サウナでととのうは安心安全な話

In this episode, I reflect on Japan’s love of saunas and the popular phrase “totonou”—to “get aligned” or “feel refreshed.” While harmless and pleasant, I see in this idea a symbol of Japan’s preference for safe, conflict-free topics and emotional neutrality. Talking about saunas, like talking about the weather, never offends anyone—but it also provokes no thought. I explore how this cultural tendency toward comfort and harmony can lead to intellectual stagnation, where thinking itself falls asleep. True growth, I argue, comes not from being perfectly “aligned,” but from sometimes allowing ourselves to feel uneasy, disordered, and human.