Motion

Philosophy

Motion in this system is not decoration — it is Datsuzoku, the moment of departure from stillness that makes the stillness meaningful. Every animation must justify its existence: does it orient the user, provide feedback, or reveal structure? If not, it is noise. The site should feel alive the way a garden feels alive — not because everything is moving, but because you sense that movement could happen.

Easing Curves

Three custom curves as CSS custom properties. Click each plot to see the curve animate.

--ease-enter: cubic-bezier(0, 0, 0.38, 0.9); /* ease-out — element appears */
--ease-exit: cubic-bezier(0.2, 0, 1, 0.9); /* ease-in  — element departs */
--ease-standard: cubic-bezier(0.2, 0, 0.38, 0.9); /* ease-in-out — element moves */

Curve Comparison

All three curves overlaid. Click to play.

Duration Scale

Motion Demo

Reduced Motion — Seijaku

When prefers-reduced-motion: reduce is active, strip all positional animation. Replace with opacity crossfade or no animation. Motion is never essential to understanding — the content is complete in stillness.

@media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce) {
  *,
  *::before,
  *::after {
    animation-duration: 0.001ms !important;
    animation-iteration-count: 1 !important;
    transition-duration: 0.001ms !important;
    scroll-behavior: auto !important;
  }
}

Choreography Rules

• Stagger, don’t synchronise. Multiple entering elements stagger by 50–80ms each — like brushstrokes laid one after another.
• Direction follows reading. Elements enter from the left or bottom. Exit in the reverse direction.
• Hierarchy first. Hero headline animates before body text, which animates before captions.

State Transitions