ripssurf

this is a great thread...i wish i had seen it earlier. discussing these types of topics is what makes bonsai so satisfying for me...

one thing i would like to add about wabi sabi is that it must occur within the context of transitoriness/temporariness. a good example of wabi wabi sabi, and seriously not to lower the discussion, can actually be seen in Tom Cruise's movie "Last Samurai". for those who havent seen this movie, i really suggest it, not because of the story or tom cruise himself, but because it gives a good image of what life was like in japan during the transition from the bakufu (shogunate) to the meiji/taisho parliamentary system that existed until world war II. as japan was going through a monumental change, many instances of wabi sabi were created that still, in fact, exist today (if one leaves and spends periods of time in a japanese home outside of tokyo). i digress...

anyway, the best image of wabi sabi from the movie was when ken watanabe and the rest of the samura, rather than surrender, made a final charge on the meiji troops. it wasnt the charge itself that depicted wabi sabi, but if one looks in the background, cherry blossoms can be seen. it is the falling of the cherry blossoms, themselves, that depict simple beauty within the context of a transitory nature.

now why is it that pines do such a good job of showing wabi sabi? this i do not know, but as i think now, i believe that it is because the life of us humans is but a small amount of time compared to the total length of life in a pine. in this case, it is us, mortal humans, that are like the falling cherry blossoms.

jeff