Yachirin’s Notebook of Nuance・Wabi-Sabi, the Gentle Structure Beneath All Things
Hello, I’m Yachirin.
Today, if I may, I’d like to share a few musings about wabi-sabi—though nothing too heavy.
You see, behind those quiet moments we sometimes feel—“I don’t know why, but this calms me” or “my heart feels still”—there often lies a deeply refined and elegant structure.
1. Wabi and Sabi・Two Origins, One Harmony
We often hear the phrase “wabi-sabi” spoken as a pair, but in fact, wabi and sabi began as separate ideas.
•Wabi is the quiet beauty found in intentional imperfection.
– Think of an unglazed, undecorated clay bowl. It lacks ornament, but holds space—ma.
•Sabi is the affection felt for traces left by time.
– A cracked lacquerware, a moss-covered garden stone. Their beauty emerges only through aging.
When these two intersect, we experience the trinity of imperfection × time × silence,
and in that moment, we feel a deep, natural beauty in harmony with the world around us.
2. Is Imperfection… a Flaw?
Today’s world praises perfection—symmetrical faces, spotless homes, hyper-efficient lives.
But from the wabi-sabi point of view, such flawless order can feel suffocating.
Wabi-sabi doesn’t see “incompleteness,” “fading,” or “disorder” as failures—
Rather, it sees them as forms of maturity.
A chip invites the hand to reach out and support.
A faded color invites the imagination to drift into time.
This aesthetic sensibility is unique to Japanese culture—
quite the opposite of the Western love of symmetry, or China’s celebration of opulence.
3. Wabi-Sabi Is More Than Visual Beauty
Here comes my favorite bit of nuance.
Wabi-sabi isn’t just an aesthetic—it’s a worldview. A way of relating to life itself.
For instance:
•“Judge not, lest you be judged.”
•“He who knows contentment is truly wealthy.”
These principles echo in Buddhism and the Bible alike.
Likewise, wabi-sabi teaches us to honor human imperfection—not to fix it, but to witness it, as it is.
To look at the flaws in ourselves and others and say, “Well… that’s alright too.”
That, to me, is the gentle structure at the heart of wabi-sabi.
4. The Structure of Wabi-Sabi (Yes, There’s a Structure)
Now if you’ll indulge me, I’d like to break it down—just a little.
Wabi-sabi = Imperfection (wabi) × Traces of Time (sabi) × Room for Suspended Judgment (ma)
When these three align, we don’t react with “Wow, this is beautiful!”
Instead, we quietly feel: “There’s… something deeply good here.”
We stop rushing for answers.
We observe.
We allow ourselves to dwell in the space between beauty and not-beauty.
That is the essence of wabi-sabi.
5. In Closing・Between Silence and Conversation
In daily life, we chase answers. We feel pressed to be right.
But sometimes, we can simply pause—
Look at a chipped teacup.
Rest your hand on a weathered beam of wood.
In such moments, the world softens into silence.
There are no judgments. No haste.
Only a kind of gentle spaciousness.
If you ever feel weary,
I invite you to sit with a bowl of matcha and return to this wabi-sabi gaze.
It’s alright to be imperfect. It’s alright not to have everything in place.
There is a quiet beauty in simply being—as you are.
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