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Wabi-sabi

Japanese aesthethic about beauty in imperfection / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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In traditional Japanese aesthetics, wabi-sabi (侘寂) 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]

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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]
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A Japanese tea house which reflects the wabi-sabi aesthetic in Kenroku-en (兼六園) Garden
Black_Raku_Tea_Bowl.jpg
Wabi-sabi tea bowl, Azuchi-Momoyama period, 16th century

Wabi-sabi is a composite of two interrelated aesthetic concepts, wabi (侘) and sabi (寂). According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, wabi may be translated as "subdued, austere beauty," while sabi means "rustic patina."[5] Wabi-sabi is derived from the Buddhist teaching of the three marks of existence (三法印, sanbōin), specifically impermanence (無常, mujō), suffering (苦, ku) and emptiness or absence of self-nature (空, kū), however, the two were originally seen as distinct concepts.[6]

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.