1w ago

Any good books on Japanese philosophy/aesthetics, in particular wabi-sabi?

I've always found the concept of wabi-sabi quite fascinating and I'd love to find out a bit more. Are there any books that explore this concept? Something quite approachable would be good.

5 comments

I would absolutely recommend Soetsu Yanagi's The Beauty of Everyday Things.
It's not wabi-sabi per se but it does touch on themes that align with the idea.
It's focus is on 'mingei' - which is less metaphysical and more about folk craft specifically and its socio-cultural, and ethical significance.
- Ahh thank you! This isn't one I'd heard of before so I appreciate you sharing it. The topic sounds fascinating, and definitely aligns with what I was looking for.
I’ve always liked this one. Pretty short and simple, but well done. “Wabi-Sabi for Artists, Designers, Poets, and Philosophers”
https://archive.org/details/wabisabiforartis0000kore
- Thanks for the suggestion and link! I'll give it a read :)
This is unrelated but you may find this amusing. I never knew that was a legitimate term until now. As a kid I played a lot of Ape Escape and there is a level called Wabi Sabi Wall. I thought it was just sort of nonsense meant to sound foreign.