Before starting your tea bowl assignment, it’s helpful to understand more about a traditionally Japanese aesthetic “Wabi- Sabi”,  which is closely linked to cultural traditions around tea -drinking and the creation of tea bowls which mirror this aesthetic.

Start by reading the short Richard Martin article on Wabi-Sabi, linked here as a PDF: RichardMartin,wabi-sabi
Next, check out additional images of objects and traditional tea bowls reflecting this aesthetic, linked here as a PDF: wabi-sabiimages

Now, answer the following questions, at least 2 sentences apiece, posted to Canvas:

1. In your own words, describe your current understanding of the wabi-sabi aesthetic.

2. Is this concept something that you find personally interesting or valuable? (There is no right answer to this question!)

3. Does the nature of our busy, cluttered, fast-paced, consumerist, digitally oriented contemporary world make concepts of wabi-sabi more or less important?

BY RICHARD MARTIN
“WABI-SABI IS A BEAUTY OF THINGS IMPERFECT , IMPERMANENT, AND
INCOMPLETE. IT IS A BEAUTY OF THINGS MODEST AND HUMBLE. IT IS A

BEAUTY OF THINGS UNCONVENTIONAL”
LEONARD KOREN

This article is about looking at the everyday, the commonplace, and finding magic in the
ordinary-a reminder that nothing in life, or design, is perfect. It is about appreciating the
aesthetic concept of wabi-sabi, finding it or seeing it in things that already exist in the visual
world around us-to encourage and develop an intuitive way of seeing that involves becoming
aware of the moments that make life rich and paying attention to the simple pleasures that can
be over-shadowed by the chaos and excess of our consumerist society.

Wtbi-sabi represents a comprehensiveJapanese aesthetic focused on the accept-
ance of impermanence or transience. The phrase,
meaning an aesthetic sensibility, comes from two
of the key Japanese aesthetic concepts: wabi and
sabi. Their definitions are difficult to explain or
translate precisely in Western terms. The aesthetic
is sometimes described as one of beauty that is
“imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete,” accord-
ing to Leonard Koren in his book W abi-Sabi: , for
A rtists, Designers, Poets & Philosophers. It is a con-
cept derived from the Buddhist assertion of the first
noble truth: Dukkha, or in Japanese, mujyou
(impermanence). According to 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.”

The idea of wabi-sabi speaks of a readiness to
accept things as they are. This is contrary to
Western ideals that emphasize progress and
growth as necessary components to daily living.
Wabi-sabi’s fundamental nature is about process,
not final product, about decay and aging, not
growth. This concept requires the art of “slow-
ness”, a willingness to concentrate on the things
that are often overlooked, the imperfections and
the marks recording the passing of time. For me,
this is the perfect antidote to the invasive, slick,
saccharine, corporate style of beauty.

Andrew Juniper suggests , ” If an object or expression can bring about , within us , a sense of serene melancholy and a
spiritual longing , then that object could be said to be wabi -sabi.” Richard R. Powell summarizes by saying, “It
(wabi-sabi ) nurtures all that is authentic by acknowledging three simple realities : nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and
nothing is perfect.”

Photo Life

November 2007 15

iICHARD MAN I IN

The essence of wabi -sabi is that true beauty, whether it comes from an object , architecture, or visual art, doesn’t
reveal itself until the winds of time have had their say. Rusted metal , for example , has an essence that is lacking in
new polished material . Beauty is in the scratches , the worn spots, and the imperfect lines.

DEFINITIONS:
Wabi Wabi symbolizes rustic beauty and quiet-
ness. It also denotes simplicity and stillness and
can apply to both man-made and natural objects.
It can also refer to quirks and anomalies in things,
a unique one-of-a-kind flaw, for example, which
sometimes occurs during the process of produc-
tion or creation.

Sabi Sabi refers to things whose beauty can come
only with age, indicative of natural processes that
result in objects that are irregular, unpretentious,

and ambiguous. It refers to the patina, such as a
very old bronze statue or copper roof turned
green. It also incorporates an appreciation of the
cycles of life.

An article published in the Nanaimo Daily News,
describes sabi as, “a word that originated in
Japanese poetry. It expresses the feeling that you
get in the autumn when the geese are flying south
and the leaves are falling. It is a sort of sombre
longing that is felt in the muted colours and earthy
aroma of a forest preparing for winter.”

FURTHER VIEWS ON THE SUBJECT
The following excerpts are from a selection of
books on the aesthetic concept of wabi-sabi.

16 November 2007 Photo Life

0 RICHARD MARTIN

Sabi is beauty or serenity that comes with age, when the life of the object and its impermanence are suggested in its
patina and wear.

