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Just Enough: Lessons in Living Green from Traditional Japan
Just Enough is a book of stories, depictions of vanished ways of life told from the point of view of a contemporary observer. The stories tell how people lived in Japan some two hundred years ago, during the late Edo Period, when traditional technology and culture were at the peak of
development and realization, just before the country opened itself to the West and joined the ranks of the industrialized nations. They tell of people overcoming many of the identical problems that confront us today--issues of energy, water, materials, food and population--and forging a society that
was conservation-minded, waste-free, well-housed, well-fed and economically robust.
From these stories, readers will gain insight into what it is like to live in a sustainable society, not so much in terms of specific technical approaches, but rather, in terms of how larger concerns can guide daily decisions and how social and environmental contexts shape our courses of action.
These stories are intended to illustrate the environmentally-related problems that the people in both rural and urban areas faced, the conceptual frameworks in which they viewed these problems, and how they went about finding solutions. Included at the end of each section are a number of lessons in
which the author elaborates on what Edo Period life has to offer us in the global battle to reverse environmental degradation. Topics covered include everything from transportation, interconnected systems, and waste reduction to the need for spiritual centers in the home.
Just Enough , more than anything else, is about a mentality that pervaded traditional Japanese society and which can serve as a beacon for our own efforts to achieve sustainability now.
development and realization, just before the country opened itself to the West and joined the ranks of the industrialized nations. They tell of people overcoming many of the identical problems that confront us today--issues of energy, water, materials, food and population--and forging a society that
was conservation-minded, waste-free, well-housed, well-fed and economically robust.
From these stories, readers will gain insight into what it is like to live in a sustainable society, not so much in terms of specific technical approaches, but rather, in terms of how larger concerns can guide daily decisions and how social and environmental contexts shape our courses of action.
These stories are intended to illustrate the environmentally-related problems that the people in both rural and urban areas faced, the conceptual frameworks in which they viewed these problems, and how they went about finding solutions. Included at the end of each section are a number of lessons in
which the author elaborates on what Edo Period life has to offer us in the global battle to reverse environmental degradation. Topics covered include everything from transportation, interconnected systems, and waste reduction to the need for spiritual centers in the home.
Just Enough , more than anything else, is about a mentality that pervaded traditional Japanese society and which can serve as a beacon for our own efforts to achieve sustainability now.
231 pages, Hardcover
First published February 1, 2010
40 people are currently reading
449 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
October 20, 2017
I enjoyed reading it, but at the same time felt I was given the rose-coloured glasses to wear…
let's not forget the omnipresent mold caused by Japan's hot and humid climate, the stench of the toilet pits, the bitter cold winter draughts, diseases, famines, poverty, and the oppression caused by the rigid, savagely stratified social system in which most of the population were strongly restricted in their personal freedom.
Nonetheless, I accept the focus on the positive aspects of the Edo/Tokugawa period society, which demonstrates that a de facto dictatorial central regime, as founded by Ieyasu Tokugawa, is quite capable of introducing constructive improvements to its dependents, given there's appropriate leadership. There is plenty food for thought for improvements in our modern lives.
The author does not shy away from mentioning the practice of killing newborns in order to keep the population to a 'sustainable' size, a biological aspect of 'sustainability' which is often ignored.
I have lived in an old traditional Japanese poor fisherman's house for a while, with bamboo shoots growing through the floor, moldy and rotten wood and sagging tatami mats, an adjacent shed with a buried earthen pot for a toilet (where I learned to hold my breath for a long time), monkeys ripping the thatched roof apart and insects, arachnids, snakes, frogs, toads and rodents sharing our quarters; some quite toxic, too. Luckily we moved out after a few weeks, before the winter! Now I enjoy a Japanese-Western fusion style house and garden in a valley.
let's not forget the omnipresent mold caused by Japan's hot and humid climate, the stench of the toilet pits, the bitter cold winter draughts, diseases, famines, poverty, and the oppression caused by the rigid, savagely stratified social system in which most of the population were strongly restricted in their personal freedom.
Nonetheless, I accept the focus on the positive aspects of the Edo/Tokugawa period society, which demonstrates that a de facto dictatorial central regime, as founded by Ieyasu Tokugawa, is quite capable of introducing constructive improvements to its dependents, given there's appropriate leadership. There is plenty food for thought for improvements in our modern lives.
