October 13.2020 Mikiko Takase

Wabi and Sabi are words to describe a Japanese aesthetic sensibility that shows “beauty within simplicity and imperfection”. Wabi-Sabi influences all Japanese culture such as paintings, buildings, gardens and tea ceremony.

For example, we may deliberately remove some constituents from a completed work to increase the space. The work may look very isolated, but this allows development of an inner culture of empathy, pity, regret, etc for what has been lost.

Japan has a long history of being isolated from foreign countries. This isolation is not necessarily a bad thing as it may allow deep thinking to  develop inside. Isolation is also an opportunity to ponder the importance of relationships with others.