# Ma & Wabi-sabi Aesthetics

> A Japanese aesthetic rooted in Zen and the wabi tea ceremony that prizes austerity, imperfection, impermanence and the charged interval (ma) between things. In graphic design it appears as vast empty grounds, a single off-centre element, muted natural colours, visible material texture and the unrepeatable brush mark, from ink painting to Muji's 'emptiness'.

- Period: 1500–present
- Where: East Asia
- Origin: Kyoto and Sakai, Japan (tea culture of Murata Jukō, Takeno Jōō and Sen no Rikyū)
- Branch: Traditions & vernacular
- Also known as: Wabi-sabi, Ma (the interval), Shibui
- Page: https://stylogeny.com/styles/wabi-sabi/

## How it works

- Leave most of the surface empty and let the interval between elements carry the meaning.
- Place a single element off-centre and resist balancing it symmetrically.
- Choose muted natural colours (ash, clay, moss, undyed paper) and let material texture show.
- Accept irregularity: a broken brush edge, an uneven glaze or a deckled paper over machined perfection.
- Remove everything that is not essential, then stop before the result turns clinical.

## Its design choices

Defining choices make the style, characteristic ones are usual, occasional ones turn up now and then.

### Layout & composition
- [Dynamic asymmetry](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/dynamic-asymmetry/) (defining)
- [Isolated object](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/isolated-object/) (characteristic)

### Space & hierarchy
- [Generous white space](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/generous-white-space/) (defining)
- [Single focal point](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/single-focal-point/) (characteristic)

### Typography
- [Brush & pen calligraphy](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/brush-and-pen-calligraphy/) (characteristic)
- [Rotated & vertical setting](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/rotated-and-vertical-setting/) (occasional)
- [Wide letterspacing](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/wide-letterspacing/) (occasional)

### Colour
- [Earth & mineral](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/earth-and-mineral/) (defining)
- [Analogous harmony](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/analogous-harmony/) (characteristic)
- [Monochrome](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/monochrome/) (characteristic)
- [Light ground](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/light-ground/) (characteristic)
- [Gradients](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/gradients/) (occasional)

### Form & shape
- [Biomorphic curves](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/biomorphic-curves/) (characteristic)
- [Non-representational](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/non-representational/) (characteristic)
- [Geometric primitives](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/geometric-primitives/) (occasional)

### Surface & texture
- [Paper & letterpress bite](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/paper-and-letterpress-bite/) (defining)
- [Painterly brushwork](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/painterly-brushwork/) (characteristic)
- [Grain & noise](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/grain-and-noise/) (occasional)

### Ornament
- [Restrained accents](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/restrained-accents/) (characteristic)

### Imagery
- [Painterly illustration](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/painterly-illustration/) (characteristic)
- [Straight photography](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/straight-photography/) (occasional)
- [Typography only](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/typography-only/) (occasional)

### Medium & production
- [Pen, brush & ink](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/pen-brush-and-ink/) (characteristic)
- [Textile & craft](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/textile-and-craft/) (characteristic)
- [Architecture & signage](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/architecture-and-signage/) (occasional)

### Tone & intent
- [Calm & contemplative](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/calm-and-contemplative/) (defining)
- [Spiritual & sacred](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/spiritual-and-sacred/) (characteristic)
- [Nostalgic & retro](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/nostalgic-and-retro/) (occasional)
- [Warm & approachable](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/warm-and-approachable/) (occasional)

Avoids: Abundant decoration, Horror vacui, Central symmetry, Fluorescent & neon, Full polychrome, Gloss & highlights, Chrome & 3D render, Ornamented display

Palette: #e9e4d8, #8a7f6e, #4f5a3f, #2b2a28, #b9a88a, #7d4e3a

Typefaces: Bokuseki (Zen ink calligraphy), Sōsho cursive kana and kanji, Mincho text faces (e.g. Ryumin)

Known for: Sen no Rikyū (Taian tea room, c. 1582); Chōjirō (Raku tea bowls); Hasegawa Tōhaku, Pine Trees screens (late 16th c., Tokyo National Museum); Jun'ichirō Tanizaki, In Praise of Shadows (1933); Ikko Tanaka and Kenya Hara (Muji art direction, 1980– ); Leonard Koren, Wabi-Sabi for Artists, Designers, Poets & Philosophers (1994)

## Where it comes from, and what it’s close to

- Alike in its design choices: [Contemporary Chinese Book Design ('Most Beautiful Books of China')](https://stylogeny.com/styles/chinese-contemporary-book-design.md) (2003–present), 73% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Ten Bamboo Studio Colour Woodblock (Douban & Gonghua)](https://stylogeny.com/styles/ten-bamboo-colour-print.md) (1626–present), 67% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Korean Commercial Calligraphy (Kaelligeurapi)](https://stylogeny.com/styles/korean-commercial-calligraphy.md) (1999–present), 64% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Chinese Calligraphy & Seal Carving (Shufa & Zhuanke)](https://stylogeny.com/styles/chinese-calligraphy-seal.md) (c. 0–present), 62% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Santiniketan & Bengal School Graphics](https://stylogeny.com/styles/santiniketan-graphics.md) (1905–1954), 56% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Chinese National-Style Animation (Shanghai Animation Film Studio)](https://stylogeny.com/styles/chinese-national-style-animation.md) (1956–1989), 55% alike

## Real works

- [Pine Trees (Shōrin-zu byōbu), right-hand screen](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hasegawa_Tohaku_-_Pine_Trees_(Sh%C5%8Drin-zu_by%C5%8Dbu)_-_right_hand_screen.jpg): Hasegawa Tōhaku, Azuchi-Momoyama period, late 16th century, Tokyo National Museum (National Treasure); image via Wikimedia Commons
- [Splashed-Ink Landscape](https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/53228): Bokushō Shūshō, early 16th century, The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- [Melons](https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/670904): Yamada Dōan, late 16th century, The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- [Hokku poem 'With a Powder Brush', from The Narrow Road to the Deep North](https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/916537): Matsuo Bashō, ca. 1689, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

## Sources

- Leonard Koren, Wabi-Sabi for Artists, Designers, Poets & Philosophers (1994)
- Jun'ichirō Tanizaki, In Praise of Shadows (1933)
- Kenya Hara, Designing Design (Lars Müller, 2007)

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From Stylogeny (https://stylogeny.com/), an atlas of graphic-design styles by Van Riel Online Services. How it is made: https://stylogeny.com/about/. Cite as: Stylogeny, “Ma & Wabi-sabi Aesthetics”, https://stylogeny.com/styles/wabi-sabi/