A time when Japanese culture blossomed in silence

Blooming in Silence: The Era in which Japanese Culture Blossomed

Like the wind turning over paper, the times quietly change.
During this time, there was a moment when Japanese culture blossomed at its deepest and most beautiful.
This was the period from the late Muromachi period to the Sengoku period, a time of chaos and rebirth.
While the West was bathed in the light of the Renaissance, a quiet revolution was also taking place at the foot of Higashiyama.

Beauty in the Shadow of the Silver Pavilion

Ginkakuji Temple, built by Ashikaga Yoshimasa, chose moon-like serenity rather than the brilliance of gold.
The aesthetic of "wabi-sabi" resides there.
It is in a chipped vessel that something can be filled.
The idea of ​​finding eternity in imperfection took root in the tea ceremony, gardens, calligraphy, and the human heart.

What is told in the ink margins

The ink paintings by Sesshu speak of what is not depicted.
The silence deep within the mountains and rivers, the lingering echoes at the tips of the branches.
Along with Zen philosophy, art transformed from something to be seen to something to be felt.
It was also an attempt to convey inexpressible emotions through the bleeding of ink.

Kyoto as a cultural crossroads

During this period, Kyoto was a melting pot of culture.
The mysterious depths of Noh, the sounds of Renga poetry, and the memories of the art of incense.
Samurai, monks, and townspeople all sought beauty and found philosophy in the everyday.
As the shadow of war grew darker, perhaps people sought salvation in silence.

What is the Renaissance?

If the Western Renaissance celebrated "human potential,"
The Japanese version may have been a celebration of the "transience of human beings."
Both were eras that nurtured art and thought while embracing light and shadow.
And now, we have inherited those seeds and are trying to make new flowers bloom in the soil of modern times.

Beauty is listening to the voice of the times.
And let that voice resonate into the future.
The story of WABISUKE may also be an extension of this quiet renaissance.