The author does not shy away from mentioning the practice of killing newborns in order to keep the population to a 'sustainable' size, a biological aspect of 'sustainability' which is often ignored.
I have lived in an old traditional Japanese poor fisherman's house for a while, with bamboo shoots growing through the floor, moldy and rotten wood and sagging tatami mats, an adjacent shed with a buried earthen pot for a toilet (where I learned to hold my breath for a long time), monkeys ripping the thatched roof apart and insects, arachnids, snakes, frogs, toads and rodents sharing our quarters; some quite toxic, too. Luckily we moved out after a few weeks, before the winter! Now I enjoy a Japanese-Western fusion style house and garden in a valley.
May 25, 2022
I took my time reading the book and I feel this is one of those nonfiction reads which do demand to be read taking time to ponder over the issues mentioned and think about what the book offers about them.
I find the cover really soothing fit for the contents. I find the doodles/illustrations adding fun and making the reading more enjoyable.
Definitely for the adults and new adults who are thinking about planning to live more sustainably and how to go about it.
Even though the experiences and the explanations are based in Japan which might not fit for everywhere else, I still feel the book has lots to offer and we would be able to gain some knowledge on how to balance nature, our needs and the waste we generate.
An absolute insightful read.
Thank you, Stone Bridge Press, for the advance reading copy.
I find the cover really soothing fit for the contents. I find the doodles/illustrations adding fun and making the reading more enjoyable.
Definitely for the adults and new adults who are thinking about planning to live more sustainably and how to go about it.
Even though the experiences and the explanations are based in Japan which might not fit for everywhere else, I still feel the book has lots to offer and we would be able to gain some knowledge on how to balance nature, our needs and the waste we generate.
An absolute insightful read.
Thank you, Stone Bridge Press, for the advance reading copy.
January 20, 2020
A fascinating look into a sustainable future by exploring the sustainable past of Edo-era Japan. There are three sections breaking down different areas of life, ranging from forest management to class differences in the city and farm. Each section is introduced with a fictional story about visiting that area in feudal Japan. We meet different characters, visit different homes and workplaces, and each narrative is peppered with journal-style entries and illustrations. While the handwriting font was occasionally difficult to read, it lent a casual and approachable feel to a lifestyle very different from our own modern Western one. After the narrative, a list of bullet points take us through possible ways to make our lives more complementary and sustainable.
All in all, this is an extensively researched book effectively translated for all of us to gain new insights on sustainability.
All in all, this is an extensively researched book effectively translated for all of us to gain new insights on sustainability.
September 3, 2018
This book has some really interesting ideas. Written by an architect, so has many insights about ancient Japanese architecture and sustainable city planning.
July 23, 2022
Just Enough is an account of the daily lives of Japanese people 200 years ago. How they managed their lives with little resources and little waste. Living in harmony with the natural world around them.
Forbidden to chop down trees, they could only use the small twigs and branches that fell in a storm. To have enough wood for heating and cooking for everyone they had to create an economical stove called a kamado.
The beauty and brilliance in their daily lives are amazing to read about. With such attention to detail in every aspect of the day, they found a way to reuse everything. A fascinating read for historians, people learning about sustainable living, and Japanophiles, this book is a must for library collections.
Forbidden to chop down trees, they could only use the small twigs and branches that fell in a storm. To have enough wood for heating and cooking for everyone they had to create an economical stove called a kamado.
The beauty and brilliance in their daily lives are amazing to read about. With such attention to detail in every aspect of the day, they found a way to reuse everything. A fascinating read for historians, people learning about sustainable living, and Japanophiles, this book is a must for library collections.
June 10, 2022
Whilst this is the third edition, the preface clarifies that the changes have been minor so it’s effectively a reissue of the 2013 second edition. Based on extensive historical research, Brown narrates stories of life in Edo period Japan in c. 1800 and show how a circular economy could work. Japan at this stage had few interactions with the rest of the world so needed to be a self-sufficient country. It’s also worth noting that by 1800, Japan had experienced nearly 200 years of continual peace so hadn’t expended lots of its resources in fighting other countries.
