I don’t usually recommend anime, but if that concept sounds interesting, check out: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyouge_Mono
This is vaguely a thing in Japan, but let’s not fall into the eastern mysticism trap, where Asian things are completely divorced from what goes on in the West. It’s sort of like saying America has the “fuck it, good enough” aesthetic worldview of accepting the imperfect things about the world.
The real trap is assuming anything from a culture applies to everyone, or even the majority, of the culture.
America definitely has a “fuck it, good enough” worldview for a lot of things and institutions. It isn’t universal, but it does apply where you see a bunch of half assed infrastructure or shelves upon shelves of cheap low quality products that a ton of people spend money on knowing it is poor quality.
Wait, what’s wu-shu?
Rustic is the closest English word I’d put to this concept, which to an extent exists in the West.
In America we say “it is what it is” or “good enough for government work” to communicate a similar vibe. Sounds sophisticated when you say it in Japanese tho
The sad part is that good enough for government work used to mean it was really good
Really? I’ve never heard it used that way, not even by old people. Maybe it evolved out of that usage a long time ago
Did it, though? My 90 year old mother used it in the same way since her childhood. I think it’s always been sarcastic, probably from use by lowly soldiers. In the phrase, she pronounces and spells it as “gummint work” even though she would normally say “government.”
More like “hand-crafted” or “rustic” for a similar positive vibe.
LITTLE?!! Am I to western to be zen looking at this?
It’s more than acceptance, its saying its the little imperfections that make something even more endearing than if they were perfect. A bit of wabi-sabi gives character, or makes things feel less sterile, or more natural. Perfection can be less pleasant than imperfection. Not always, I want my airplane engines made perfectly. But something like handmade clay plates and bowls with wabi-sabi are great.
Huh, it’s got some similarities to the Persian flaw, thinking about it. The intentional inclusion of an error in Persian rugs as perfection is for God alone. Imperfection is human.
That’s sounds like the intro scene from The Fight Club, where the narrator talks about paying extra for handmade cups because they have little imperfections that make them unique.
TL;DR: the entire vinyl record market
These all sound like the same kind of aesthetic as ‘hand crafted’ where you can tell someone put on the finishing touches or details in a way that matched the materials or is a tiny bit uneven.
FYI, one could also interpret Cindy Crawfords’ nævus as wabi-sabi. Also we find slight asymmetry more pleasing for the eye. E.g. pictures of faces which are built up by mirroring one half appear as artificial. The scroll of a violin is also slightly asymmetrical.
Dafuq is a nævus? Don’t make me Google it, I’m lazy.
Obviously in English it’s written with ‘e’: Nevus
I’ve had conversations with people about “how can you love the news so much? It’s so negative and depressing!”
The best I’ve explained it is first and foremost you need to understand and appreciate we are a deeply flawed creature and there’s a beauty in that. How could someone not love life for that? I am in a dingy alley having a tea right now I can smell garbage, I can hear the drone of the city around me, everything is stained. But if I look up the sky is beautiful and blue, cute girls are walking by, someone is smoking a flavoured cigar.
If you’re unwilling to appreciate it all, you will struggle on appreciating any of it. Happiness is what you make of the world around you and if you are not willing to be happy inside no external event will change that.
so… would the fact that wasabi paste isn’t actually made from wasabi root count?
Wait wait wait… It’s not?
It is. But usually it’s not.
real wasabi root is a bitch to farm, so if you buy wasabi paste and it’s not expensive, or if someone serves you more than a tiny dollop of it, it’s probably actually horseradish paste with wasabi root extract.
not that it matters, clearly people enjoy the horseradish paste.
