Philosophy East and West Volume 27 Issue 3 1977 [Doi 10.2307%2F1398000] Richard B. Pilgrim -- The...

8/11/2019 Philosophy East and West Volume 27 Issue 3 1977 [Doi 10.2307%2F1398000] Richard B. Pilgrim -- The Artistic Wa

1/22

The Artistic Way and the Religio-Aesthetic Tradition in JapanAuthor(s): Richard B. Pilgrim

Source: Philosophy East and West, Vol. 27, No. 3 (Jul., 1977), pp. 285-305Published by: University of Hawai'i PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1398000.

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2/22

Richard

B.

Pilgrim

The

artistic

way

and the

religio-aesthetic

tradition

in

Japan

INTRODUCTION

The most

general

intent

of

the

following

is

to

point

to

and

attempt

to

further

understand

what

we

might

well call

the

"religio-aesthetic

tradition"

in

Japan.

Most

simply

stated,

this

is

that tradition or

aspect

of

Japanese

culture

and life

in

which artistic

form and aesthetic

sensibility

become

synonymous

with

religious

form and

religious

(or

spiritual)

sensibility.

It is that

point

at which,

as Hideo Kishimoto

says:

"both

religion

and art

try

to achieve

tranquility

of

mind and to

grasp

objects

as

they

are. On this

point,

religious

value

and aesthetic

value become

one."'

Or,

it is

those instances

in

which the

aesthetic

and

the

numinous

form an intrinsic

unity,

and

where the arts become

primary

data for

the

historian of

religion.

Such

an

aspect

of

Japanese

life

and

culture

comprises

a

"tradition"

insofar

as

it

forms

a

distinctive matrix

of

phenomena

and

intention-a matrix

which,

while certainly closely related to the institutionalized religious traditions of

Japan

and

at

points

overlapping

with

them,

stands on

its own

as a

unique

aspect

of the

spiritual/religious

life

of

the

Japanese.

It is this

distinctive

matrix

which

Ienaga

Saburo

points

to,

in

part,

when he discusses various traditional

arts in

Japan

as

revealing

the

important

soteric

value

of

an

aesthetic

relation

to

nature,

and

says

of

this

that:

If

one considers

Japanese

religious

history

with

the

purpose

in mind of dis-

covering

what

things

in fact

gave

salvation to the souls of the

Japanese

people

and then selects

only

Shinto, Buddhism,

and

Christianity,

and

overlooks the

salvation provided by Nature [aesthetically apprehended]-that which, in fact,

is

much more

[inherently]

Japanese

and extends much

farther

than these others

-then one

will

not be

capable

of

tracing

the real

spiritual development

of our

people.2

While

such

a

statement

and

factor

might

be

considered to

encompass

more

than the

religio-aesthetic

tradition

manifested

in

the

arts,

certainly

one

major

part

of it would

be that

tradition.

This conclusion

is

supported

by Ienaga's

central concern

with the

yamazato

(mountain village

or

recluse)

tradition

and

the

poets

and artists who

reflect it.

In

any

case,

Ienaga's

thesis

points

directly

to the issue here; that is, suggesting the importance of a distinctive matrix in

which artistic form

and aesthetic

sensibility

are

religious,

and

become

"primary

data" for

an

understanding

of

Japanese

religious/spiritual

life.

The more

specific

intent of the

following

is to

probe

the

religious

character

and

significance

of

the ideal of the

"Way"

(do,

michi)

as

it

has related

to certain

of

the traditional

arts

of

Japan,

and as it indicates

perhaps

the most central

part

of the

religio-aesthetic

tradition.

It

is the

suggestion

of this article

that

the

Way

arts

are

finally

and

ideally

primary

forms

of

aesthetic/religious

discipline

and

fulfillment

in

Japan and,

as

such,

are

a

crucial

aspect

of

the

Richard

B.

Pilgrim

is

an Assistant

Professor

in the

Department

of Religion

at

Syracuse University.

Philosophy

East

and

West

27,

no.

3,

July

1977.

?

by

The

University

Press of Hawaii. All

rights

reserved.

http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp


3/22

286

Pilgrim

religious

ife

and valuesof

Japan.

Ideally,

hey

are-in and

through

he

artistic/

aesthetic

process

and

sensibility-vehicles

for

spiritual

transformation.As

Toyo

Izutsu

says:

The do

in

the field of art is a

way

of

leading

o

spiritual nlightenmenthrough

art;

the

do consists

here in

making

an art a means

by

which to achieve

en-

lightenment

as its

ultimate

goal.

In

the artistic do ...

particular emphasis

is

laid on the

process,

the

way, by

which one

goes

towardthe

goal.

To

every

stage

of the

way

a certain

spiritual

state

corresponds,

and

at

every

stage

the

artist tries

to

get

into

communionwith

the

quintessence

of art

through

the

corresponding

piritual

tate,

and

make himselfbloom

in

the art.3

The

religious

characterand

significance

of the

Way

ideal in the arts is

perhaps

bestestablished

y

first

showing

rather

broadly)

how artistic

discipline

and fulfillment

might

be consideredas

spiritualdiscipline

and

fulfillment,

nd

second

by

looking

at

some

particular xamples

of

aesthetic

criteria

n

artistic

formwhichcarryreligiousmeaning-namely, hereyigen andsabi.

I

ARTISTIC

"WAYS"

AS

SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINE AND

FULFILLMENT

The

fundamentally eligious

ntention

of

the

Way

arts

in

Japan

s

expressed

n

any

numberof

places,

and

the

following

statement

by

the

contemporary

ea

master

Soetsu

Yanagi

not

only

summarizes hat

intention

but

suggests

the

ideal still lives

in

Japantoday:

The

Way

of Tea is a

way

of

salvation

throughbeauty.

Hence the

chajin

tea

master)

must

make

a

paragon

of himself so

as

to

preach

aws like

a

religiousman.He must have a

profound

ove of

beauty,

high

discernment f

truth,

and

deep

experience

n

practice.

So far as

cha-no-yu

s

a

Way,

spiritualdiscipline

should

come

first.4

Such

a

Way,

as

suggested

here,

is

characterized oth

by

a

specific

practice

and

discipline

nd

by

some

understanding

f

"salvation" r

spiritual

ulfillment.

Considering

he former

irst,

we

might

see

the

religious

ntentionof

the

discipline

both

in the sense of

following

a sacred radition

and

sacred

models,

and

in

an

understanding

f the

discipline

n

an art as

a

yana

(vehicle)

or

yogic technique.

Certainly nething hat"Way" ndicatess a traditionofmasters,echniques,

and

principles.

This

tradition

may

takeon a

sacredor

religious

haracter

nsofar

as it becomes

he

locus

of

sacred

models

(for

example,

he ancientmasters

and

their

art)

and sacredor secret

principles

and

techniques

which

one must

faith-

fully

follow.