“Wabi is the quality of a rustic, yet refined, soli-
tary beauty. Sabi is that trait, be it the green cor-
rosion of bronze, or the pattern of moss and
lichen on wood and stone, that comes with
weathering and age.”
Reflections of the Spirit.- Japanese Gardens in
A merica, by Maggie Oster

“The word wabi (…) does not lend itself readily
to translation, for it can mean a number of things:
loneliness, desolation, rustic simplicity, quiet
taste, a gentle affection for antique, unostenta-
tious, and rather melancholy refinement.”
The Classic Tradition in Japanese A rchitecture:
Modern V ersions of the Sukiya Style, by Teiji Itch
and Yukio Futagawa

“Wabi-sabi is a beauty of things imperfect, imper-
manent, and incomplete. It is a beauty of things
modest and humble. It is a beauty of things
unconventional. (…) The closest English word to
wabi-sabi is probably ‘rustic’….Things wabi-sabi
are unstudied and inevitable looking. (…)
Unpretentious. (…) Their craftsmanship may be
impossible to discern.”
W abi-Sabi for A rtists, Designers, Poets &
Philosophers, by Leonard Koren

“A certain love of roughness is involved, behind
which lurks a hidden beauty, to which we refer
in our peculiar adjectives shibui, wabi, and sabi.
It is this beauty with inner implications that is
referred to as shibui. It is not a beauty displayed

Photo Life November 2007 17

“`Greatness exists in the inconspicuous and overlooked details. Wabi-sabi represents the exact opposite of the
Western ideal of great beauty as something monumental, spectacular and enduring. Wabi-sabi is about the minor and
the hidden, the tentative and the ephemeral: things so subtle and evanescent they are invisible to vulgar eyes.” From
Wabi-Sabi: for Artists, Designers, Poets & Philosophers, by Leonard Koren.

18 November 2007

before the viewer by its creator. A piece that will
lead the viewer to draw beauty out of it for them-
selves. The world may abound with different
aspects of beauty. Each person, according to his
disposition and environment, will feel a special
affinity to one or another aspect. But when their
taste grows more refined, they will necessarily
arrive at the beauty that is shibui.”
The Unknown Craftsman: A Japanese Insight into
Beauty, by Soetsu Yanagi and Bernard Leach

“Wabi-sabi is an intuitive appreciation of a tran-
sient beauty in the physical world that reflects the
irreversible flow of life in the spiritual world. It is
an understated beauty that exists in the modest,

rustic, imperfect, or even decayed, an aesthetic
sensibility that finds a melancholic beauty in the
impermanence of all things.”
W abi-Sabi: The Japanese A rt of Impermanence,
by Andrew Juniper

“The term wabi -sabi suggests such qualities as
impermanence , humbleness, asymmetry, and
imperfection . These underlying principles are
diametrically opposed to those of their Western
counterparts , whose values are rooted in the
Hellenic worldview that values permanence,
grandeur, symmetry, and perfection.”
W abi-Sabi: The Japanese A rt of Impermanence,
by Andrew juniper ■

Photo Life

Richard Martin definitions, from his article “Wabi-Sabi”:

Wabi symbolizes rustic beauty and quietness. It also denotes simplicity and stillness and can apply to both man-made and natural
objects. It can also refer to quirks and anomalies in things, a unique one-of-a-kind flaw, for example, which sometimes occurs
during the process of production or creation.

Sabi refers to things whose beauty can come only with age, indicative of natural processes that result in objects that are irregular,
unpretentious, and ambiguous. It refers to the patina, such as a very old bronze statue or copper roof turned green. It also
incorporates an appreciation of the cycles of life.

Traditional tea bowl. Wabi-Sabi represents Japanese aesthetics and a Japanese world view centered on the acceptance of transience and
imperfection. The aesthetic is sometimes described as one of beauty that is “imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete.

Characteristics of the wabi-sabi aesthetic include asymmetry, roughness or irregularity, simplicity, modesty, intimacy, and appreciation of the
integrity of natural objects and processes

“The idea of wabi-sabi speaks of a readiness to accept things as they are. This is contrary to Western ideals that emphasize progress
And growth as necessary components to daily living. Wabi-sabi’s fundamental nature is about process, not final product, about decay
And aging, not growth. This concept requires the art of “slowness”, a willingness to concentrate on the things that are often
Overlooked, the imperfections and the marks recording the passing of time. For me, this is the perfect antidote to the invasive,
Slick, saccharine, corporate style of beauty.” – Richard Martin

In today’s Japan, the meaning of wabi-sabi is often condensed to “wisdom in natural simplicity.” In art books, it is typically defined as “flawed
beauty.”

In the Japanese tea ceremony, the pottery items used are often rustic and simple-looking, with shapes that are not quite symmetrical,
and colors or textures that appear to emphasize an unrefined or simple style.

In fact, it is up to the knowledge and observational ability of the participant to notice the hidden signs of a truly excellent design or glaze.

This wabi-sabi aesthetic is further confirmed by the way the color of glazed items is known to change over time as hot water is repeatedly
poured into them, and the fact that tea bowls are often deliberately chipped or nicked at the bottom