Hirune (昼寝) and Inemuri (居眠り)
Japanese nap/siesta/ethos
We’ve discussed the importance of napping in Western cultures, most typically exemplified by the siesta in Spain. But is napping some sort of western thing? Far from it, as demonstrated by the Japanese hirune (昼寝), translated as “daytime sleep,” and the concept of inemuri (居眠り), an entire ethos.
Hirune strikes me as what we mean when we say “napping” — a conscious effort to rest. There are plenty of articles discussing how Japanese workers are overtired and how Japanese society makes room for breaks in the day to catch up on sleep. Sounds a lot like the siesta and the general philosophy of us here at TND — but the story doesn’t end there.
Ten or twenty thousand feet above hirune lies the concept of inemuri, a combination of the verbs for sleeping and being present. This concept goes back millennia and isn’t necessarily synonymous with a nap or even sleep — it’s more analogous to daydreaming and is permissible so long as one fits in with one’s environment and can return to the social situation at hand and participate as appropriate. This sounds more to me like some combination of siesta and the Dalí key method.
I traveled to Tokyo in 2016 and am proud to share that I slept on the subway while there — my cousin was studying abroad there and has photographic evidence of said nap somewhere…perhaps this unwitting step in the world of hirune and inemuri planted the seeds for TND!