Aberdares cottages and fishing lodge, Feb 1st 2024
Why do hotels place so many pillows on their headboards? I would imagine if there were an anatomical anomaly preventing me from appreciating their ergonomic necessity, it would have already been pointed out. If not by doctors, then by the incessant teasing one endures from his peers while growing up as human of type male. If then, my neck and head structure falls in the average, then what justifies this strange norm? For the purpose of my argument, I'm going to completely ignore their aesthetic value. As if that wasn't enough, the density of these hotel pillows is always graded "extra firm". The expectation here is that you spend your whole night seated upright in light slumber, ready to wake up promptly at 6 am lest you miss those super early breakfast times. They might as well start furnishing each hotel room with a takamakura.
Geishas, due to their elaborate ornamental hairstyles which would sometimes take days to complete, used to sleep on a takamakura. This is a tiny bench meant to be laid on by placing the neck on the rest and having the head dangle through the night, in order not to mess up the intricate coiffure. As you can imagine, it does not make for comfortable rest. My theory is that the takamakura, as with many other examples from Japanese culture, is a form of reverence to the geisha art form. Because what other way can one imbue their art with meaning besides through hardship? Just as Beethoven composed some of his best works after losing part of his hearing and becoming a recluse, great suffering from masters creates timeless art. So perhaps the extra firm pillows serve a purpose because even as I write this, I'm seated upright in my room in this quaint resort in the Aberdares, unable to sleep. When this little piece I'm writing to see the night through goes down as my magnum opus, we'll have the 4 extra firm, full-size head pillows plus two tiny ones to thank.
