by BIBLIOboy, 12 April 2007

What is life without beauty?
Sure, the rice bowl and a roof over one’s head take precedence, but once that is satisfied, what’s next?

But what is beauty? What makes something “beautiful”? Clichés such as “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”aside, this is the realm in philosophy known as aesthetics.

One of the most influential, wonderful, and inspiring books on this subject has to be Okakura Kakuzo’s classic “The Book Of Tea”, which is currently into its 101st (that’s right, it was first published in 1906!) year in print.

Kakuzo may have lived 100 years ago, but he was a true character, who learned English and Chinese to full fluency at a young age, was made the director of the Japanese national art school when he was only 29, and who spent the last years of his life introducing Japanese art to the rest of the world as a Curator of Chinese and Japanese Art at the Boston Museum of FineArts. But more importantly, he wrote this concise treatise (in English, no less!) on a particularly distinctive concept of aesthetics, as exemplified in the Japanese art form know as the Chado, or the Tea Ceremony.

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The Japanese Tea Ceremony is both highly simple and also highly complex. But at its root is the strong influence of Zen Buddhism - a concept of finding beauty in the imperfect and reveling in the wonder and beauty of every moment of existence. Okakura’s poetic and evocative prose (all the more remarkable given that English was not his native language) gently introduces us to this very human and “tender attempt to accomplish something possible in this impossible thing we know as life.”

I first encountered this book as a gift from a relative, years ago, and re-reading it today as part of research for an upcoming trip to Kyoto, Japan’s ancient capital, I am struck by how much my own concepts of art and beauty have been shaped by this landmark text since I was quite young.

This is the perfect book for anyone interested in finding the beautiful in the everyday (especially in nature) and also, is wonderful for all young people in today’s rushed, technology-obsessed, climate-changing world. It seems more relevant now than ever.

Stop and smell the roses.

Signing off,

Biblioboy (12 April 2007)

Please also read ... The Hidden Costs of Efficiency: Why it’s Okay to STOP AND SMELL THE ROSES ... by ValerieW-17 "THE SLOW MOVEMENT - Stop and Smell the Roses" ... by Margaret Chen, Editor-in-Chief

Sources: CLICK HERE for what wikipedia has to say about “Beauty” CLICK HERE for wikipedia on “Japanese Tea Ceremony”