books:: learn more about Japan & wabi sabi

wabisabi for artists, designers, poets & philosophers
by Leonard Koren
Publisher: Stone Bridge Press; (1994)
Paperback: 96 pages
This is a slender volume, but a great introduction to the history of wabi sabi. The author does an admirable job in demystifying wabi sabi, dissecting and analyzing its characteristic features.

 Nothingness, of course, is the ultimate simplicity. But, before and after nothingness, simplicity is not so simple” (p.71).

a zen wave: bashō's haiku and zen
by Robert Aitken
Publisher: Shoemaker & Hoard; (2003)
Paperback: 192 pages
Bashō was not a student or priest of Zen Buddhism, but he did regularly stay in Zen temples on his pilgrimages and did wear the robes of a Buddhist. Aitken points out the many Zen qualities in Bashō's haiku, and relates it to his own (and his students') practice.
This is also an interesting read for those interested in the process of translation: the author offers his insights into the subtle nuances (including the occasional pun), and context, of the original source.

 [Bashō's haiku] do not concern themselves specifically with feelings of pity, smugness, envy, or whatever— nor with feelings of anger or love either. In this respect they are like Zen…” (p. 113).

»find this book at:

the book of tea
by Okakura Kakuzo, with an Introduction by Liza Dalby
Publisher: Tuttle; (2000)
Hardcover: 128 pages
Originally published in 1906, in English, this essay describes the tea ceremony— a tradition deeply connected to the wabi sabi way— to a Western audience. The book is attractively designed, and includes a helpful introduction by Liza Dalby.

 Tea began as a medicine and grew into a beverage. In China, in the eighth century, it entered the realm of poetry as one of the polite amusements. The fifteenth century saw Japan ennoble it into a religion of aestheticism— Teaism” (p.18).

»find this book at:

elements of japanese design
by Boyé Lafayette De Mente
Publisher: Tuttle; (2006)
Paperback: 142 pages
This is not specifically a book on wabi sabi, but rather it contains short entries on sixty-five key elements of Japanese design. Wabi and sabi are separate one to two page entries. Other entries include: wa (harmony); kaizen (continuous improvement); bonsai (miniature trees); and many more. A good overview of the history and culture behind these design concepts, by an expert on Japan.

 There is no other culture in which design and quality have played such a significant role in the day–to–day life of the people” (p.xv).

»find this book at:

japan style: architecture + interiors + design
by Geeta Mehta & Kimie Tada, with photography by Noboru Murata
Publisher: Tuttle; (2005)
Hardcover: 224 pages
A wonderful homage to traditional Japanese house design, with hundreds of full-color photos (often filling one or two whole pages). The text cites the humble and rustic tea huts of the sixteenth century as the origin for many of the design elements that have influenced Japanese house interiors even to this day.

 The ideal of wabi-sabi, translated loosely by Frank Lloyd Wright as ‘rusticity and simplicity that borders on loneliness’ was considered the epitome of sophistication” (p.16).

»find this book at:

hitching rides with buddha
by Will Ferguson
Publisher: Knopf Canada; (2005)
Hardcover: 432 pages
Ferguson is a very funny writer. This book, about hitchhiking from the southern-tip to the northern-tip of Japan, has received many rave reviews. The writer is a keen observer, and doesn't pull many punches.
The title of this book is also known as ‘Hokkaido Highway Blues’ in the U.S. and the U.K.

 It was the kind of place you expect tumbleweeds to roll through. Signs creaked on rusted hinges, and the stale smell of fish and diesel fumes had seeped into every house and plank” (p.78).

»find this book at: