IBASHO Virtual Exhibition #40 WABI SABI

Wabi sabi as an aesthetic concept is generally described as a beauty of things imperfect, impermanent and incomplete. A beauty of things modest and humble. A beauty of things unconventional.

When one asks Japanese people what wabi sabi is, it is hard for them to explain this concept. Most Japanese will understand the feeling of wabi sabi, but it is difficult for them to describe this feeling. That’s because most Japanese never learnt about wabi sabi in rational terms, since there are no books of teachers to learn it from. The seminal ‘Book of Tea’ written by Kakuzo Okakura in 1906 touches on many aspects of wabi sabi, but was written in English for a non-Japanese public.

The words wabi and sabi do not translate easily. Wabi originally referred to the loneliness of living in nature, remote from society; sabi meant "chill", "lean" or "withered". Around the 14th century these meanings began to change, taking on more positive connotations. Wabi now connotes rustic simplicity, freshness or quietness, and can be applied to both natural and human-made objects, or understated elegance. It can also refer to quirks and anomalies arising from the process of construction, which add uniqueness and elegance to the object. Sabi is beauty or serenity that comes with age, when the life of the object and its impermanence are evidenced in its patina and wear, or in any visible repairs.