Kenko

(fourteenthcentury)

suggests

this

understanding

f the

sacredand

paradigmatic

haracter f

the

tradition

when

he

says:

"Thosewho

faithfully

maintain he

principles

of their

art and

hold

them

in

honor,

rather

than

indulge

n

their

own

fancies,

become

paragons

of the

age

and

teachers or

all."

5

More

mportantly,

owever,

discipline

n the

particular

ormsand

techniques

of

the art

might

well be understood

as vehicles

or means for

religious

self-

transformation.

deally

in

the

Way

arts,

perfection

n

technique

s never

an



4/22

287

end in

itself,

but rather a means

for

going

beyond

technique

to

spiritual/

artistic

fulfillment-thus,

a

discipline

of

body

and

mind/spirit

which

seeks

true

creativity;

a

creativity

which

is at

the same time

spiritually

and

aesthetically

based.

This

is

rather

clearly

seen

in

the

ranking systems

of

many

of the

arts.

In

Zeami

(1363-1443)

and the

No

theatre,

for

example,

the

lower

ranks in

the

actor's training consist of initiation into, and practice of, the primary forms

and

techniques

of

the

art-in this case both chant and

dance,

and the

roles to

be

portrayed.

In the

higher

ranks, however,

perfect

technique

is assumed and

one

is free

to

develop

the

deeper

levels

of artistic and

spiritual creativity.6

Analogously,

Zeami's

various

writings

themselves show this

development.

His

earliest

writing,

Kadensho

(1400),

reflects

a

concern

for

monomane

(imitation)

and

technique,

while

his later

writings

(latter

1420s)

show

a

concern for the

development

of the

underlying spiritual strength

(shinriki)

of the artist.

Another

example

of the

merging

of

artistic with

spiritual discipline

is in

the

Heian

poetic

tradition where the

Way

of

poetry

was

thought by

some to be

both

a

poetic discipline

and a

meditative

discipline,

not unlike that

form

of

meditation

in

Tendai

Buddhism known as shikan

(calm

[leading

to]

insight).

Poetic

creativity

was

thought

to

necessarily

entail "a kind

of

mystical

fusion

of the

poet

and

his materials achieved

by

intense

concentration"

in which

the

poet sought

an immediate intuitive

aesthetic/religious grasp

of

the essence

(hon'i)

and

depth

(fukami)

of the

subject

at

hand.7

Thus,

in

this

important

formative

period

(Heian)

of the artistic

Way

ideal,

the connection between artistic creativity and spiritual processes is securely

made. As Robert Brower and Earl Miner

say:

The

adaptation

of a

religious

ideal

to

poetic practice

may

seem

remarkable,

yet

it is

hardly

surprising

in this

strongly religious

age,

when the art

of

poetry

was

regarded

as

a

way

of life and

just

as

surely

a means to

ultimate truth as

the sermons of the Buddha.8

Similarly

for the thirteenth

century,

this

religious understanding

of

the artistic

(poetic)

process

continues,

as is

suggested

by

the

following

characterization

of

the poetic Way as "a means to religious realization ... and ... (as having) the

virtue

of

serenity

and

peace,

of

putting

a

stop

to the

distractions

and

undis-

ciplined

movements of the mind

....

And should it

embody

the

spirit

of

the

Buddha's

Law,

there

can be no doubt that it

will be a dharani

(Buddhist

sacred

word

formula)."9

The

artistic

Way

as

spiritual discipline

finds

another,

although

much

later,

expression

in

Basho

(1644-94).

For

Bash6,

who emulates the

poet Saigyo

(1118-1190)

before

him,

the

poetic Way

finds its

controlling

metaphor

in

pilgrimage.

Like

the

pilgrim, though

not

quite

so

literally,

Basho

sees

the

poetic

Way

as

a

journey

into

the

spirit-a

process

of

coming

ever

closer to

what

it

means to

be

truly

real

and authentic as

a

human

being,

and

of

striving

toward

spiritual

awakening. Perhaps

this

is

what

Basho

is

pointing

to

when he

says:



5/22

288

Pilgrim

"each

day

is

a

journey

and the

journey

itself

home;"

or

"what a

pilgrimage

to

far

places

calls for:

willingness

to let

the

world

go,

its

momentariness,

to die

on

the

road,

human

destiny,

which lifted

spirit

a

little,

finding

foot

again

here

and

there,

crossing

the Okido

Barrier in

Date."10

In

this

journey,

which is

finally

a

spiritual journey,

poetry

is

the

particular discipline

and

form

within

which

and

through

which

he

matures.

True,

he

finally

senses that that

very

poetry

and

poetic

sense

may

hold

him

back

from

a

final

spiritual enlightenment,

but

Basho

does attain

(or

at least

expresses)

a kind of

spiritual

fulfillment

for,

as

Izutsu

says

of Bash6's

"unremitting pursuit

of

poetic

truthfulness":

"(It)

means

precisely

man's

effort to come

ever

closer to the

true

reality

of

human

existence

in

the face of Nature and to the true

reality

of

all

phenomenal things

standing

against

the

background

of

Nothingness.

Haiku

is a

peculiar type

of

poetry

which aims at

realizing

and

expressing

the

truth of

things

thus com-

prehended."

1

Finally and most generally, the artistic Way as spiritual discipline might be

understood

in

Japan

as

shugyo

or ascetic

discipline.

For the martial

arts,

for

example,

shugyo

is

that

level of

training through

which the

Way

in fulfilled.

Shugyo

is a

"seeking

a

way

out of

a

dilemma;"

an

absolutely

dedicated

and

concentrated

discipline

of

body

and mind

through

some

particular

practice,

with the

purpose

of

breaking through

to

a

spiritual

fulfillment.

Kishimoto

suggests

that

shugyo

is a

key

to

understanding many

of the arts

and activities

of

the

Japanese,

all

the

way

from mountain

climbing

to

Zen,

and

certainly including

the arts.12

The

dedicated ascetic

striving suggested by

shugyo might

be best characterized as

"spiritual

exercises",

and-while it

might

seem most

appropriate

in the martial and related arts-it

may

be

by

extension

a central

way

for

understanding

artistic

discipline

as

spiritual.

We turn now to

a

consideration

of the

goal

of artistic fulfillment inasmuch

as it

suggests-at

the same time-a

human

spiritual

fulfillment.

In

the dis-

cussion

that

follows,

the

attempt

is

made

briefly

to

single

out

some of

the

important

categories

in

the arts

which

suggest special spiritual

insight

on

the

part

of

the artist. As

such,

the

categories

below

differ from the

categories

of

yuigenand sabi dealt with in the second part of this article, for they are not

thought

of as

aesthetic,

stylistic

criteria

in

the art

form

itself.