There are 3 sections to the book: one looking at country life, one looking at city life and one looking at aristocratic (samurai) life. The descriptions of life are very detailed and come with many drawings of implements, house designs, objects, how to farm rice, how to thatch a house, etc. so for anyone wanting to learn about Edo-period life in Japan, this book is a fascinating resource to dip into.
At the end of each section Brown then draws lessons for the modern world from these stories of 1800s Japan. What’s clear is that every aspect of life is likely to need re-engineering especially our use of energy and water as well as changing what materials we use so that circularity is built into everything. For example, Edo Japan farms used water multiple times before it was released back into the rivers but we use water once before it goes for sewage treatments – to build efficiencies into our houses, we’d need to re-plumb them so that the shower water (had in the evening using solar heated water) fed the washing machine/dishwasher before being used to flush the toilet. Are we willing to do this (and give up space for water storage tanks)? When something is broken, isn’t our natural inclination to throw it away? What if almost everything could be repaired and the repair was cheaper than buying new?
Brown does succumb to an idealisation of the Japanese. A striking example is in the preface where he claims that the Japanese “national identity [is] rooted in superlative ethical values”. Given the behaviour of the Japanese during the Pacific War, I doubt the Chinese or Koreans or Okinawans would agree with this view. He also glosses over unpleasant aspects of Japanese culture such as killing babies at birth or enforced singleness for second or third sons, to keep population numbers down. It’s also unclear how ideas spread around Japan – only samurai were permitted to travel so how did villages learn about new innovations?
In conclusion, this is an interesting read with many suggestions on sustainable living. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
There are 3 sections to the book: one looking at country life, one looking at city life and one looking at aristocratic (samurai) life. The descriptions of life are very detailed and come with many drawings of implements, house designs, objects, how to farm rice, how to thatch a house, etc. so for anyone wanting to learn about Edo-period life in Japan, this book is a fascinating resource to dip into.
At the end of each section Brown then draws lessons for the modern world from these stories of 1800s Japan. What’s clear is that every aspect of life is likely to need re-engineering especially our use of energy and water as well as changing what materials we use so that circularity is built into everything. For example, Edo Japan farms used water multiple times before it was released back into the rivers but we use water once before it goes for sewage treatments – to build efficiencies into our houses, we’d need to re-plumb them so that the shower water (had in the evening using solar heated water) fed the washing machine/dishwasher before being used to flush the toilet. Are we willing to do this (and give up space for water storage tanks)? When something is broken, isn’t our natural inclination to throw it away? What if almost everything could be repaired and the repair was cheaper than buying new?
Brown does succumb to an idealisation of the Japanese. A striking example is in the preface where he claims that the Japanese “national identity [is] rooted in superlative ethical values”. Given the behaviour of the Japanese during the Pacific War, I doubt the Chinese or Koreans or Okinawans would agree with this view. He also glosses over unpleasant aspects of Japanese culture such as killing babies at birth or enforced singleness for second or third sons, to keep population numbers down. It’s also unclear how ideas spread around Japan – only samurai were permitted to travel so how did villages learn about new innovations?
In conclusion, this is an interesting read with many suggestions on sustainable living. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
August 10, 2025
In the foreword to Just Enough Brown opined that ‘…Edo period society (from 1603-1868) was conservation minded, waste free, well housed and well fed, and economically robust.’ Furthermore, this was because of ‘…its mindset of humility, not wasting, and conserving resources.’ It was able to achieve ‘…maximum wellbeing with a minimum of consumption.’ In trying to see how it all ‘fit together’ he did two things in this book..
First, with a direct, largely narrative and thus highly readable style of prose he described how three groups of people lived in the late 1790’s: farmers in rural Kai province (near Edo/Tokyo), a carpenter in central Edo, and a lower middle ranking samurai also living in Edo. With great attention to detail he provided highly textured descriptions of their homes, their daily lives, their work, their relationships, etc. The socioeconomic dynamics underlying the lives people led were very clearly delineated. Many drawings and a few maps underscored the points being made and greatly enhanced my engagement with the book. There were also inserts which provided more specific information about one aspect of a point the text had made.
Second, each of these chapters was followed by one entitled ‘lessons learned.’ In these chapters Brown provided many concrete suggestions about how the lifestyle of late 18th century Japan could be emulated in the early 21st century when Just Enough was published.
