The Postures of Wabi-Sabi as Perpetuated on Ibuse Masuji’s Carp
Abstract
Literature is inseparable from the culture of its intrinsic and extrinsic meanings. It is proved on wabi-sabi, as finding simple perfectness in imperfectness, which has been embraced by Japanese people since 13th century. Carp is a short story by Ibuse Masuji that underlines uneasiness to let go a deceased person that has been befriended with for a long time. The fish of carp is a symbol of despair, but then it changes to a hope when the main character makes up his mind to be sincere in allowing his deceased friend to go. Then, how is wabi-sabi perpetuated on Ibuse Masuji’s Carp? Through qualitative method on cultural studies, this paper highlights condition of wabi-sabi as underlined in that story. Perfectness could not be found if any imperfectness is not well-appreciated. Any happiness could not be found if sadness is still held tightly. Appreciating death means knowing how valuable life is. The fish in this story is not merely an animal, but symbol of belonging that should be let go as the real owners has passed away too. In conclusion, wabi-sabi is exposed in this short story to tell how death is about imperfectness, but the freedom beyond any life is the perfection itself.
References
Adek, M., Pangesti, N. R., & Asmawati. (2020). Wabi-Sabi and Aesthetic of Love in Lang Leav’s Love and Misadventure. Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Language, Literature, and Education (ICLLE 2020), January. https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.201109.026
Cahyaningati, D. T. (2018). Portraying the Wabi Sabi Philosophy of Beauty in Kawabata’s Snow Country. Dinamika, 6(1), 628–638.
Cooper, T. M. (2013). The wabi sabi way: Antidote for a dualistic culture. Journal of Conscious Evolution, 10(10), 1–13.
Devi, R., Hasibuan, A., & Ferdinal, F. (2021). The Reflection of Wabi Sabi in the Novel Joseito by Dazai Osamu. Lingua Cultura, 15(2), 167–173. https://doi.org/10.21512/lc.v15i2.7004
English, P. (2016). Imperfection : Embracing Wabi-Sabi. Liminalities: A Journal of Performance Studies, 12(4), 1–8.
Fadiyah, L., Wulandari, L., Pujimahanani, C., & Pasopati, R. U. (2023). The Emprises of Gaia Hypothesis as Shown on the Film Maleficent. Jurnal Multidisiplin Dehasen, 2(2), 215–224.
Fazri, V. C., Rukhyana, B., & Susanti, H. (2020). Nilai Estetika Pada Shodou Khususnya Pada Gaya Sousho Berkaitan Dengan Teori Wabi-Sabi Dan Teori Zen. IDEA : Jurnal Studi Jepang, 2(2), 11–16. https://doi.org/10.33751/idea.v2i2.2779
Gallagher, K. (2020). Wabi Sabi: The Aesthetics of Imperfection, Impermanence, and Incompleeness. Independently Published.
Garcia, L. (2019). Rasa and Wabi - Sabi : Two Eastern Aesthetics for Everyday Living. 12th DLSU Arts Congress De La Salle University, 5–7.
Ibrahim, L. N., Calista, S. N., & Pasopati, R. U. (2023). The Relevance of God’s Voice in Conscience and Its Impact to Character Building. Proceeding International Conference on Religion, Science and Education, 349–355.
Juniper, A. (2003). Wabi Sabi: The Japanese Art of Impermanence. Tuttle Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.1984.03350220079040
Kempton, B. (2018). Wabi Sabi: Japanese Wisdom for a Perfectly Imperfect Life. Piatkus.
Koren, L. (1994). Wabi-Sabi for Artists, Designers, Poets, & Philosophers. Stone Bridge Press.
Longhurst, E. N., & Takemasa, R. (2018). A Little Book of Japanese Contentments: Ikigai, Forest Bathing, Wabi-sabi, and More. Chronicle Books.
Maheux, J.-F. (2016). Wabi-Sabi Mathematics. Journal of Humanistic Mathematics, 6(1), 174–195. https://doi.org/10.5642/jhummath.201601.11
Masuji, I. (2002). Ibuse Masuji: Carp. In The Oxford Book of Japanese Short Stories. Oxford University Press.
Millenia, P. A., Fitriani, N. A., Kartiningsih, R., & Pasopati, R. U. (2023). The Implementation of Irony of The Old Man as Indicated on Luigi Pirandello’s War. Jurnal Sosial Humaniora Dan Pendidikan, 2(1), 29–35.
Mori, A. (2019). Wabi-Sabi: The Japanese Philosophy Of Accepting Imperfection and Taking Pleasure In The Transient Nature Of Earthly Things. Charlie Creative Lab.