Rather,

they

refer to

particular

states of mind

and

awareness

on the

part

of the

truly

creative

artist himself which

we can

only

describe

as

religious.

One

way

of

talking

about this

is

to

point

to that

part

of the tradition

which

seeks to discover

and

express

the "essence"

(hon'i)

of the

particular

thing being

dealt

with in the artistic

form. This

tendency

in

the

tradition

speaks

of

artistic

fulfillment

in

terms of the

ability

to

grasp

or

express

the

underlying principle,

reality,

or

mystery

of

things. Especially important

to the

Heian

poets,

but also

true of later

artists like

Zeami,

the

concern

for essence

suggests

an

attempt

to

probe

to the

very depths

of

reality

and

experience

to

express

what

we

might

refer to as the

numinal

dimension of

things.

As Brower

and Miner

speak

of

it



6/22

289

for Heian

ideals,

it

is based on

a

"mystical

identification."

3

As

Zeami thinks

of

it,

hon'i is the

actor's

being

in

true

unity

with the essential

spirit

and

reality

of the

character

being

portrayed.14

In

summarizing

this

aspect

for

the whole

of the

Way

art

tradition,

Izutsu

says:

It is

characteristic

of

every

art of

do

that

a

description

of an

object

is

in

itself

a self-expression of the subject, while a self-expression of the subject in the

presence

of

and

in

accordance with an

object

discloses the

object

itself

as

he

has seen it

with his inner

eye.

By

dint of this

characteristic,

the

gap

between

the

subject

and

object,

between

'I'

and the

external

world,

appears

to

be

bridged.15

There

is

also

a sense

in

which

the

Buddhist

categories

of

Nothingness

(mu)

or

Emptiness

(ki)

have

been used to denote

that

essence

which one seeks

to

express

via the aesthetic mode.

It is hinted

at in such

things

as Zeami's

concern

to

give

visible form to the "Void essence"

(kitai)

of all

things,16

or

Shuichi

Kato's statement that wabi reflects an aesthetic sensuous expression of the

awareness

of the "Void."17

Along

these same

lines,

it

is

interesting

to note

Izutsu's thesis that

much of the artistic

tradition

in

Japan

has been an

attempt

to

express

the "true

reality

of all

phenomenal

things standing against

the

background

of

Nothingness,"

or "eternal

silence,"

"empty

locus of all

things,"

"immovable

immutability," "eternally

existent,"

which stands

in

and

"behind"

all

phenomenal

being.18

While it is

difficult to follow Izutsu

into

all

the

places

he

presses

this

understanding,

it

does seem to

capture

one

part

of

what the

Way

arts

in

Japan

have

sought

to do and

express,

that

is,

an

experience

of the

core

of all

Reality

in

and

through

phenomenal

existence

as

aesthetically

apprehended.

However,

after the Heian

period,

and as

perhaps

one

indication

of

the

deepening

Buddhist

and

Zen influence

on these

matters,

the

understanding

of

the

deepest

spiritual

attainment

of

the

artist shifts

from the

discovery

of essences

in

things

more

directly

to

the

quality

of

mind/spirit

of the

artist himself.

A

good

example

of this is

Zeami's

sense of the

underlying

spiritual power

of the

true

master's kokoro

(mind/spirit/heart),

which

includes,

but is not defined

by,

the Buddhist notion of no-mind (mushin). Although kokoro means many

different

things

to

Zeami,19

in

various

places

throughout

his

writings

it

clearly

becomes related

to

an

inner

spiritual

power,

which

is

then the basis

for true

creativity.

He

speaks

of

it,

for

example,

as

the

essential

"spiritual power"

(shinriki)

for true

artistry,

the

"bone"

(kotsu)

and

"essence"

(tai)

of

performing,

or

the

"inner

spirit"

(naishin)

which links all

one's artistic

powers.20

This

kokoro

thus seems to

be

spiritual/mental/emotional

wholeness that arises

out

of

and

expresses

the

very

depths

of the

truly

creative self.

A

similar

holistic

spiritual

base for

creativity

is in

the idea

of the

development

of the hara in and

through

the arts.

Perhaps

best

described as the

seat or

source

of

psychic/spiritual

energy

and

force

(in

the lower abdominal

area),

to fulfill

or

live based

in hara is

to live

authentically,

holistically,

integratively.

It is a



7/22

290

Pilgrim

"liberation from

the

domination

of an

'I',"

an

"anchoring

in

the

ground

of

Being,"

a "self which manifests

Being,"

and a

"transformation,

expansion,

deepening

and

intensifying

of

the whole

personality."21

It is

tranquility

and

control

in

the midst of

action, and,

of

particular

importance

to

us,

its attainment

and function

is

fulfilled most

definitively

in

the

hara arts

(haragei),

or

Way

arts.

As Diirckheim

says:

'Self-consciousness'

anchored

in Hara is

consciousness

of

a self

larger

than the

mere

I

and,

therefore

not

necessarily

affected where the

little

I

is touched

or

hurt. It

is,

at

the

same

time,

wider

and

capable

of

doing

more than the little

I

can achieve....

(In

this

connection)

haragei

is

every activity

made

perfect

through

Hara. Thus

it

includes

every

form of

art. Perfect

art

can flower

only

in

one

who has attained wholeness.

And,

in

the

concept

of

haragei

the

Hara-

consciousness

of the

Japanese

reaches its

peak.

He who has mastered

haragei

has

in a measure achieve

'that.'

All

the

'Ways'

...

are',

n

the

ideal,

and

in

their

highest

form

haragei.22

Yet

another

category

that

appears

frequently

to

suggest

a

particular

state of

mind

is

mushin

(no-mind,

or

mu-mind).

Whatever

this

term's

meaning

within

a

strictly

Zen

context,23

in the arts the word

represents

the

unintending,

un-

conscious, nonattached,

spontaneous

mind.

Suzuki describes

it

this

way:

Mere

technical

knowledge

of

an

art is not

enough

to make

a man

really

its

master,

he

ought

to have

delved

deeply

into

the inner

spirit

of

it. This

spirit

is

grasped

only

when

his mind is

in

complete

harmony

with the

principle

of

life

itself,

that

is,

when he

attains

to

a certain state

of mind known

as

mushin,

"no-mind." In Buddhist phraseology, it means going beyond the dualism of

all

forms

of life and

death,

good

and

evil,

being

and

non-being.

This

is

where

all

arts

merge

into

Zen.24

The term

appears

in

many

of

the

Way

arts,

especially

those

coming

under

the

influence

of

Zen

in the

Muromachi

period

and later. To

multiply examples

would serve little

purpose

here.