A six page bibliography confirmed that the author assimilated and integrated a significant amount of research in writing this book. Unfortunately, there were no references either in the text itself or at the the end.
I have two other modest criticisms. First, the font used for the drawings attempts to mimic handwriting. Unfortunately, it was not easily legible at times. Second, some of the applications he suggested in lessons learned were theoretically sound but unlikely to actually be implemented in today’s world. Ie, they were aspirational rather than realistic.
Over the last 50+ years I have watched dozens of films and TV programs about Edo era Japan. Just Enough explained many of the elements of life one sees in such films extremely well.
Addendum 8/5: it should be added that Brown failed to note that there were famines during the Edo period. Ie, weather and natural disasters like a volcanic eruption overwhelmed the policies of the government and people’s efforts to live within their means.
‘The Tenmei Famine of 1786-1787, along with the Kyoho Famine of 1732 and the Tempo Famine of 1832 to 1837, were three major famines during the two and a half centuries of the Edo period. Though the Kyoho Famine of 1732 was of shorter duration, it affected close to one million people in forty-six feudal domains in Western Japan. The effects of the Kyoho Famine were mitigated, however, by active efforts by the shogunate and the regional feudal lords to provide food and financial assistance to people in distress, and loans to farm communities so that they could plant new crops. Active relief efforts like these were largely neglected by the shogunate during the Tenmei Famine. This neglect prolonged the intensity and severity of hardship and famine among the people, creating disorders that undermined the power and authority of the shogunate. According to modern historians, the Tenmei Famine was the greatest nationwide disaster to occur in early modern Japan.’
https://www.ebsco.com/research-starte....
First, with a direct, largely narrative and thus highly readable style of prose he described how three groups of people lived in the late 1790’s: farmers in rural Kai province (near Edo/Tokyo), a carpenter in central Edo, and a lower middle ranking samurai also living in Edo. With great attention to detail he provided highly textured descriptions of their homes, their daily lives, their work, their relationships, etc. The socioeconomic dynamics underlying the lives people led were very clearly delineated. Many drawings and a few maps underscored the points being made and greatly enhanced my engagement with the book. There were also inserts which provided more specific information about one aspect of a point the text had made.
Second, each of these chapters was followed by one entitled ‘lessons learned.’ In these chapters Brown provided many concrete suggestions about how the lifestyle of late 18th century Japan could be emulated in the early 21st century when Just Enough was published.
A six page bibliography confirmed that the author assimilated and integrated a significant amount of research in writing this book. Unfortunately, there were no references either in the text itself or at the the end.
I have two other modest criticisms. First, the font used for the drawings attempts to mimic handwriting. Unfortunately, it was not easily legible at times. Second, some of the applications he suggested in lessons learned were theoretically sound but unlikely to actually be implemented in today’s world. Ie, they were aspirational rather than realistic.
Over the last 50+ years I have watched dozens of films and TV programs about Edo era Japan. Just Enough explained many of the elements of life one sees in such films extremely well.
Addendum 8/5: it should be added that Brown failed to note that there were famines during the Edo period. Ie, weather and natural disasters like a volcanic eruption overwhelmed the policies of the government and people’s efforts to live within their means.
‘The Tenmei Famine of 1786-1787, along with the Kyoho Famine of 1732 and the Tempo Famine of 1832 to 1837, were three major famines during the two and a half centuries of the Edo period. Though the Kyoho Famine of 1732 was of shorter duration, it affected close to one million people in forty-six feudal domains in Western Japan. The effects of the Kyoho Famine were mitigated, however, by active efforts by the shogunate and the regional feudal lords to provide food and financial assistance to people in distress, and loans to farm communities so that they could plant new crops. Active relief efforts like these were largely neglected by the shogunate during the Tenmei Famine. This neglect prolonged the intensity and severity of hardship and famine among the people, creating disorders that undermined the power and authority of the shogunate. According to modern historians, the Tenmei Famine was the greatest nationwide disaster to occur in early modern Japan.’
https://www.ebsco.com/research-starte....
June 30, 2022
'Just Enough' by Azby Brown examines how Japan's past relationships with community and land can teach us about how our relationship with the natural world can thrive. Complimented by beautifully detailed drawings this book takes us through the imaginary lives of inhabitents of Edo Japan.
