There is also a power in the Japanese Zen (and other arts) way of "throwing one's self" into pure form and care, all to find oneself again in the "body memory" of the actions. If one's body memorizes the steps of the pattern, one can forget the self, let the body just do its thing (I believe that professional dancers and athletes know this too), as the mind shuts off into neutral and the body just knows what to do. It is a great power of the Japanese tea ceremony, for example, with its so precise forms to be mastered (no quick teabags here!), every motion well studied with the body.
Zen ritual is very similar ... such as Oryoki eating ...
This emphasis on "Kata" (proper form) is one of the great STRENGTHS of most traditional Japanese arts, including martial arts.
On the other hand, it can become very rigid, formulaic, tradition bound, deadening, stifling and obsessive-compulsive too. I have posted this many times before, but there is a Japanese series of videos making fun of their own tendency to do this, such as this one on eating sushi. Let me just say that half of the "rules" in this video are made up, and most of the others are exaggerated or so true that they are funny:
So, middle way here, like the strings of the guitar, not too tight and formulaic, not too loosey goosey.
Gassho, J
stlah