Wabi Sabi. Andrew Juniper

      

      WABI SABI

      First published in the United States in 2003 by Tuttle Publishing, an imprint of Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd., with editorial offices at 364 Innovation Drive, North Clarendon, Vermont 05759.

      Copyright © 2003 Andrew Juniper

      All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior written permission from the publisher.

      Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

      Juniper, Andrew, 1967-

       Wabi sabi: the Japanese art of impermanence / Andrew Juniper.— 1st ed.

       p. cm.

       Includes bibliographical references (p.).

      ISBN 978-1-4629-0161-6 (ebook)

       1. Art, Japanese. 2. Wabi. 3. Sabi. 4. Art and philosophy. I. Title.

      N7350.J77 2003

      701’.17’0952—dc21

       2003054049

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      CONTENTS

       Preface vii

       Introduction 1

       HISTORY

       The Development of Wabi Sabi 7

       Wabi Sabi in the Art of Zen 15

       The Tea Ceremony 31

       CULTURE

       A Leap of Faith 47

       Wabi Sabi and the Japanese Character 53

       Wabi Sabi—an Art in Transition 59

       ART

       Wabi Sabi in the Japanese Arts 69

       Defining Aesthetics 89

       DESIGN

       Design Principles of Wabi Sabi 103

       Creating Expressions with Wabi Sabi Materials 121

       SPIRIT

       The Universal Spirit of Wabi Sabi 145

       The Wabi Sabi Environment 149

       The Life of Wabizumai 155

       Glossary 161

       Further Reading 163

       Permissions 165

      PREFACE

      WHEN I FOUND MYSELF bartering for an old oven pot in a Turkish restaurant, I realized that the years spent in Japan had radically and irreversibly changed my perspectives on both art and beauty. The small dark bowl that had so caught my attention had no real design to speak of, its surface was rough and impregnated with years of Turkish cuisine . . . and yet there was something about it that was captivatingly attractive. The glazed surface had become rich with visual nuance and its simple unrefined form was pure and unaffected by artistic considerations—it was one of a thousand similar bowls, but its rusticity and artlessness were extraordinarily expressive and resonated with the imperfections and impermanence of life. The pot we so admired had what the Japanese refer to as wabi sabi.

      The Turkish restaurateurs who were asked to part with their bowl for a price far greater than that of a replacement thought we were a little strange, to say the least, but happily accepted our eccentricity and payment.