This book was so relaxing to read, jumping into a detalied look of the daily life of these different communities was interesting for sure, but I mostly appreciated it from a historical perspective. Consume any type of Japanese media and sooner or later you will come across something set in the Tokugawa Era. Rather than pick up a textbook about the key figures and dates of the era I would recommend this book to understand the lives of the characters in a way that a Japanese person consuming such media would already know.
As to the idea that this shows us a more sustainable way of life: that is true, although of course there are many things that we wouldn't want to copy now. At times this book is, if anything, too detailed about the exact ways people lived within their environment which is why I enjoyed it more as a history text than anything else.
This book was so relaxing to read, jumping into a detalied look of the daily life of these different communities was interesting for sure, but I mostly appreciated it from a historical perspective. Consume any type of Japanese media and sooner or later you will come across something set in the Tokugawa Era. Rather than pick up a textbook about the key figures and dates of the era I would recommend this book to understand the lives of the characters in a way that a Japanese person consuming such media would already know.
As to the idea that this shows us a more sustainable way of life: that is true, although of course there are many things that we wouldn't want to copy now. At times this book is, if anything, too detailed about the exact ways people lived within their environment which is why I enjoyed it more as a history text than anything else.
Read
June 2, 2025Thú vị ở những chi tiết trong thiết kế nhà ở, tận dụng triệt để mọi nguyên vật liệu cho tới khi chúng hóa tro bụi mới thôi. Văn minh thực sự là biết sống nương tựa và phụng sự thiên nhiên. Sự biết đủ chính là nguyên tắc cốt lõi. Muốn vậy phải bớt tham lam, mà muốn bớt tham phải có niềm tin vào sự đủ đầy hiện có, thay vì sợ hãi, hoang mang khi cứ cố nhìn ngó xung quanh, và sợ rằng khi tới lượt mình thì sẽ hết phần nên lao vào tranh giành nhau. Kẻ nào lợi dụng địa vị và tài chính để hoang phí thì kẻ đó chỉ đơn giản đang thoái hóa, con người là một phần của tự nhiên, ký sinh vào tự nhiên, chứ không phải đối thủ xứng tầm mà đòi chinh phục với điều khiển tự nhiên.
Trong vài ngày nóng nhũn người như này, càng thấy lạ hơn khi người ta chặt hết cây to rồi tha về đủ thứ đồ nhân tạo, bao gồm cả tượng gỗ to tổ bố, sau đó gào mồm kêu nóng quá nóng quá. Khi nào thấy một cội cây to bị đốn hạ mà người ta đau xót như mất đi người thân thì lúc đó thế giới mới xanh lành trở lại.
Trong vài ngày nóng nhũn người như này, càng thấy lạ hơn khi người ta chặt hết cây to rồi tha về đủ thứ đồ nhân tạo, bao gồm cả tượng gỗ to tổ bố, sau đó gào mồm kêu nóng quá nóng quá. Khi nào thấy một cội cây to bị đốn hạ mà người ta đau xót như mất đi người thân thì lúc đó thế giới mới xanh lành trở lại.
March 15, 2024
I loved some of this book (all of the insights into life in the late Edo period). Beautifully documented in a spare and thoughtful way that allows the reader to imagine what daily life must surely have been like at that time. The theme of how to draw inspiration from those insights in order to guide a "green lifestyle" today was...not as much my cup of tea. I'm just as big a fan of a green lifestyle as the next crunchy granola girl, so I'm not sure why this wasn't a home run for me. Perhaps it was because it felt like the book was trying to do two things at once, and I was enjoying the Edo insights so much that I just really wanted more and more of that. Worth checking out if you like to learn deeply about what daily life was like in past time periods.
Thanks to NetGalley and Stone Bridge Press for this digital ARC. All opinions are my own.
Thanks to NetGalley and Stone Bridge Press for this digital ARC. All opinions are my own.
May 28, 2022
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC of this book. However, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
This is one of those unique books that may not have mass market appeal, but those interested in not only sustainable living, but homes of the samurai, are going to find this an interesting read. It covers micro-economies, the life of restraint, the organization of the samurai garden and their handicrafts, but then also the importance of an urban tree canopy. There is so much information here and it is all accompanied by pictures drawn in a sort of loose illustration style. There is something comforting reading about this time period, well for me, it gave me an excuse to sort of slow down and enjoy things a bit more.
