The Beauty of Everyday Things (2017) by Soetsu Yanagi


The Beauty of Everyday Things (2017) by Soetsu Yanagi

When I picked this book up, I was expecting an interesting discourse on the evolution of functional design in all sorts of unassuming, essential items from microwave ovens to mittens. But instead, I got a series of essays lauding Japanese folk crafts - most notably ceramics, textiles, prints, and sculptures. Soetsu Yanagi is a museum curator with an overwhelming enthusiasm and almost spiritual respect for these handicrafts - almost to the point of disdain towards what would more readily be recognized as individualistic art. He asserts that the magnificence of woodblock prints, tea ceremony utensils, etc., lies in the marriage of utility, craft expertise, and the natural foundations of the work. He places a great emphasis on crafting to the strengths of the medium, so to speak - rather than defiantly forcing a standard of perfection that fights the natural process.

I respect Yanagi’s sentiments and admire his reverence for handicrafts, yet I can’t help but disagree with a lot of his philosophies on art, if only because his reflections border on an off-putting pretentiousness stemming from the blanket objectivity in many of his statements.

But there are two ideas here that I definitely fall in-line with. First, Yanagi is ardent in the claim that analytical valuation of art is useless without an instinctual appreciation taking precedence. And second, he lauds patterns as a supremely appealing functional and decorative asset to handicrafts. This is because, as Yanagi views it, we perceive nature in patterns - so a good pattern reflects the beauty of nature in a way that appeals to our human disposition in viewing the world.

Although I may not share Yanagi’s aesthetic sensibilities as far as handicrafts are concerned, I can definitely learn from his love for underappreciated art and apply it to my own tastes and experiences. I’ve always praised utility, but now I hope to find the beauty in those unassuming objects which bring that utility to fruition.

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