However,

it is

important

to

suggest

that

mushin,

in the

arts,

is

probably

related

in its nature to the

tranquil,

detached

but aware

mind

that

people

like

Rikyu

(1522-1591)

point

to when

they say:

The essential

intention

of wabi is

to manifest the Buddhaland of

purity

free

from defilements.

In

this

garden path

and in

this thatched

hut,

every

speck

of

dust is cleared

out. When master

and

visitor

together

commune direct from

the

heart,

no

ordinary

measures of

proportion

or ceremonial

rules are followed.

A

fire

is

made,

water is

boiled,

and

tea

is

drunk-that is all

For here

we

experience

the disclosure of Buddhamind.25

Mushin

in

the arts

may

well be related also to Bash6's

fga (orfuryi).

For

Basho,

this

represents

the

truly

sensitive refined

person

whose

mind/spirit

is

a

combination of the

tranquil

detachment from self and

world,

and

the sense

of absolute

unity

with nature and cosmos. As Basho himself seems to

indicate,

it is

nothing

less than that

spirit

which transcends

any

particular

art form and

is

the common

ground

of

creativity

for

all

the arts. As

he

says:



8/22

291

After

all

this,

he

(the poet;

himself)

is now an

ignoramus

with no

accomplish-

ments whatever

except

that he holds

steadily

to the

pursuit

of one line

only,

which is

in truth the line

uniformly

followed

by Saigy6

in

his

waka,

by Sogi

in

his

renga,

by

Sesshu

in

his

paintings,

and

by

Rikyu

in

his

art of tea. One

spirit

activates all their

works.

It is

the

spirit

of

fJga;

he

who cherishes it

accepts

Nature and becomes a friend

of the four seasons.

Whatever

objects

he

sees are

referred to

the

flowers;

whatever

thoughts

he

conceives are related

to the

moon.26

By

relating

this

spirit

to

Saigy6

and

others,

he

suggests

one

important

and

continuous theme

in

the

Way

arts,

and

that

is an

aesthetic

sensitivity

to nature

which

has

spiritual depth

and

meaning

and

is

the true

ground

of

creativity

in

the

arts. In this

way,

too,

he

suggests

that

religio-aesthetic

tradition

that

Ienaga

points

to

earlier

in

this

article-a tradition in which a

kind

of

'tranquil-mind-

in-nature' takes on soteric

religious

value as well as

aesthetic artistic value.

Perhaps

Zeami

summarizes it all

for us when

he

says:

The universe

is a

vessel

producing

the various

things,

each

in

its

own

season:

the flowers and

leaves,

the snow and the

moon,

the

mountains

and

seas,

the

seedlings

and

trees,

the

animate and

the inanimate.

By

making

these

things

the essence of

your

artistic

vision,

by

becoming

one

with the universal

vessel,

and

securing

your

vessel

in

the

great

mu

style

of the

Way

of

Emptiness

(kudo),

you

will attain the

ineffable flowers

(myoka)

of

this art.27

While

Zeami's

particular understanding

and

expression

of this

might

be

uniquely

his,

the

general

sense of artistic

discipline

and

fulfillment,

understood

as

importantly

related to

spiritual

discipline

and

fulfillment,

is

present.

The

Way

arts as

manifestations of the

religio-aesthetic

tradition are

founded on

such

ideals.

II.

THE MASTER'SART:

CONSIDERATIONSOF YUGEN AND SABI

AS

RELIGIO-AESTHETIC ATEGORIES

Within the

Way

arts,

or the

religio-aesthetic

tradition

as

we have

sought

to

delimit

it,

the

terms

yugen

and sabi

stand

as

among

the

most

important

in

establishing

the

highest

criteria for

artistic

quality.

The

contention of

the

following is that these categories may, in many instances of their use and

meaning,28

be

regarded

as

primary

or

exemplary

models of

the

unity

of

aesthetic and

religious

experience

and

meaning

in

the

Japanese

artistic tradi-

tion.

They

represent

a

point

at which

aesthetic

style

and

experience

become

vehicles or

carriers of

religious

meaning,

as

the latter

suggests

some mode of

apprehending

whatever is

taken to be

sacred, real,

deep,

ultimate,

and so

forth.

The

argument

that

these

categories

are

religious

is both

explicit

and

implicit

in

all that

has

preceded

concerning

the

religious

ideals

of

the

Way

arts,

and

remains so

in

the

discussion that follows.

However,

the focus of

the

following

is more

particularly

how

they

are

religious

(as well as

aesthetic).

In this case,

the

contention is that

yigen

and

sabi,

when

isolating

them in

their

religio-

aesthetic

usages

and

meanings,

reveal

two distinct

modes

or

types

of the



9/22

292

Pilgrim

religio-aesthetic experience

and

expression.

On

the one

hand,

yugen

tends to

be

a

kind of

beauty

and aesthetic

experience pointing

beyond

itself to

a

numinal

dimension; while,

on the

other

hand,

sabi

is

a

kind of immediate

aesthetic

apprehension

of

the

Real.

Before

arguing

further

in

light

of

the

Japanese

religio-aesthetic

tradition,

one more

clarification

on the

general

nature

of

these

categories

seems

impor-

tant. Whether considered

aesthetic or

religious,

or

both,

these and other

similar

categories

have a rather

consistent

pair

of referents

which we must

keep

in mind

throughout.

On the one

hand,

these

categories

refer to

a

relatively

distinct,

particular,

and

delimitable cluster

of

images, symbols, metaphors,

styles,

and forms

(verbal

or

otherwise),

which constitute

their

"objective"

character

as

particular

stylistic/aesthetic

criteria

in

any

art form reflective

of

yugen

or

sabi. Thus

images

of an autumn

evening

haze

over a barren

field

might

be one

objective

criterion

for

the

presence

of

yiigen.

Or,

images

of old

weathered huts might serve a similar function for sabi.

On the other

hand,

and of course

closely

related

to the

above,

is the "sub-

jective"-or

better-experiential

referent.

In this

case,

it is

important

to

understand

that these

categories

refer also to

a

particular

quality

or kind of

feeling

or

experience, hopefully

functional

for

both artist

and audience.

Yuigen

and

sabi, therefore,

express

and evoke

particular

feelings

which

are often

referred

to as the

mood,

feeling-tone,

or

atmosphere

of

the

art

and

its aesthetic

content.

Thus

might

yfigen

evoke

a

slight

feeling

of

melancholy

and

ineffability

or

mystery;

or

sabi,

a

feeling

of

tranquil

solitariness.