This is one of those unique books that may not have mass market appeal, but those interested in not only sustainable living, but homes of the samurai, are going to find this an interesting read. It covers micro-economies, the life of restraint, the organization of the samurai garden and their handicrafts, but then also the importance of an urban tree canopy. There is so much information here and it is all accompanied by pictures drawn in a sort of loose illustration style. There is something comforting reading about this time period, well for me, it gave me an excuse to sort of slow down and enjoy things a bit more.
didn-t-finish
November 11, 2022NOT the book's fault I didn't finish it, I received a copy via NetGalley and Stone Bridge Books, but it archived before I was able to finish it.
Which is a SHAME because I am a huge proponent of 1) sustainability and 2) learning from cultures unlike our own and using what they do that is positive and adapting it to fit our culture and needs.
This book seems to have a lot to discuss about sustainability from a Japanese POV, which I would have loved to read more in-depth, but time ran away from me.
No stars, since I didn't finish it, BUT I will definitely seek this book out to finish it in the future and give it a proper review then.
Which is a SHAME because I am a huge proponent of 1) sustainability and 2) learning from cultures unlike our own and using what they do that is positive and adapting it to fit our culture and needs.
This book seems to have a lot to discuss about sustainability from a Japanese POV, which I would have loved to read more in-depth, but time ran away from me.
No stars, since I didn't finish it, BUT I will definitely seek this book out to finish it in the future and give it a proper review then.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 10, 2022
Fascinating study of Edo Japan. This book is not really a photo-heavy design book, per se, but more of an in-depth research project with mostly a lot of writing and some sketches.
As such, I didn't have the time to really read and study the whole thing, but as I skimmed it I realize I'd like to take time to read it all at a later time as the topic is very important to society.
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book.
As such, I didn't have the time to really read and study the whole thing, but as I skimmed it I realize I'd like to take time to read it all at a later time as the topic is very important to society.
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book.
July 8, 2022
I picked this up because I have a near obsession with Japan especially pre Taisho and Westernization. I find so much of it fascinating and beautiful, I was excited to read about sustainable living practices from that time and culture that I can implement in my life.
I had an interesting conversation with my Dad about cascade watering, since the way he set up his orchard with rice paddie fields in mind.
I really loved all of the hand drawn illustrations throughout. They really enhanced the information being told, even if your don't know the background like I do they paint great visual context. The handwriting was a bit hard to read, but not completely illegible.
I enjoyed the chart on building materials and their virtues, as someone who is very DIY and a crafter I liked seeing the breakdown.
We've planted fruit trees, use natural pest control, and let gravity aid in watering out plants, and bamboo everything! I've also grown up with the concept of having a spiritual center to the house without having the words to articulate it.
Embrace cottage industries! I loved that message.
I've gotten so many good ideas from this book, and I hope to implement more of them into our homestead. I hope that I can teach some of these concepts to other family and friends too. Spreading information and improving literacy is really the best way to make a change that can build on itself.
Thank you NetGalley and Stone Bridge Press for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review!
I had an interesting conversation with my Dad about cascade watering, since the way he set up his orchard with rice paddie fields in mind.
I really loved all of the hand drawn illustrations throughout. They really enhanced the information being told, even if your don't know the background like I do they paint great visual context. The handwriting was a bit hard to read, but not completely illegible.
I enjoyed the chart on building materials and their virtues, as someone who is very DIY and a crafter I liked seeing the breakdown.
We've planted fruit trees, use natural pest control, and let gravity aid in watering out plants, and bamboo everything! I've also grown up with the concept of having a spiritual center to the house without having the words to articulate it.
Embrace cottage industries! I loved that message.
I've gotten so many good ideas from this book, and I hope to implement more of them into our homestead. I hope that I can teach some of these concepts to other family and friends too. Spreading information and improving literacy is really the best way to make a change that can build on itself.
Thank you NetGalley and Stone Bridge Press for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review!
August 4, 2022
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced electronic review copy of this book. This is an in-depth, immersive, heavily diagramed guide to life in ancient Japan and the lessons we can learn and adapt to present day life. The book is broken into 3 sections: field and forest, the sustainable city, and a life of restraint and is told through stories from a contemporary point of view. It is an interesting look into a Japanese way of life.
