Found
at the morning market in the fishing village of Wajima, these elegant opium
pipes are made of wood and brass. Opium came to Japan from China and was used
for medicinal purposes; a puff on a pipe like these eased backaches and
alleviated migraines. After years of use, we think these little pipes have
developed a certain aesthetic
known in Japan as wabi-sabi.
Wabi-sabi
is the marriage of two old aesthetic ideals: wabi, which connotes a kind of rustic, simplicity, and sabi, which celebrates the “bloom of
time.” Leonard Koren, who wrote a whole book about it,...
Read More
Wabi-sabi
is the marriage of two old aesthetic ideals: wabi, which connotes a kind of rustic, simplicity, and sabi, which celebrates the “bloom of
time.” Leonard Koren, who wrote a whole book about it, describes wabi-sabi as
“a beauty of things imperfect, impermanent and incomplete.” The idea is deeply
tied to Buddhist philosophy, and manifests itself in design as asymmetry,
simplicity and modesty. Wabi-sabi is the cracked cup, the wilted flower, the
frayed edge of a cloth and the weathered wood of an old gate. Think twice
before you throw away your chipped dishware!
Read Less