As

we shall see

later,

an

empathy

with

this

"feeling-tone"

of

a

work

of

art is

not

only

important

for the

audience's

perception

of

the

art,

but

is

also

im-

portant

in

the

interpretation

of

the

meaning

of

yzugen

and sabi. It

is at this

point,

perhaps,

that

the

interpreter's

abilities

to

"imaginatively

enter"

and be

empathetic

is crucial

to the

quality

of

interpretation,

and also

suggestive

of

where

a "science"

of

interpretation

leaves

off

and an "art"

of

interpretation

begins.

Be that

as it

may,

it

is

in

and

through

both this

"objective"

and

"subjective"

element that the aesthetic and the religious character are to be understood.

We shall

do this

in the

following

with, first,

a

concern

for

yigen

and sabi

in

Heian

poetry

and

poetics

and,

second,

an

analysis

of

yfigen

in

Zeami

(1363-

1444),

and

sabi

in

Basho

(1644-1694).

A.

Considerations

of yfgen

and

sabi

in Heian

poetry

and

poetics

The

suggestion,

though

it

goes

little

beyond

that,

that

yigen

and

sabi reflect

two

distinct traditions

of

meaning

can be found

in a

variety

of

places.

It

resides

by

implication

in

Ienaga's

analysis

of and distinction

between

two views

of

the

religious

meaning

of nature in

Japan:

one which

perceives

the

mysterious

etherial

transcendent

in

and

through

the

impermanence

of

nature,

and

the

other

more affirmative

of

nature

and

phenomenal

reality

as

itself

the locus of



10/22

293

salvation.29

Of these

two,

the

yigen

of the

late Heian

poets

Shunzei

(1114-

1204)

and

Teika

(1162-1241) represents

the

former,

while the

sabi

of the

Heian

poet

Saigyo

(1118-1190) represents

the

latter.

Also

by implication,

the

distinction

might

be seen

in

Brower

and Miners'

comment

that:

"one

cannot

pursue

one's

study

of the esthetic ideals

of Zeami

or Basho

very

far without

returning

to Shunzei's ideal

of

yigen

or

Saigyo's

poetry

of

sabi."30

More

explicitly,

though

more

historically generalized,

it is also indicated

in

a comment

by

Van Meter

Ames:

"There

is

a

bipolar

tension between the

depth

of

yigen

and the

everydayness

of

sabi,

between the

mysterious

sense of

more

than

is there

and

delight

in

what is

right

there."31

In

looking

more

closely

at

yigen

and

sabi,

one finds that these

suggestions

generally

hold

true

and are

by

no

means

limited

to the

appearance

of these

terms

in the later

(Muromachi

and

Tokugawa)

tradition.

Rather,

the

very

foundations both of the religious character of these terms and of their dis-

tinctive

nature

are to

be found

in

the

latter Heian

and

early

Kamakura

periods.

In

the

hands of

such

people

as

Shunzei

and

Teika,

for

example,

yigen

seems

to

carry

a

fairly

distinct

meaning

which

clearly

reflects

a

religious

as well as

aesthetic

character.

The core

of this character

is

yugen

as

a

style/experience

which

draws one

into

a sense

of the

sublime,

mysterious,

ineffable,

hidden

Reality

or Essence

which

is revealed

in and

through

yigen

as

'through

a

glass

darkly.'

The context

for

understanding

this core

of

meaning

as

religious

is

threefold:

1. The influence

of

Heian

Buddhism

as it

suggests,

at least to these

poets

and

their

circle,

the Real

as

having

receded one

step

beyond

the

immediately

sensed

phenomenal

world,

with the

latter now

seen as

mujo

or

impermanent

2. The

continuing

influence

of their

own

unique Japanese

sense of nature

and

the refined

emotions

as

primary

loci for

the revelation of whatever

Reality

might

be

3. The

whole

Way

art ideal

as a

religious ideal-especially

as it

applies

to

Heian

poetry

and is

related

to such

things

as Tendai Buddhist meditation

(shikan),

and

the search

for essences

(hon'i)

and the

depth

(fukami)

in

and

through

poetry.

Coming together

in

yfgen,

these various influences

help

create

an aesthetic

style/experience

in

and

through

which the

mysterious

profundity

of the

numinal

is

fleetingly

felt

in

and

through

the

impermanent

phenomenal

world. The

poem

which Shunzei

himself

singles

out

as most

exemplary

of

this is:

Yu sareba

As

evening

falls,

Nobe no

akikaze From

along

the moors

the autumn

wind

Mi

ni shimete Blows

chill into the

heart,

Uzura

naku

nari

And the

quails

raise their

plaintive

cry

Fukakusa no sato. In the deep grass of secluded Fukakusa.32

The

religio-aesthetic

meaning

of

this

poem

lies

in

its

ability

via

a

particular

style

and

atmosphere

to

draw

one

into a sense of the "more than" character



11/22

294

Pilgrim

of one's

experience

of

reality.

To

do

this,

of

course,

depends

in

great

degree

on

ability

and

readiness of

the

reader/hearer

to be drawn in

and

let the

poem

work its effect

on

him.

However,

it

would

be

my

contention

that

such is

both

the

intention of

the

artist,

and the

intention

thereby

of

the

poem

and

yugen.

It is

perhaps finally only

through

the

sensitivity

to

this

element

that

one could

perceive yugen in its core meaning as "the ideal of an artistic effect both

mysterious

and

ineffable,"

or as

something

concerned with life

and

destiny,

not with

matter

and

form;

with

the

changeless

and

permanent,

not

the

changing

and

passing.33

Perhaps

another

helpful way

to

understand

yuigen

as a

religio-aesthetic

category

is

to

look

briefly

at

the

closely

allied term

yoen

("etherial

beauty").

Though

subtle

distinctions between

these terms

may

well

exist,

for

our

pur-

poses,

their

similarity

helps

us

to understand a

kind

of

aesthetic

which

seeks

to

point beyond

itself to a

sense of

something beyond

any

form-however

aesthetically organized

or

perceived.

As Brower and Miner describe

it,

and as

they

perceptively

analyze

a

poem suggestive

of

it,

yoen

is an

etherial

dreamlike

beauty

"not of this

world" that

serves to

bridge

the

seeming gulf

between

time

and

timelessness

and between the

dreamlike

character

of the

phenomenal

world

and

the Real.34

Like

yoen, yuigen

functions as a

scrim,

haze,

or dream

through

which the

numinal is

vaguely

sensed. Whether

the numinal is

described

(more

buddhis-

tically)

as

Emptiness

(ku)

or

Nothingness

(mu);

or

(more

generally)

the

Univer-

sal, the timeless, the 'other world', the Real, the Essence, and so forth; the

intent to

point

to

it

or evoke it

seems clear. Earl

Miner

suggests,

in

this

context,

that

dream is

a

central

metaphor

for

the

phenomenal

world

in

Heian

poetics

and,

though

he

goes

on

to discuss

this

in

relation to a

different

theme,35

we

might say

that that

dream,

apprehended

in

and

through yuigen,

points beyond

itself

to

a

sense of

Reality

veiled

by,

and

not

confined

to,

the

phenomenal

world. Shunzei

himself

speaks

of

yigen

as

follows:

It

is not

necessary

that

a

poem always

express

some

novel

conception

or treat

an idea exhaustively, but ... it should somehow ... produce an effect both of

charm

and of

mystery

and

depth (yiugen).

