Tuesday, June 10, 2008

jinba ittai: rider and horse as one

I own a first-generation Mazda Miata. It's actually the second one I own - when I crashed my first one (a 1996 model) in a rare ice-storm in Austin, I replaced it with a 1997, the last year of the first generation.

I first encountered the Miata at Stanford in the early nineties, when a friend took me for a ride and it was an instantaneous connection. Only years later did I come to know that the Miata is based on a design principle, Jinba Ittai, or "rider and horse as one." This concept has been beautifully implemented in the first-generation Miata, where the car feels like a literal extension of your body, from the accessible controls, the short gear-shift, the snug seating and quick responsiveness. Ten years later, there is still an indescribable pleasure when driving the car.

It seems I've been inadvertently drawn towards youplusU for a very long time!

2 comments:

Richard said...

Isn't it divinely humorous how we can understand connections we make that reflect a deeper significance as we grow wiser in life experience! I love the anecdote; it forces me to reflect on the significance of an old Mercedes 450SEL that was important in my live. Hmm.. not coming up with good answers so far;-)

Unknown said...

The King Casino - CommunityKhabar
The King febcasino.com Casino is the only casino near the 출장마사지 casino. All casino games are legal and the game variety is huge! The 바카라 사이트 games are also available at any communitykhabar of https://sol.edu.kg/ the