wabi-sabi

Examples of wabi-sabi in the following topics:

• The Tea Ceremony

  • Murata Jukō is known as an early developer of the ceremony as a spiritual practice; he studied Zen Buddhism under the monk Ikkyū, who revitalized Zen in the 15th century, and this is considered to have influenced his use of the Zen concept of wabi-sabi in the aesthetic of the tea ceremony.
  • "Wabi" represents the inner spiritual experiences of human life.
  • "Sabi," on the other hand, represents the outer material side of life.
  • Together, wabi-sabi emphasizes simplicity, humility, consciousness of impermanence, and intense appreciation of the immediate experience, and this was reflected in the aesthetics of the tea ceremony.
  • The pottery used for the tea ceremony is often simple and natural, in accordance with wabi-sabi, and came to transform the manner in which the Japanese viewed ceramic ware.

• Zenga Painting in the Edo Period

  • Japanese aesthetics used in Zenga paintings were shaped by a set of ancient ideals that include wabi (transient and stark beauty), sabi (the beauty of natural patina and aging), and yūgen (profound grace and subtlety).