The Beauty of Everyday Things by Soetsu Yanagi

Join our UM Book Club on 10/6 featuring this book!

The Japanese philosopher and aesthete’s definitive, hugely influential exposition of his philosophy of folk crafts, setting out the hallmarks of Japanese design as we know it today: anonymity, quality, simplicity and honesty—and, of course, wabi-sabi, the beauty of imperfection

Our lives are filled with objects. Everyday things used in everyday settings, they are our constant companions. As such, writes Soetsu Yanagi, they should be made with care and built to last, treated with respect and even affection. They should be natural and simple, sturdy and safe—an aesthetic fulfillment of our practical needs. They should, in short, be things of beauty.

Long revered as the authority on craftsmanship and Japanese aesthetics, Yanagi devoted his life and writing to defend the value of craft. In an age of feeble and ugly machine-made things, The Beauty of Everyday Things is a call for each of us to deepen our relationship with the objects that surround us. Inspired by the work of the simple artisans Yanagi encountered on his lifelong travels through Japan and Korea, this now-classic book is a heartfelt defense of modest, honest, handcrafted objects, from traditional teacups to jars to paper—objects that exemplify the beauty of everyday things.

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