Pogosyan, M. (2017). The Beauty of Imperfection: The Japanese concept of wabi-sabi. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/between-cultures/201701/the-beauty-imperfection
Powell, R. R. (2004). Wabi Sabi Simple: Create Beauty, Value Imperfection, Live Deeply. Adams Media.
Rastogi, T., Saini, D., & Singh, S. (2021). A Brief Study on Wabi-Sabi: Impact on Fashion Industry. Wesleyan Journal of Research, 14(1), 261–274.
Rengganis, D. A., Hamidah, G. F. A., Kartiningsih, R., & Pasopati, R. U. (2023). Gender Discriminations as Reflected in the Film on The Basis of Sex. TANDA: Jurnal Kajian Budaya, Bahasa Dan Sastra, 3(2), 13–31.
Silva, J. A. T. da. (2013). Wabi-Sabi: A Way for Science (and the World) to Rediscover Itself. The Asian and Australasian Journal of Plant Science and Biotechnology, June 2013, 8–10.
Treviranus, J. (2010). The Value of Imperfection: the Wabi-Sabi Principle in Aesthetics and Learning. Open ED 2010 Proceedings, 2010, 1–10. http://openaccess.uoc.edu/webapps/o2/handle/10609/4869
Tsaknaki, V., & Fernaeus, Y. (2016). Expanding on Wabi-Sabi as a design resource in HCI. Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Proceedings, 5970–5983. https://doi.org/10.1145/2858036.2858459
Wilkinson, D. (2022). Wabi-sabi: a virtue of imperfection. Journal of Medical Ethics, 48(11), 937–938. https://doi.org/10.1136/medethics-2021-108074
Williams, D. H., & Shipley, G. P. (2019). Japanese Poems with Strong Nature Themes as a Tool for Environmental Education. Creative Education, 10(11), 2457–2472. https://doi.org/10.4236/ce.2019.1011174
Wulan, S. (2021). The Philosophy of Wabi-Sabi on Chashitsu Tai-an Myokian Shrine: A John Fiske’s Semiotic Analysis. Japanese Research on Linguistics, Literature, and Culture, 3(2), 157–165. https://doi.org/10.33633/jr.v3i2.4642
Yang, J. (2021). The Meaning and Expression of Wabi-Sabi in Environmental Art Design. Pacific International Journal, 5(1), 06–09. https://doi.org/10.55014/pij.v5i1.15
Yurt, E., & Basarir, S. B. (2020). Aesthetics of Anaesthetics: Western Postmodern Attitude and Japanese Wabi-Sabi (侘寂). Kaygı. Uludağ Üniversitesi Fen-Edebiyat Fakültesi Felsefe Dergisi, September, 665–696. https://doi.org/10.20981/kaygi.792651
Cahyaningati, D. T. (2018). Portraying the Wabi Sabi Philosophy of Beauty in Kawabata’s Snow Country. Dinamika, 6(1), 628–638.
Cooper, T. M. (2013). The wabi sabi way: Antidote for a dualistic culture. Journal of Conscious Evolution, 10(10), 1–13.
Devi, R., Hasibuan, A., & Ferdinal, F. (2021). The Reflection of Wabi Sabi in the Novel Joseito by Dazai Osamu. Lingua Cultura, 15(2), 167–173. https://doi.org/10.21512/lc.v15i2.7004
English, P. (2016). Imperfection : Embracing Wabi-Sabi. Liminalities: A Journal of Performance Studies, 12(4), 1–8.
Fadiyah, L., Wulandari, L., Pujimahanani, C., & Pasopati, R. U. (2023). The Emprises of Gaia Hypothesis as Shown on the Film Maleficent. Jurnal Multidisiplin Dehasen, 2(2), 215–224.
Fazri, V. C., Rukhyana, B., & Susanti, H. (2020). Nilai Estetika Pada Shodou Khususnya Pada Gaya Sousho Berkaitan Dengan Teori Wabi-Sabi Dan Teori Zen. IDEA : Jurnal Studi Jepang, 2(2), 11–16. https://doi.org/10.33751/idea.v2i2.2779
Gallagher, K. (2020). Wabi Sabi: The Aesthetics of Imperfection, Impermanence, and Incompleeness. Independently Published.
Garcia, L. (2019). Rasa and Wabi - Sabi : Two Eastern Aesthetics for Everyday Living. 12th DLSU Arts Congress De La Salle University, 5–7.
Ibrahim, L. N., Calista, S. N., & Pasopati, R. U. (2023). The Relevance of God’s Voice in Conscience and Its Impact to Character Building. Proceeding International Conference on Religion, Science and Education, 349–355.