August 31, 2022
4 stars for an insightful and informative read!
This was a very informative and interesting read about sustainability, with plenty of cultural, historical, and traditional references to the late Edo period. I found the many drawn sketches throughout to be very supportive and helpful to the content. There is a great lesson here on minimalism and innovation with simplistic and purposeful living.
Thanks to NetGalley and Stone Bridge Press for providing a digital ARC!
This was a very informative and interesting read about sustainability, with plenty of cultural, historical, and traditional references to the late Edo period. I found the many drawn sketches throughout to be very supportive and helpful to the content. There is a great lesson here on minimalism and innovation with simplistic and purposeful living.
Thanks to NetGalley and Stone Bridge Press for providing a digital ARC!
January 21, 2024
A very interesting and thought provoking book. It's incredible to believe that such an economic and ecological system existed and it is a little sad that it was forgotten so quickly after having taking centuries to create. I particularly enjoy the lessons that we can take away from the Edo period Japan and I seek to try and incorporate some of these lessons into my own life.
Highly recommend.
Highly recommend.
July 22, 2022
The final version may be so great, I reviewed the Netgalley version, it has the potential to be great but the pencil like drawings take away from the book and are a bit hard to read. I would definitely like to reread the completed version.
September 24, 2022
An absorbing insight into Japanese history and culture. Just Enough aquaints the reader with design and harmony of the Japanese and their way of life. Delightful sketches accompany this book.
December 22, 2016
So the Japanese have invented ecology before the humans. Impressive, right?
June 10, 2023
A good book describing the sustainable way of living in Edo era (Japan 17th century) from no waste lifestyle to integrating all nature aspects into the urban and rural design.
September 18, 2016
An absolutely lovely read that is infused with history while looking disapprovingly at our current consumption driven culture. The author uses the unique device of placing Edo era travelers in distinct locales, partaking in a kind of historical design survey of peasant homes, city dwelling merchant residences, and samurai estates. Using homely illustations and hand written notes alongside the main text, the book reads much like a handmade field guide. This makes it much more enjoyable than a using photography of preserved architecture or rigid schematics of floor plans. The entire design contruction process in analysed, from source materials (tree conservation is an overarching theme) to transportation infrastructure. The Japanese enduring motto of "mottai nai", a waste-not-want-not approach to daily life, is looked at in Edo life and how it can continue to play a role in modern design and contemporary life.
While Brown offers examples of Edo era urban design concepts grandfathered into our modern world and critiques where we have failed to make use of Japan's traditional design heritage; his writing is somewhat divorced from the social-cultural dynamics of present day Japan. This one minor criticism aside, being clearly a design oriented work, "Just Enough" should leave the reader with plently of ideas for improving our cities, towns, and homes to make the most of the increasingly scarce resources we can no longer afford to take for granted.
While Brown offers examples of Edo era urban design concepts grandfathered into our modern world and critiques where we have failed to make use of Japan's traditional design heritage; his writing is somewhat divorced from the social-cultural dynamics of present day Japan. This one minor criticism aside, being clearly a design oriented work, "Just Enough" should leave the reader with plently of ideas for improving our cities, towns, and homes to make the most of the increasingly scarce resources we can no longer afford to take for granted.
December 18, 2016
This is an amazing book that manages to combine two at first disparate things - a popular history survey of Edo (now known as Tokyo) two hundred years ago, and a guide to the principles of sustainable living. Brown has done a brilliant job of bringing to life three sections of Japanese society - farmers, merchants and samurai - with interesting prose, a depth of historical detail, and illustrations and diagrams, many so detailed you could almost use them to build your own buildings or plant up a forest! After each of these sections, Brown uses the lessons from the past and explains how features from then are applicable to a sustainable community now.
If you like reading about sustainability issues (especially relating to communities) this is the book for you. If you are interested in learning about a fascinating period of Japanese history and culture, presented in an interesting manner, this is the book for you. If, like me, you are fascinated with both, make sure you get your hands on a copy of this book so you can savor it and be inspired!
If you like reading about sustainability issues (especially relating to communities) this is the book for you. If you are interested in learning about a fascinating period of Japanese history and culture, presented in an interesting manner, this is the book for you. If, like me, you are fascinated with both, make sure you get your hands on a copy of this book so you can savor it and be inspired!
