Wabi-sabi

Zen garden of Ryōan-ji. It was built during the Higashiyama period. The clay wall, which is stained by age with subtle brown and orange tones, reflects sabi principles, with the rock garden reflecting wabi principles.[1]
A Japanese tea house which reflects the wabi-sabi aesthetic in Kenroku-en (兼六園) Garden
Wabi-sabi tea bowl, Azuchi–Momoyama period, 16th century

In traditional Japanese aesthetics, wabi-sabi (侘び寂び) is a world view centered on the acceptance of transience and imperfection.[2] The aesthetic is sometimes described as one of appreciating beauty that is "imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete" in nature.[3] It is prevalent in many forms of Japanese art.[4][5]

Wabi-sabi is a composite of two interrelated aesthetic concepts, wabi () and sabi (). According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, wabi may be translated as "subdued, austere beauty," while sabi means "rustic patina."[6] Wabi-sabi is derived from the Buddhist teaching of the three marks of existence (三法印, sanbōin), specifically impermanence (無常, mujō), suffering (, ku) and emptiness or absence of self-nature (, ).[7]

Characteristics of wabi-sabi aesthetics and principles include asymmetry, roughness, simplicity, economy, austerity, modesty, intimacy, and the appreciation of both natural objects and the forces of nature.

  1. ^ 森神逍遥 『侘び然び幽玄のこころ』桜の花出版、2015年 Morigami Shouyo,"Wabi sabi yugen no kokoro : seiyo tetsugaku o koeru joi ishiki" (Japanese) ISBN 978-4-434-20142-4
  2. ^ "What Is Wabi-Sabi?". nobleharbor.com. Retrieved 2017-07-13.
  3. ^ Koren, Leonard (1994). Wabi-Sabi for Artists, Designers, Poets and Philosophers. Stone Bridge Press. ISBN 1-880656-12-4.
  4. ^ DAVIES, TREVOR (2018). 1001 IDEAS THAT CHANGED THE WAY WE THINK. [Place of publication not identified]: CASSELL ILLUSTRATED. p. 293. ISBN 978-1-78840-088-6. OCLC 1032029879.
  5. ^ Zia, East Liberty. "Wabi-Sabi: The Japanese Art of Finding the Beauty in Imperfections". Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. Retrieved 2024-01-07.
  6. ^ "Japanese Aesthetics". Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  7. ^ Daisetz Suzuki "Zen and Japanese Culture" Iwanami Shoten, 1940 ISBN 978-4004000204 The stillness of the tea ceremony is wider than silence. Synonymous with awabi. (136 pages)

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