In Zen Buddhism, painting an ensō circle by hand is a discipline and Japanese aesthetic that is practised in the attempt to free the mind of all emotions and thoughts in order to produce a true and pure creation. Some people use meditation to try and achieve this state of mind but this Zen discipline of painting a circle to achieve enlightenment or self-realization could be just as satisfying and maybe even more powerful. The ensō circle can either be closed or incomplete. The closed circle represents perfection and the incomplete circle represents the existance of an imperfection, a common theme in the Japanese tradition of wabi-sabi. The finished circle can symbolize many things to different people. Popular interpretations say the ensō circle resembles universality, strength, elegance, simplicity, beauty, nothingness, or everything.

This ensō circle appears on the cover of my latest book Tokyo 2060: Welcome to the Future. When I was thinking about the book cover design, I wanted to use a subject which would represent Japan and the story itself. I also wanted to offer something more substantial and deeper for my readers to think about as they turn each page. Therefore, the incomplete ensō circle on the book cover represents a future society which may seem perfect to us in 2015 but may not be so perfect in 2060.

My novelette, set in 2060, is a story filled with futuristic technology and incredible innovations and these may all seem very exciting and appealing to us now. You might even see and experience all these inventions and advancements in forty-five years and when you read about them you might think this is exactly how you would like to live if you were in Tokyo in 2060. However, as you read this story, I hope you’ll connect with the characters, consider the ethical and moral implications, and think about how a synthetic, computerized, and technologically advanced world could impact our lives as emotional human beings who enjoy connecting with other human beings.

As companies in Japan compete with each other to get self-driving taxis on the road and robots in department stores and attractions in time for the Olympic Games in 2020, it’s worthwhile taking a moment to think about the true impact of new technologies, such as androids and robots, and the many ways they will inevitably affect our lives in the future.