill moss, some want to grow moss.
Just a matter of preference.

How to Grow Moss?

As we said earlier, moss like shady, cool places with moisture. Give it the right condition and moss will grow. It will die if it is exposed to direct sunlight. Some said moss grow better if it is on slightly acidic soil.

There are also some methods to grow moss on rocks.
You may refer to How to Grow Moss on Rocks, Bricks or Pots.

Why Japanese like moss?

Japanese grow moss in their gardens and flower pots. To the Japanese people, moss gives a sense of serenity and tranquility.

Moss usually grows after a beautiful rain, a slight sunshine, and by the side of a flowing river.
It will flourish when undisturbed thus come calmness.
Moss also signifies continuation and longevity since it can last for a long time.

The older generation of Japanese people would probably love moss more because they like the moss as it continues to grow and live for a long time. That inspire people to continue to flourish (to be active) so that they would be as vibrant like the moss.

Conclusion

When I first in Japan, I thought why were the gardens not maintained. Moss are growing all over.
Then I found out that moss were allowed to grow on purpose. Some even took the effort to grow moss on rocks and pottery. I came to like moss as it blends into nature and gardens. It does create a certain sense of harmony and tranquility not only to the Japanese people but even to me.

With that, I hope you have can understand better why Japanese people like moss.

Related articles

• Blue Moss (picturelearning.org)
• The Moss Garden in Iowa (cozmd.wordpress.com)
• Moss Graffiti : Part One (apexhsart.blogspot.com)