wabi
- Scope note
- An aesthetic ideal advocating for the appreciation of austerity, simplicity, and humility that has deeply influenced Japanese culture. This ideal finds surpassing beauty and deep significance in what is humble or commonplace and appears natural or artless. It expressed in the aesthetic of the tea ceremony, particularly in its ceramics. Its influence can also be seen in the practice of collecting older paintings and works of calligraphy and, more recently, in the rough and natural style of contemporary grass style ink painting. Wabi became a part of a poetic ideal only when it was absorbed into the concept of "sabi".
- Date of creation: 02-Dec-2024
Accepted term: 02-Dec-2024