The true meaning of the tea ceremony is being forgotten. The beauty of the way of tea should be the beauty of the ordinary, the beauty of honest poverty. What is the link between a light bulb and a ball pen? A soap bar and a knife? They are banal things we all have at home but rarely really behold. That we use every day without wondering about it. Because they are so familiar to us. His letter to the suffering Korean people (in the time period when Japan occupied Korea) was very moving and made me think of some political corners of this world today…. It's included no doubt because of his expression of admiration for Korean folk craft is included. I don’t enjoy being a hater, esp. to someone who is clearly an expert in his field, but he’s dead so I’m not hurtin’ any feelings. Our lives are filled with objects. Everyday things used in everyday settings, they are our constant companions. As such, writes Soetsu Yanagi, they should be made with care and built to last, treated with respect and even affection. They should be natural and simple, sturdy and safe - an aesthetic fulfilment of our practical needs. They should, in short, be things of beauty.

Through their own efforts, these people made their daily lives more beautiful. This is the true calling, the mission, of handicrafts. We are drawn by that beauty and we have much to learn from it. Today, the perception of beauty often relies on an object being made by someone famous or having a high price tag. But an object should not be beautiful because it embodies perfection or is particularly artful. It should be designed for its purpose rather than to look really good. It should be natural and simple. Sturdy and safe – it should stand the test of reality. What is the proper way of seeing? In brief, it is to see things as they are. However, very few people possess this purity of sight. That is, such people are not seeing things as they are, but are influenced by preconceptions. 'Knowing' has been added to 'seeing'.” When machines are in control, the beauty they produce is cold and shallow. It is the human hand that creates subtlety and warmth.

Literally, sabi commonly means "loneliness" but as a Buddhist term it originally referred to the cessation of attachment. Objects, people and processes are sincere, wholesome, honest and utilitarian. Real beauty befalls in simple and humble craftsmanship.

What impresses me most in Yanagi is the strength of his vision, his direct eye for beauty. His was an immediate and intuitive faculty of an extraordinary kind (Shoji Hamada) Long revered as the authority on craftsmanship and Japanese aesthetics, Yanagi devoted his life and writing to defend the value of craft. In an age of feeble and ugly machine-made things, this now-classic book is a call for each of us to deepen our relationship with the objects that surround us. Inspired by the work of the simple artisans Yanagi encountered on his lifelong travels through Japan and Korea, it is a heartfelt defence of modest, honest, handcrafted objects, from traditional teacups to jars to paper. Objects that exemplify the beauty of everyday things.Yanagi's everyday things are things that are produced in Japan's provinces, anonymous works that are mass-produced, but not in factories, often plain and simple even in its designs: pottery, paintings, clothes, statues...objects that are meant to last, yet treated with some respect and affection. They are utilitarian, practical, following certain laws of making yet not being too much of an artist-work. He found them at first in quite cheap prices, before other people caught on with it, and thus managed to gather a nice collection, some of which ended up in the museum I've mentioned. Yanagi was a philosopher, poet, art historian, essay writer for papers and such, besides being a collector and museum starter.

Soetsu Yanagi’s unerring eye has influenced generations of makers. His notion of Zen and the art of design continues to inspire all those involved in shaping our everyday world.” —Jasper Morrison, British designer Just as Western art and architecture owe much to the sponsorship of the House of Medici during the Reformation, tea and Noh owe much to the protection of the shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa ( 1436-1490 ).The Japanese philosopher and aesthete's definitive, hugely influential exposition of his philosophy of folkcrafts, setting out the hallmarks of Japanese design as we know it today: anonymity, quality, simplicity and honesty—and, of course, wabi-sabi, the beauty of imperfection This is a collection of essays, not just one book. To be fair, it was a bit too long for my personal taste, but I recognize the importance of this work. My favourite essays were: Mention must also be made of the Japanese concept of the “Void,” which can be understood as existing as a pluripotent hypostasis from whence all creation issues. Yanagi defines this using Buddhist terminology, with the Void ( Mu) containing limitless existence ( Yu) and all things being empty of any intrinsic existence of their own ( Ku). The latter itself is strikingly similar to Ibn Arabi’s concept of Wahdat Al-Wujud (Oneness of Existence), where the only reality that really exists is God. Bloom added that “this feels even more perfect now, in 2020,” alluding to the poignancy these lyrics take on as the COVID-19 crisis forces us indoors. Yanagi also provides some concrete examples of what he means by Mingei, from Okinawan Bashofu cloth and Washi paper to traditional indigo Katsuri patterns. He draws out certain unifying principles to determine which art forms should and should not be considered Mingei.

They are functional objects that make life easier and are essential. But whose formal design or shape is of little importance or even obsolete to us. They surround us, they get used. Yet they draw no attraction to themselves. They do not aim to win a design price, they display no pride or come with flashy effects. And yet they can be gorgeous. It’s a matter of perspective. This is a heartfelt call to deepen our relationship with the objects that surround us. These are themes that were explored in The New Materialism project, or in practical detail in Tara Button’s book A Life Less Throwaway. It is said that someone living in proximity to a flowering garden grows insensitive to its fragrance. Likewise, when one becomes too familiar with a sight, one loses the ability to truly see it. Habit robs us of the power to perceive anew, much less the power to be moved. Thus it has taken us all these years, all these ages, to detect the beauty in common objects. The powerful influence of Zen Buddhism on Japanese aesthetics is exemplified through the medium of the tea ceremony (leading to the phrase “Zen and tea are one”). Absence of attachment, escaping duality and an emphasis on simplicity were made manifest in the tangible elements required for the tea ceremony such as the garden, the teahouse and the necessary utensils. These elements might appear rustic, rough, or imperfect to the untrained eye, but in their creation, a true imitation of nature and its rhythms was expressed through the acceptance of an unforced asymmetry or deformity — an artistic freedom untethered from the ego. This is but one example, and the vast array of Islamic arts and crafts that exist would provide ample basis for a series of spiritually-based aesthetic studies that might point the reader toward the Transcendent whilst also safeguarding such traditions from obscurity and oblivion. Yanagi mentions that he dreams of one day creating a museum in the West that is based on Japanese aesthetic principles, yet I wonder if a more sympathetic audience compromised of adherents to the “Middle Way” might be more appropriate, given a shared belief in the Eternal seeking to appreciate its manifest Signs in this life and existence. Through the medium of art, an exploration and appreciation of mutually intelligible metaphysical principles from different traditions could be undertaken, in the spirit of the Qur’anic dictum in Surah Al-Hujurat elucidating the purpose of diversity in His creation of Man: to come to know one another. 4Radical and inspiring . . . Yanagi’s vision puts the connection between heart and hand before the transient and commercial.” —Edmund de Waal, OBE, author of The Hare with Amber Eyes Radical and inspiring ... Yanagi's vision puts the connection between heart and hand before the transient and commercial" - Edmund de Waal A pattern is the depiction of the fundamental nature of an object, it is what remains of an object's form after all that is unnecessary had been removed.”