Japanese Aesthetics

Himari Semans
Sep 4, 2018 · 3 min read

The book “Appreciations of Japanese Culture” by Donald Keene gives us insight into what the basic ideals of Japanese aesthetics are and how to recognize them in Japan’s history and culture. Keene discusses four different elements of Japanese aesthetics which are suggestion, irregularity, simplicityand perishability.

Suggestion

Japanese beauty is created so that the observer has room to imagine what exists beyond what can be seen or described. This is the element of Japanese aesthetics which Keene calls “suggestion”. Suggestion can be explained with poems such as those below.

Dimly, dimly

The day breaks at Akashi Bay;

And in the morning mist

My heart follows a vanishing ship

As it goes behind an island.

Written by Fujiwara no Kintō (966–1041)

The poet describes the mist covering the dawn seascape as the ship disappears. But the poet doesn’t clarify the statement of this poem. He has done this purposely so that the reader can freely use their imagination to decide what the poem means.

[Activity]

What did this sight mean to the poet?

The poet felt a stab of parting the moment the ship disappeared. Why?

Tell a friend or family member about this poem and ask them these questions. Have a discussion about it and share each other’s ideas. Then write your opinions in the comments below this article.

On the withered bough

A crow has alighted;

Nightfall in autumn.

Written by Bashō

The last line of this poem, “aki no kure”, can also be interpreted as meaning “the nightfall of autumn”−that is, the end of autumn. Therefore, this poem could be about the nightfall of a particular autumn day or the end of autumnal season. The ambiguity of the language is like the blanks which are filled in by the reader’s imagination.

[Activity]

If the reader interpreted the last line as meaning nightfall, how would

that affect the poem?

If the reader interpreted the last line as meaning an unspecified time of

day towards the end of autumn, how would that affect the poem?

Tell a friend or family member about this poem and ask them these questions. Have a discussion about it and share each other’s ideas. Then write your opinions in the comments below this article.

Irregularity

Irregularity is similar to suggestion in the sense that it makes something incomplete but interesting, allowing people to feel room for imagination and growth. But it also gives Japanese culture its originality and distinctive characteristics. A good example of appreciated irregularity is the bowl used in Japanese tea ceremony. If there was a choice between choosing a perfectly formed round bowl with delicate patterns or a bumpy old bowl with very little decorations, the Japanese would choose the later. For the Japanese, the imperfections and cracks are what make the bowls more interesting and attractive.

[Activity]

Below are links which will show calligraphy and gardens from both China and Japan. Calligraphy and gardening were both cultures that spread from China to Japan. Over centuries, the Japanese took what had been Chinese culture and made it into their own culture. Think about how the value of irregularity is expressed in Japanese culture by looking at the photos. Then write your opinions in the comments below this article.

Japanese calligraphy: http://picbear.online/tag/張瑞図

Chinese calligraphy: https://www.pinterest.jp/pin/456130268499767089/

Japanese garden: http://www5e.biglobe.ne.jp/~truffe/mirei.htm

Chinese garden:

http://www.e-asianmarket.com/suzhou/suzhou49.html

Simplicity

Simplicity and natural qualities are common ideals of the Japanese people. This characteristic preference of the Japanese laid the foundation for many traditions. Below are the cultures which are expressions of the Japanese love for unobtrusive elegance.

Perishability

The Japanese have been keenly aware that without mortality, there is no beauty. Kenkō’s words, “The most precious thing in life is its uncertainty” describes the Japanese belief of perishability’s importance. One example of such an aesthetic ideal is the love for cherry blossoms. Cherry blossoms have a very short blooming period and scatter so easily. Despite how limited the season for cherry blossoms are, the Japanese still find them more attractive than plum blossoms which stay longer on the boughs. Just like the Japanese ideal of the samurai, it was more beautiful to drop dramatically at the height of its beauty.

Article Source: Appreciations of Japanese Culture by Donald Keene

GenerationZ

New ways of viewing the world we live in.

Himari Semans

Written by

Generation Z writer, Omiya Bonsai Museum Volunteer, HSDJapan 2018

GenerationZ

New ways of viewing the world we live in.

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