The Japanese Aesthetics of Imperfection and Insufficiency

Abstract

The Japanese aesthetic tradition, just like any other cultural tradition, encompasses diverse tastes and arts. They range from the minimalism of Noh theater to the flamboyance of Kabuki theater, the somber severity of monochrome brush ink paintings to the opulence of gold-gilded screen paintings, and the simple rusticity of tea huts to the august majesty of castles. Among these diverse aesthetic phenomena and pursuits, one theme stands out for being somewhat unusual, yet is generally identified as forming a quintessentially Japanese taste. It is the celebration of those qualities commonly regarded as falling short of, or deteriorating from, the optimal condition of the object. Specifically, these qualities are found in objects with defects, an impoverished look, or aging effects, as well as in a landscape or the moon obscured by clouds, mist, or fog. I shall refer to this Japanese appreciation of the aged, the obscured, the impoverished, and the defective as "the Japanese aesthetics of imperfection and insufficiency."' In the following discussion, I shall explore the aesthetic, social, historical, and philosophical dimensions of this Japanese aesthetic taste. I hope to shed light on the complexity of this aesthetic phenomenon which is intertwined with diverse aspects of the Japanese people's lives.