If

it is a

good

poem,

it will

possess

a

kind of

atmosphere

that is

distinct from its

words and

their

configuration

and

yet

accompanies

them.

The

atmosphere

hovers over

the

poem,

as

it

were,

like

the haze that trails

over the

cherry

blossoms

in

spring,

like the

cry

of the deer

heard

against

the autumn

moon,

like

the

fragrance

of

spring

in

the

flowering

plum by

the

garden

fence,

like the autumn

drizzle that drifts

down

upon

the

crimson

foliage

on some

mountain

peak.

As

I

have so often

said

before,

there

is an

undefinable

beauty

in

such

lines as 'What

now

is

real?/This

moon,

this

spring

are

altered/From

their former

being

...'

and

'Like

my

cupped

hands/

Spilling

drops

back

into the mountain

pool/And

clouding

its

pure

water.'36

It is

precisely

this

atmosphere,

which

is

related

to but distinct

from the

'words and their

configuration',

that we have discussed earlier

as the

experiential

dimension of

yugen,

and

it

is

finally

through

this

atmosphere

as a

dreamlike



12/22

295

scrim and haze that the

'good

poem'

serves

its

religio-aesthetic

function of

pointing beyond

itself

to

the

Real.

The

very

nature of

the

Real

at

this

point

makes such

a

dreamlike

scrim

necessary.

In

this

complex

Heian matrix of

Sino/Japo/Buddho

influences,

perhaps

the

most one

can

say

is that what

is

experienced

as Real is

neither

clear nor consistent.

The transient

phenomenal

world,

aesthetically

perceived,

may

be the

place

to

"see" the

Real,

but

the

"seeing"

and the "seen" is unclear

-indeed,

as

suggested

in the

root

meaning

of

the

gen

in

yugen,

it is

like

seeing

through

the 'color

of the

universe';

that

is,

a

deep

black.37

Therefore,

the

overriding

sense of

yfigen,

considered

as

a

religio-aesthetic category,

is as a

vehicle

through

which

a

larger

Reality

is

dimly

perceived.

It is

thus that

'through

a

glass

darkly'

becomes

an

appropriate

way

of

suggesting

its

meaning.

Although

in

many

ways

quite

similar to

yugen,

the

term sabi

(also,

sabishisa,

"loneliness")

is another

important

religio-aesthetic category

of the later

Heian

period, having its own distinctive character as both aesthetic and religious.

While

sabi in its

religio-aesthetic

meaning

may

not have as

widespread

a use

in

the Heian times

as

yiugen,

it

is

important

to focus on

here

not

only

for its

place

and

meaning

in

late

Heian

and in

contrast to

yigen,

but

as

background

for

understanding

its later use in

Basho

and

others.

As with

yfigen,

sabi has its own

history

and

complex

of

meanings.

Without

doing

an

injustice

to

this

complexity,

the

attempt

here

is

to

quickly

isolate

those instances

of use and

meaning

which reflect the

religio-aesthetic

intention.

This

can

be done most

concisely

here

by

suggesting

that

while sabi indeed

can

mean

loneliness

as

a

personal

and

painful feeling

of

separation

from

others,

in

the

hands of

Saigyo

and

Shunzei,

that

very

loneliness

is

valorized,

becoming

precisely

that

style/experience

in

and

through

which

the

Real

can be

directly

expressed

and

experienced.

Like

yugen,

this

sabi

means both

a

particular

style

and a

particular experience

or

atmosphere.

Like

yugen

also,

this

sabi

carries both aesthetic and

religious

meaning-the

latter influenced

by

the

same

threefold

influences mentioned

earlier for

yugen except

for a more

distinctly

Buddhist influence. Unlike

yugen,

however, sabi has its own distinctive style, experiential content, and sense of

the Real.

Since it

is

true

that

in

some instances

sabi bears a

resemblance to

yugen,38

it

might

be best

if we

further

isolate

a

distinctive

sabi

by

suggesting

its

important

relation to the recluse ideal that

is

growing

in

this

period

under the influence

of

Buddhism. Insofar as

Saigyo

is the

clearest

representative

of this distinctive

religio-aesthetic

sabi,

and insofar

as

the

very

foundation of much of

his

poetry

and

poetic

is

his

experience

as

a

detached recluse and

pilgrim,

it is

important

to

suggest

this as

an

important ingredient

in

the

meaning

of sabi. As

Ienaga

in

part suggests,

the recluse ideal of the latter Heian

period suggests

both a

Buddhist ideal of detachment

from

civilization

and from self

as

ego,

and a

valorization of nature

and

the loneliness found

there

as in and

of

themselves



13/22

296

Pilgrim

the locus

and

meaning

of Buddhahood.39

In

this

connection,

Ienaga says,

concerning

the

mountain

retreat

(yamazato)

or

recluse

ideal,

that the recluse

finds himself torn between

the need for human

companionship

and

the desire

for recluse

status,

and

...

At this

point

he

reaches an insoluble

difficulty.

However,

this

contradiction

is

broken not by neutralizing it but rather by a seeming paradoxical accepting

the

contradiction

as a

contradiction

in

a

higher

frame of mind.

That

is

to

say,

an

absolute

contradiction causes the self to

open up

through

absolute

negation.

To

explain

more

concretely,

a

special

frame of mind

opens up

in

which the

loneliness

(sabishisa)

of the

yamazato

in

its

loneliness

itself

is

conversely

the

highest joy

and becomes the

salvation of the

spirit.40

Translated into

poetic

and aesthetic

expression,

this

valorized sabi

appears

in

these

poems

by Saigy6

and Teika:41

Tou hito mo

Omoitaetaru

Yamazato no

Sabishisa nakuba

Sumuikaramashi

Kokoro

naki

Mi

ni

mo

aware wa

Shirarekeri

Shigi

tatsu sawa no

Aki

no

yuigure.

Mizu no

oto

wa

sabishiki io

no

tomo

nare

ya

mine

no

arashi no

taema

taema

ni.

Miwateseba

Hana mo

momiji

mo

Nakarikeri

Ura no tomaya no

Aki no

yiigure.

I

hope

no

more

That a friend will come to visit

This

village

in

the

hills,

And if it

were not for

loneliness,

This would be a wretched

place

to live.

(Saigy6)

While

denying

his

heart

Even

a

priest

cannot but

know

The

depths

of a

sad

beauty:

From

the marsh

a

long

bill

Flies off in the autumn dusk.