Juniper, A. (2003). Wabi Sabi: The Japanese Art of Impermanence. Tuttle Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.1984.03350220079040
Kempton, B. (2018). Wabi Sabi: Japanese Wisdom for a Perfectly Imperfect Life. Piatkus.
Koren, L. (1994). Wabi-Sabi for Artists, Designers, Poets, & Philosophers. Stone Bridge Press.
Longhurst, E. N., & Takemasa, R. (2018). A Little Book of Japanese Contentments: Ikigai, Forest Bathing, Wabi-sabi, and More. Chronicle Books.
Maheux, J.-F. (2016). Wabi-Sabi Mathematics. Journal of Humanistic Mathematics, 6(1), 174–195. https://doi.org/10.5642/jhummath.201601.11
Masuji, I. (2002). Ibuse Masuji: Carp. In The Oxford Book of Japanese Short Stories. Oxford University Press.
Millenia, P. A., Fitriani, N. A., Kartiningsih, R., & Pasopati, R. U. (2023). The Implementation of Irony of The Old Man as Indicated on Luigi Pirandello’s War. Jurnal Sosial Humaniora Dan Pendidikan, 2(1), 29–35.
Mori, A. (2019). Wabi-Sabi: The Japanese Philosophy Of Accepting Imperfection and Taking Pleasure In The Transient Nature Of Earthly Things. Charlie Creative Lab.
Pogosyan, M. (2017). The Beauty of Imperfection: The Japanese concept of wabi-sabi. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/between-cultures/201701/the-beauty-imperfection
Powell, R. R. (2004). Wabi Sabi Simple: Create Beauty, Value Imperfection, Live Deeply. Adams Media.
Rastogi, T., Saini, D., & Singh, S. (2021). A Brief Study on Wabi-Sabi: Impact on Fashion Industry. Wesleyan Journal of Research, 14(1), 261–274.
Rengganis, D. A., Hamidah, G. F. A., Kartiningsih, R., & Pasopati, R. U. (2023). Gender Discriminations as Reflected in the Film on The Basis of Sex. TANDA: Jurnal Kajian Budaya, Bahasa Dan Sastra, 3(2), 13–31.
Silva, J. A. T. da. (2013). Wabi-Sabi: A Way for Science (and the World) to Rediscover Itself. The Asian and Australasian Journal of Plant Science and Biotechnology, June 2013, 8–10.
Treviranus, J. (2010). The Value of Imperfection: the Wabi-Sabi Principle in Aesthetics and Learning. Open ED 2010 Proceedings, 2010, 1–10. http://openaccess.uoc.edu/webapps/o2/handle/10609/4869
Tsaknaki, V., & Fernaeus, Y. (2016). Expanding on Wabi-Sabi as a design resource in HCI. Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Proceedings, 5970–5983. https://doi.org/10.1145/2858036.2858459
Wilkinson, D. (2022). Wabi-sabi: a virtue of imperfection. Journal of Medical Ethics, 48(11), 937–938. https://doi.org/10.1136/medethics-2021-108074
Williams, D. H., & Shipley, G. P. (2019). Japanese Poems with Strong Nature Themes as a Tool for Environmental Education. Creative Education, 10(11), 2457–2472. https://doi.org/10.4236/ce.2019.1011174
Wulan, S. (2021). The Philosophy of Wabi-Sabi on Chashitsu Tai-an Myokian Shrine: A John Fiske’s Semiotic Analysis. Japanese Research on Linguistics, Literature, and Culture, 3(2), 157–165. https://doi.org/10.33633/jr.v3i2.4642
Yang, J. (2021). The Meaning and Expression of Wabi-Sabi in Environmental Art Design. Pacific International Journal, 5(1), 06–09. https://doi.org/10.55014/pij.v5i1.15
Yurt, E., & Basarir, S. B. (2020). Aesthetics of Anaesthetics: Western Postmodern Attitude and Japanese Wabi-Sabi (侘寂). Kaygı. Uludağ Üniversitesi Fen-Edebiyat Fakültesi Felsefe Dergisi, September, 665–696. https://doi.org/10.20981/kaygi.792651
Published
2024-07-17
How to Cite
PASOPATI, Rommel Utungga et al.
The Postures of Wabi-Sabi as Perpetuated on Ibuse Masuji’s Carp.
J-Litera: Jurnal Kajian Bahasa, Sastra dan Budaya Jepang, [S.l.], v. 6, n. 1, p. 1-13, july 2024.
ISSN 2721-348X.
Available at: <https://jos.unsoed.ac.id/index.php/jlitera/article/view/9190>. Date accessed: 13 mar. 2025.
doi: https://doi.org/10.20884/1.jlitera.2024.6.1.9190.
Section
Articles
.png)
