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Wabi-sabi (in
Kanji: 侘寂) represents a comprehensive
Japanese world view or
aesthetic system, and is difficult to explain precisely in western
terms. According to Leonard Koren, wabi-sabi is the most conspicuous and
characteristic feature of what we think of as traditional Japanese beauty
and it "occupies roughly the same position in the Japanese pantheon of
aesthetic values as do the Greek ideals of beauty and perfection in the
West."
Wabi-sabi is the
beauty of things imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete.
It is the beauty of things
modest and humble.
It is the beauty of things unconventional.
The concepts of wabi-sabi correlate with the concepts of
Zen, as the first Japanese involved with wabi-sabi were
tea masters, priests, and monks who practiced Zen. Zen Buddhism
originated in
India, traveled to
China in the 6th century, and was first introduced in Japan around the
12th century. Zen emphasizes "direct, intuitive insight into
transcendental truth beyond all intellectual conception." At the core
of wabi-sabi is the importance of transcending ways of looking and
thinking about things/existence.
- All things are impermanent
- All things are imperfect
- All things are incomplete
Material characteristics of wabi-sabi:
- suggestion of natural process
- irregular
- intimate
- unpretentious
- earthy
- simple
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