Meet Japan’s Original Decluttering Guru (No, Not That One)
“In many ways, having to face our things is like having to face ourselves,” Hideko Yamashita said. Credit... Photographs and Video by Noriko Hayashi
Before Marie Kondo captured the world’s attention with her exhortations to rid ourselves of items that did not “spark joy,” there was another Japanese guru of decluttering.
Her name is Hideko Yamashita. And while Ms. Yamashita, 70, has never reached Ms. Kondo’s level of Netflix-induced fame, she is widely credited in Japan with spearheading the modern movement of decluttering our homes — or, as it has come to be called overseas, “kondo-ing.”
The two women, born three decades apart in Tokyo, both preach the idea that households amass too much stuff. Letting go of unnecessary items and creating minimalist, tidier spaces, they argue, can enhance mental well-being.
Ms. Yamashita said she admired Ms. Kondo, 40, for taking these ideas to the Western world. A spokeswoman for Ms. Kondo acknowledged in a statement that Ms. Yamashita had been a leading figure in the tidying trend for years, but said Ms. Kondo had established her own philosophies.
