Martha Stewart Visits Japan Society

By Justin Tedaldi

Some quick facts about Martha Stewart: Her favorite color is drab. She would most like to be reincarnated as one of her horses. She’s also nuts about Japanese superstore Tokyu Hands, has one of the “most ancient unaltered” gingko trees in existence, and is so fond of Kyoto that she named a fabric shade (Kyoto Green) after it.

All these tidbits and more were revealed by the president and CEO of Martha Stewart Omnimedia herself in a one-hour lecture entitled Martha Stewart: A Passion for Making a Home at Japan Society on November 14 as part of its Centennial Speaker Series. The visit marked Stewart’s second speaking engagement there; a recent encounter with its president Richard J. Wood sparked the encore appearance. But this was no off-the-cuff talk, as Stewart’s achievements were illustrated by hundreds of carefully-timed slides that flashed by with her commentary.

“This time it’s more personal,” Stewart began, with the first half of the lecture basically serving as Martha’s Greatest Hits, tracing her upbringing from a “Sears home absolutely devoid of aesthetics” in New Jersey to her first abodes at Riverside Drive, the Berkshires, and then Westport, Connecticut. The farmhouse she restored there served as the launching pad for Stewart’s empire in the early 1980s, sporting one of the most photographed kitchens in America. “I love my kitchen,” she said, “which is full of details that any Japanese craftsman would be interested in.”

Add Japan Society’s crowd to that list. Whether it was due to star power or her massive appeal to armchair entertainers, the hall was oversold (not that those forced to stand complained). Patrons with subscriptions to Better Homes and Gardens were clinging to her every word as one pearl of wisdom after another tumbled out (examples: an outdoor pool with a black bottom is economical because you don’t have to heat it; it takes about 13 years to have a beautiful garden; and it takes an entire day to embroider a napkin Martha Stewart-style).

As if to poke a bit of fun at all the spit-shined perfection on display, Stewart spun a Thanksgiving tale in which her hand required nine stitches after a mishap with a knife. Adding to the chaos, a guest got kicked by a horse, and foul weather threatened to snow everyone in. True to form, the guests were all smiles in the photos.

For the second half of the talk, Stewart dished exclusively on Japan. Many of her observations focused on the link between traditional Japanese spiritualism and good living, a hallmark that she strives to infuse both her work and products with.

Next came the Kyoto story, where Stewart happened to be during 9/11. On that trip, she visited the Miho Museum in Shiga prefecture at the invitation of a member of the Shumei family, the founders of a Buddhist organization. Designed by the legendary I.M. Pei, the museum houses the family’s art collection. While there, Stewart described how touched she was to hear “America the Beautiful” unexpectedly chimed from a bell tower. Next, she visited the old Imperial Palace (Kyoto Gosho), which according to Stewart is open to visitors only two days a year. But instead of a story on architecture or design, she humorously recounted how the groundskeeping ladies swept the sidewalk in front of her: “They didn’t know who I was, but that was good housekeeping!”

When traveling to Japan, Stewart eschews modern high-rise hotels for traditional country ryokan (inns). She said that staying in one is “living a lifestyle that I could only hope to emulate,” and a lot of her ideas for interiors are inspired by their walls as well as the façade, which are conceptually borrowed for fresh wood paneling ideas back home.

As for food, Stewart’s favorites include hibachi and kaiseki, the latter being a specialty of Kyoto. Ever the gourmand, Stewart explained that she purchased cooking grills on her holiday in an attempt to recreate a similar mix of delicacies in her own kitchen. “I still have to go to Japan for the amazing ideas; it is all so beautifully arranged,” she said, citing as an example a sashimi platter decorated with the foliage of the season, or giving props to the mammoth department store Tokyu Hands. “There’s not a store like that in America,” she said, “especially when you consider the organization of their millions of products.”

The lecture wrapped with a candid Q&A session by the diverse audience, revealing more of Stewart’s opinions on Japanese life and style. Describing a wine that her company planned to market in the new year, Stewart philosophized on the Japanese ethic of packaging quality as an equal to the product itself. “Though it’s wine, the bottle itself is art,” she said. “In Japan, this concept is a continuum.”

A story about a visit to a shrine in Ise followed, where Stewart learned that although the shrine itself had been in existence for 1,500 years, it is routinely knocked down every 20 years and rebuilt in the same manner. “The beauty of the religion is that they honor tradition, craft, and art [instead of] knocking everything down,” she said.

Stewart also acknowledged the pitfalls of staying modern. Fielding a question on what she thinks the Japanese have taken for granted, she remarked that it “bothered” her to see “so many McDonald’s and fast food places.  The world is flat and I celebrate Japan for keeping tradition alive, and I’ll do anything to help with that.”

For more information on upcoming lectures at Japan society, click here. Visit Martha Stewart’s homepage at www.marthastewart.com.