April 26, 2022
I didn't expect that by studying life in Japan 200 years ago we could find solutions to current problems, especially with regard to recycling, respect for the environment and the absolute waste to which we are accustomed. The author has proved me wrong, with a book full of drawings that help us understand when the distance between the past and the present can become excessive.
Non mi aspettavo che studiando la vita nel Giappone di 200 anni fa si potessero trovare soluzioni a problemi attuali, soprattutto per quanto riguarda il riciclo, il rispetto dell'ambiento e lo spreco assoluto a cui siamo abituati. L'autore ha dimostrato che mi sbagliavo, con un libro pieno di disegni che aiutano a capire quando la distanza tra il passato ed il presente puó diventare eccessiva.
I received from the Publisher a complimentary digital advanced review copy of the book in exchange for a honest review.
Non mi aspettavo che studiando la vita nel Giappone di 200 anni fa si potessero trovare soluzioni a problemi attuali, soprattutto per quanto riguarda il riciclo, il rispetto dell'ambiento e lo spreco assoluto a cui siamo abituati. L'autore ha dimostrato che mi sbagliavo, con un libro pieno di disegni che aiutano a capire quando la distanza tra il passato ed il presente puó diventare eccessiva.
I received from the Publisher a complimentary digital advanced review copy of the book in exchange for a honest review.
July 5, 2011
Architect and Tokyo resident Azby Brown explores late-Edo-period Japan as a model sustainable society and looks at technologies and strategies that can be adapted for modern use, many of which are no longer used in modern Japan. It's a densely written cultural history book with an academic bent, and incredibly thorough, with charming hand-drawn illustrations and notes in the margins. I'd definitely recommend it as a worthwhile read for anyone who is interested in permaculture, natural and sustainable building, small-space architecture, or Japanese history. (I've written a longer review here that includes links to Brown's TEDxTokyo talk and an essay he has written on the same topic.)
January 23, 2012
What an excellent book! It is a look at the way of life in Tokagawa (I may not have spelled that right!) Japan, by composing a composite picture of an individual in each social class. The main point of the book is that because of the need to support a large population in a restricted amount of space, nothing went to waste. Knowing nothing about Japanese history, I was fascinated to learn how people lived and worked. Meat-eating was a rarety; manure was highly-valued; and everything was recycled. Quite an inspiration!
March 18, 2024
A fascinating insight into the culture of strict elegant simplicity that arose from extreme resource scarcity, with advice on how to navigate the very similar situation we are beginning to face on a global scale. Beautiful illustrations throughout.
I would have liked to see a bit more research into some of the martial aspects of the culture, which is fascinating and highly appropriate as, for example, the poor quality iron resources of Japan led to the extremely complicated swordsmithing that required hundreds of folds to provide adequate sharpness.
I would have liked to see a bit more research into some of the martial aspects of the culture, which is fascinating and highly appropriate as, for example, the poor quality iron resources of Japan led to the extremely complicated swordsmithing that required hundreds of folds to provide adequate sharpness.
April 10, 2017
Great book.
I give this book five stars because of the way he explains the living conditions of Edo Japan in story like format brings the reader into the world of Japanese culture during this period of time. I thought it was great how he explains everything in such detail that you can imagine the places he takes you to. I liked how he summed up at the end and explained the ways we can use the knowledge in the book in the environment that each of us now live.
I give this book five stars because of the way he explains the living conditions of Edo Japan in story like format brings the reader into the world of Japanese culture during this period of time. I thought it was great how he explains everything in such detail that you can imagine the places he takes you to. I liked how he summed up at the end and explained the ways we can use the knowledge in the book in the environment that each of us now live.
June 29, 2013
This is an excellent pro-ecology book. It shows how Edo Japan created a sustainable society 200 years ago. The books takes us in a journey in the past to examine the daily life of farmers during Edo period.
http://www.justenoughjapan.com/JustEnough/HOME.html
http://www.justenoughjapan.com/JustEnough/HOME.html
December 19, 2016
Just enough is far from just enough: it is a long text about how Japan was at the times rich in resources and poor in resources. Make up your mind before writing the book, please. So far living green means wasting paper on botanical sketches, ugly too. Equally unpleasant and treacherous is the way of describing things from centuries ago like the author actually experienced that yesterday.
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