Wabi-Sabi

Wabi (侘) and sabi (寂) are distinct Japanese words — wabi evoking austere simplicity, sabi the beauty of age and patina. Their combination as an aesthetic sensibility was shaped by the 16th-century tea master Sen no Rikyū, who replaced ornate tea ceremony objects with plain, weathered ones and stripped away decoration to reveal natural beauty. Both concepts draw from Zen Buddhism and the doctrine of impermanence, with roots stretching to 13th-century Japan. The compound term wabi-sabi entered wider use in the 20th century as scholars began codifying Japan's classical aesthetic principles for international audiences.