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Budhist Art in Japan

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smallest object, is a witness to the power of Zen to inform & seek expression through the human mind.

Buddhist Art in Japan.

Japanese art integral with national life. 

Its essence is restraint. Chastity of taste ~ from the lines of a temple building to the knot of a girdle.

Japanese Art, feminine to the older Chinese civilization masculine, flamboyant, aggressive virility.

In their gardens, as in their architecture, in the arrangement of flowers as in their dress, the minimum is expressed. A hint, a suggestion suffices.

The Japanese aim at Wabi (Suzuki calls it 'Aloofness 



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in the midst of multiplicities')

IT is simplicity in all things & absence of visible skill

Wabi - The last word in aesthetic refinement, reached it most perfect flowering in the 'cha-no-yu' or tea ceremony - which makes of every act a sacrament.

The Buddhists' purpose in life is to raise the quality of living. To eliminate the self which hides two lights of his own Enlightenment. The Buddhists' proudest creation is therefore his own character.

Eastern & Western Art.

Eastern Art more subjective, symbolic, abstract & impersonal.

Western Art more objective, representative, concrete, personal.