(Saigyo)

This

storm's

wet

fury

Hurls

down

from the

peaks

to

my (lonely)

hut;

But it's water itself

That

right

now

is

my

only

friend:

Drops dripping

in

the

gaps

and

pauses.

(Saigyo)

As

I

look about

What need

is there for

cherry

flowers

Or crimson leaves?

The inlet with its grass-thatchedhuts

Clustered

in the

growing

autumn

dusk.

(Teika)

In

each

case,

a situation

of aloneness

is

presented,

but the

reader

is

quickly

drawn

beyond any

sense of

personal

sadness

into

an

impersonal

atmosphere

or

feeling-tone

of

affirmed solitariness

in nature

by

the

particular

images

of

in these cases-retreat

huts,

autumn

dusk,

dripping

water,

a

bird

flying

off into

the

twilight,

and so forth.

Both these

particular

images,

and this

experience

or

feeling

into

which one

is

drawn,

are the

content of

sabi-a content

related to

but distinct

from

yugen

in its

emphasis

on

detachment,

on man midst a some-

what

less transient

dreamlike

phenomenal

world

(especially,

here,

nature),

and

an affirmation of

the

resultant loneliness

itself

as the

primary experiential



14/22

297

content,

having

both aesthetic

and

religious

meaning.

Whereas

the

governing

metaphor

for

yfigen

is dream

and

haze,

or

"through

a

glass

darkly,"

sabi

performs

more as a

detached

tranquil

wakefulness

in

the

phenomenal

world

(especially

nature),

which is itself

the

"numinal."

Similarly,

while

the

color

of

yugen

might

be

deep

black,

the color

of

sabi

might

be

thought

of as rust42

especially

as rust

suggests

the

worn,

withered,

abandoned,

detached,

and

lonely-but-beautiful-in-its-loneliness.

In

other

words,

the

sense

of the

Real as well

as the

particular

characteristics

of

the

term

are

distinct

and

different from

yugen.

Especially

if

we are to consider

Saigy6

as a

model,

and

especially

if

we follow

La

Fleur's

analysis

of

Saigyo's

valorization of nature as itself

soteric and

Buddha,

the Real

is

in

the

mind-at-

one-with-nature-as-Buddha,

and

this oneness

with

nature-as-Buddha can

be

experienced

in

and

expressed through

sabi as

a

religio-aesthetic

category-

especially

expressed

and

experienced

here in

poetry.

The

Real thus is

not

hidden and veiled, nor is it beyond or behind the phenomenal world, but

rather is that

very

"higher

frame

of

mind,"

in and

through

which the

phenom-

enal world is

absolutely

valorized and

experienced

in

detached,

impersonal

tranquil

solitariness,

Here,

beauty directly

represents

truth

and is

not

just

a

vehicle

for it.

Perhaps

what we have

here is

a

uniquely Japanized

aestheticized

form

of Buddha-mind.

B.

Considerations

of

yugen

and

sabi in Zeami

and

Basho

In

many ways,

and

certainly

here

including

sabi and

yfigen

as

distinct and

important religio-aesthetic

categories,

the Heian

period lays

the

foundation

for

things

to come.

As others

have

suggested,

while

certain

changes

and

fluctuations

do

take

place

in

these terms

after Heian

times,

the core

of their

meaning

remains

rather

constant.

It is

my

contention,

in

the

following,

that

this is

indeed the

case and

that this

basic

continuity

includes the

distinctions

between sabi and

yfigen.

Of

course,

this is an

admittedly

selective

continuity

insofar as we

shall

focus

only

on Zeami

and

Basho

as

exemplary

models.

However,

both these

artists

have often

been

singled

out as

highwater

marks in

the tradition, and in a representation if yuigenand sabi. As such, one might use

them as

exemplary

models

of the later

fulfillment

of the

ideal

meanings

of these

terms

for the

Japanese.

Keeping

in

mind

the

discussion in

part

I

as an

important

context for

what

follows,

let us

turn to Zeami and

yugen.

In

doing

so,

it

must

be

admitted

quickly

that

Zeami

reflects

almost all

the

variety

of

meanings

that

yigen

might

have-all

the

way

from

more

superficial

characteristics of an

outer

charm

and

elegance

to

a

more

profound, mysterious,

ineffable

beauty

pointing beyond

itself

to the

numinal.

To

some

extent,

this

spectrum

is

reflective of his

own

maturing

in the

art,

with the more

superficial

yiigen

being

stressed in

his

early

(1400)

work,

Kadensho,

and

the

more

profound

one

being

expressed

in

his

later

(ca

1419-1430)

works,

though

still

not

excluding

the

earlier

sense

too.



15/22

298

Pilgrim

Within this

spectrum,

Zeami does come

to a

general

sense and "definition"

of

yfigen

as an aesthetic

category.

The clearest

description

of this

is in

his

Kakyo

of 1424.43 Here

it

becomes clear that

the

stylistic

nature

of

yuigen

has

shifted to

images primarily

of

refinement

and

elegance, yet tinged

with

a

certain

melancholy

and

reflecting tranquility. Shifting

also from the

Heian

times,

yfigen

now is

present

not

only

in

words,

but

in

music, dance,

and

chant.

Generally

speaking,

yigen

is for Zeami the

key

aesthetic

category

and thus

may

be

equated

with what he calls the "flowers"

(hana)

of the art of the

No.

As

such,

in

general yugen

has

little

necessary

or

strong

sense of

religious

meaning.

However,

it

takes this

meaning

on as it becomes

applied

to or

spoken

about

in

terms of the

highest

levels of the art-the art of

the master actor.

Here,

yugen

becomes more

directly

related to

the

spiritual

ideals of the

art,

and

the

nature,

style,

and effect

of

such an art. Thus

yugen

takes

on a

deeper

and

deeper meaning

in

direct

proportion

to

the levels

of

ability,

and

the

"spiri-

tual strength" (shinriki)that develops therewith. This is nowhere more clearly

seen than

in

Zeami's

Kyui'i

shidai

(1427),

in which

the

upper

ranks

of the art

carry

with

them

both

an

increasing profundity

and

spiritual depth,

and in

which

yugen

remains the

primary

aesthetic criterion.

In

the

upper

three

ranks,

for

example,

the "flower" of the art

(now

relating

this

closely

with

yfigen)

is

described as

stillness,

supreme

profundity,

profound

mystery,

and the miracu-

lous.

In

short,

yugen

is a

versatile aesthetic

category

that can now be used to

express

the

profound

mysterious

art of the

master.

