We
found these iridescent glass fishing floats at the morning market in the
fishing village of Wajima. Japan began using glass to keep their fishing nets
afloat as early as 1910. Handblown, the floats were typically made from
recycled glass, especially old sake bottles. Though they’re no longer used,
some of the fishing floats are still swirling around the Pacific Ocean, and
every now and then, one washes up on shore. Tossed by the surf and polished by
the sand, these floats are the epitome of what is 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
a...
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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!
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