7 Books on Wabi-Sabi and Japanese Culture

Learn more about the japanese art of putting broken pottery back together that sees beauty in flaws and imperfections

Clara Graziolino (@claragraziolino) is an Italian ceramic artist and kintsugi expert living in Madrid. She creates sculptures and installations for galleries and international interior designers and teaches ceramic restoration and kintsugi.

Kintsugi is the centuries-old Japanese art of putting broken pottery back together using a special tree sap lacquer dusted with powdered gold, silver, or platinum, which highlights the cracks. It results in one-of-a-kind pieces of pottery.

Kintsugi is based on the ideals of Zen Buddhism and the Japanese philosophy of wabi-sabi, an aesthetic that sees beauty in flaws and imperfections.

In this post, Clara shares her favorite books on wabi-sabi and Japanese culture.

Wabi-Sabi for Artists, Designers, Poets & Philosophers, Leonard Koren

Clara considers this book to be a perfect introduction to wabi-sabi, which is very useful for understanding the spirit of kintsugi. “This is a short and simple book where the author explains in a very clear way the main differences between Western and Eastern philosophies and taste,” she says. “I really love the photos in this book. They are very simple and represent materials and textures.”

Wabi-Sabi: The Japanese Art of Impermanence, Andrew Juniper

“This is a more in-depth book about the philosophy and spirituality behind the wabi-sabi aesthetics,” says Clara. This book also includes how-to design advice—so that a transformation of body, mind, and home can emerge. It includes the chapters “History: The Development of Wabi Sabi”; “Culture: Wabi Sabi and the Japanese Character”; “Art: Defining Aesthetics”; “Design: Creating Expressions with Wabi Sabi Materials”; “Spirit: The Universal Spirit of Wabi Sabi”.

The Non-Doing, Itsuo Tsuda

Itsuo Tsuda (1914 – 1984) was a Japanese philosopher and a practitioner and teacher of aikido and Seitai. “His books have been a revelation to me. Being a connoisseur of both Eastern and Western thought, his point of view is extremely interesting [and helpful for understanding] the main deep differences between the two world views, says Clara. Writing in a direct and simple style, Itsuo Tsuda writes about human beings already possessing everything they need within, but because of the present conditions of the world, having to find themselves again to rediscover their fundamental freedom.

Zen in the Art of Archery, Eugen Herrigel

This is a book by German philosophy professor Eugen Herrigel, published in 1948. It is about his six-year quest to learn Kyūdō, a form of Japanese archery, in the hands of Japanese Zen masters when he lived in Japan in the 1920s. It is credited with introducing Zen to Western audiences in the late 1940s and 1950s. It has been described as “an honest account of one man's journey to complete abandonment of 'the self' and the Western principles that we use to define ourselves.”

Book of Tea: Beauty, Simplicity and the Zen Aesthetic, Kakuzo Okakura

This classic work by Okakura Kakuzo has inspired many generations of readers by illuminating the underlying spirit and message of the venerable Japanese tea masters. The Book of Tea doesn't focus on the tea ceremony itself but rather on the Zen Buddhist philosophy behind it. Kakuzo teaches us to cultivate an everyday awareness of the beauty in all the common things around us. His powerful message is even more relevant today than when he wrote this book, and it serves as a wonderful introduction to the aesthetics of Japanese culture.

Wabi-Sabi: Japanese Wisdom for a Perfectly Imperfect Life by Beth Kempton

Wabi Sabi: Wisdom from Japan for a Perfectly Imperfect Life explores the Japanese philosophy of Wabi Sabi, which values beauty in imperfection. Kempton guides readers toward acceptance of all that is unattainable to us, offering a refreshing perspective on living authentically and serenely, freeing us from that relentless pursuit of perfection. It is a reading that invites us to slow down, to reconnect with nature and to find serenity in simplicity.

Wabi-Sabi: Further Thoughts by Leonard Koren

In this book Koren breaks down the essential principles of Wabi Sabi, showing how to apply them in daily life to find authenticity and satisfaction, contextualizing this ancient philosophy in the contemporary world. All with the goal of achieving a more authentic and satisfying life.

If you would like to learn more about Clara’s work, her influences, kintsugi, and wabi-sabi sign up for her course, Introduction to Kintsugi: Repair Your Pottery with Gold.

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