As Zeami

says:

"Thus,

in

the art of the

No,

before the

yugen

of a

master-actor

all

praise

fails,

admiration

transcends the

comprehension

of the

mind,

and all

attempts

at

classification

and

grading

are made

impossible."44

To

isolate

and

describe

this

highest

form of

yugen

more

precisely,

it

is

helpful

to talk about it

in

relation to the term

myo

("marvelous,"

"miraculous").45

Zeami

speaks

about

myo

(and

yuigen)

as

follows:

The

myo

aspect

transcends verbal

expression

and

defeats the devices

of the

ordinary

mind

(shingyo)....

At

the

top

of the

nine

ranks,

the

myo

flower is

called the

flower

with the

essence of

gold.

In

the instant that the intuitive

vision style (of the actor) impresses the spiritual/inner ear (shinni) (of the

audience),

the audience

responds

without

thinking,

this

is

the

myo

flower.46

Concerning myo:

The

term

my6

denotes the

mysteriously

wondrous.

That

which

I

call

myo

is

an

appearance

devoid of form.

This

absence of form

is

the essence of

myo.

In

N6,

that which

is

called

myo

may

be found

in

the

two elements of

singing

and

dancing,

and

also

in

other areas

of

acting.

However,

it cannot

be

clearly

pointed

out and

identified. The actor

expressing

myo

will

be one

who has

reached the

very

highest

level.

However,

through

natural

talent,

some

may

have indications of myo from the beginning (of their career). Though the actor

may

not be conscious

of

it,

it

may

appear

to the

practiced

eye

of the

watching

expert.

Of

course,

to the

general

audience,

it

may

appear

as a

style revealing

a

fascinating

effect.

Although

the

true

master

actor

is aware that he

possesses



16/22

299

the

myo

style,

he

is

not conscious

that he is

performing

it at this moment or

that. This non-awareness

is characteristic

of

the

essence

of

myo,

as

is the

impossibility

of

identifying

or

clearly

pointing

it

out.

However,

when con-

sidering

this

well,

can it not

be seen that this

myo

is

something

very

close to

the effect which

is

produced

when one masters

all the

styles

of

No,

reaches

the

level of

mastery,

enters the

security

of

the

highest

rank

and,

in no

matter

what

area

of

the

art,

attains

the levels of the mushin

mu

style?

Can it not also

be

said that the attaining of the highest degree of the yugen style approaches

myo?

Consider

this well.47

In all

of

this,

it

becomes

clear

that

yfigen,

as related to the

highest

ideals of

the

art,

takes on

a

character

of

myo

as a

mysterious,

ineffable,

marvelous

beauty pointing

beyond

itself to a

spiritual

dimension which-for

Zeami I

believe-is at once the

mu

and mushin

reflective

of Zen's

general

influence on

the Muromachi

arts,

and

yet

also

a

much more

generalized underlying

"essence"

hidden

in

the

veil

of

this

profound mystery.

The sense of the Real

being

ex-

pressed here is, in short, even more complicated than that of the Heian yugen,

including

as it

does now

both the

more

clearly

Buddhistic

Mind-language

(mu, mushin,

and

so

forth),

and

yet

still the sense of

the

mysterious

sacred

numinal

Reality beyond

the

phenomenal

world.48

Thus while some

changes

in

the

meaning

and nature of

yuigen

have taken

place

by

and

in

Zeami's

usage,

and while

yfigen

has

a

variety

of

meanings

even within

Zeami,

it is

our contention

here

that at the

highest

levels

of

Zeami's

art,

yuigen

carries

a

fundamentally

similar

religio-aesthetic

meaning.

The

governing

metaphor

may

shift from autumn haze or dream to

a

somewhat

cold

and distant

veil,49

and

the

color of

yugen may

shift from

deep

black

to

a

pure

white,

silver,

or

gold,

but the

basic

meaning

of an aesthetic

style/

atmosphere

of

ineffable

mystery

and

beauty,

pointing

beyond

itself

to

numinal

dimensions,

remains.

Similarly

for

sabi,

while

changes

do

occur

in

the

particular

aesthetic

style

and

experience,50

there is

an

important

continuity

in

the

central

nature

and

meaning

of the term-at least

as

used

by

Basho,

but

as

also

evidenced

in

the

sabi/wabi constellation

of

meanings

in

the tea

ceremony.51

This

continuity

is

related to and evidenced in three important considerations over and above

simply

his

general participation

in

the

religio-aesthetic

tradition

and the

Way

ideal

to

which that is related.

1.

As

discussed

in

part

I,

Bash6 stands within

a kind

of recluse or

yamazato

tradition,

which idealizes the

detachment from

ego-self

and civilization as

a

necessary

condition for

experiencing

Buddha-mind or

"tranquility

of

spirit."

While there are

any

number of

evidences

in Bash6's own

work

for

this,

perhaps

this

comment

by Ienaga

most

concisely captures

this

continuity

and its relation

to sabi: "So

finally

the

decisive reason that

Basho

is the

true heir of the

yamazato

spirit

is that he

experiences

an unlimited

religious

ecstasy

in the loneliness

(sabishisa)....

and

that

sphere

of

paradoxical

salvation of

the

yamazato

actually

finds in him its most

typical,

even its

most

thorough expression."52



17/22

300

Pilgrim

2.

Bash5,

like

Saigyo,

is

more

distinctly

and

completely

Buddhist than

those

through

whom we have seen

yugen.

While

Saigyo's

Buddhism

may

be

in

many respects

more

closely

allied with Heian Buddhism

and

Basho's

with

Zen,

the sense of

the Real as

reflected

through

sabi is

finally very

similar.

This

latter

point

will be

shown more

fully

in

what follows.

3. By Basho's own admission, Saigyo stands both as a model for him and

one

with

whom

he

identifies

at

the

very

core of what it means to be a

poet.

As

he

says,

and

as we

quoted

and

discussed

in

part

I,

he

sees

himself

in

common

with

Saigyo, Sogi,

Sesshu,

and

Rikyu

as

creating

out

of

a

mind/spirit

of

figa

or

a

combination of sensitive

refinement,

tranquil

detachment

and a

sense

of

unity

with nature and the whole cosmos.

Perhaps

we

might say

here

that,

like

Saigyo,

Basho

reflects

in

the

ideal

of

fuga

that same

Japanized

aestheticized

understanding

of Buddha-mind.

Of

course,

these

three

considerations,

of

themselves,

do not

necessarily

prove

anything

about the continuity of the nature and meaning of sabi as a

religio-aesthetic

category.

However,

when seen

in

conjunction

with an

analysis

of

Basho's

sabi,

they

become

important

supportive

evidence

and reasons

for

the

continuity.

Turning

more

directly

to

Basho's

sabi,

we

find

t

Philosophy East and West Volume 27 Issue 3 1977 [Doi 10.2307%2F1398000] Richard B. Pilgrim -- The...

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