The Elegance of Color and Words: The Kingdom of Sensibility in the Heian Period
The Elegance of Color and Words: The Kingdom of Sensibility in the Heian Period
Clothes dyed in the moonlight,
A love song written on perfumed paper.
The Heian period was a kingdom of beauty where colors and words encapsulated emotion.
The Heian Period: The Birth of National Culture and the Deepening of Sensibilities
In 794, Emperor Kanmu built Heian-kyo.
For the next 400 years or so, aristocrats cultivated an elegant culture.
• National culture: A departure from Chinese culture led to the establishment of a uniquely Japanese aesthetic sense. • Aristocratic society: Culture and sensibility were emphasized, with waka poetry, fragrance, and clothing becoming tools of self-expression. • Women's sensibility: Women such as Murasaki Shikibu and Sei Shonagon led the way in literature and aesthetic sense.
In this era, people naturally had the ability to encapsulate emotions in words and colors.
Philosophy of Color: The World of Oshime and Fragrance Dyeing
The beauty of the Heian period was a culture that imbued color with meaning.
• Kasane no Irome (layered colors): Colors of clothing that represent the seasons and emotions. For example, "Ume-juu" (plum blossoms) represents the scent of spring, while "Fuji-kasane" (wisteria kasane) represents the swaying of early summer.
• Kozome: Clothing woven from silk threads infused with the scent of sandalwood or cloves. The beauty of the combination of scent and color.
These are poetic designs that combine sight and smell, emotion and seasons.
These "meaningful colors" are also present in WABISUKE's color design.
The Beauty of Words: Emotions Residing in Waka Poems and Stories
• Waka: Short poems of 5-7-5-7-7 syllables that express love, the seasons, and sadness. Love letters were exchanged in waka poetry and written on perfumed paper.
• The Tale of Genji: The world's first full-length novel by Murasaki Shikibu. It depicts the aesthetic sense of the Heian period through the love and sorrow of Hikaru Genji.
• The Pillow Book: An essay by Sei Shonagon that describes the beauty of everyday life, the fluctuations of emotions, and the changing of the seasons.
These works of literature are attempts to put into words emotions that cannot be put into words.
WABISUKE's poetic copy also contains these "words with space."
Fragrance and Space: The Aesthetics of Incense Culture
Heian aristocrats used fragrance as a form of self-expression.
• Incense: A mixture of fragrant wood and Chinese herbal medicine that is burned indoors.
• Kunoeko: A technique for transferring fragrance to clothing using a basket.
• Incense Matching: A game of competing to see who can catch the best scent. Incense was also burned in letters accompanying love songs.
Fragrance is a symbol of invisible beauty and untouchable emotions.
This overlaps with the "richness in silence" that WABISUKE depicts.
Heian and WABISUKE—Inheritance of Sensibility
The Heian period was a culture in which emotions were encapsulated in colors, words, and scents.
This is in line with WABISUKE's goal of "poetic everyday life" and "meaningful beauty."
• Meaning in colors • Space in words • Emotion in scents
The beauty of this era is a deep sensibility found in silence.
And a structure of invisible beauty that will be passed down to the future.