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StillnessLanguage fact

Yūgen is a Japanese aesthetic idea of subtle, mysterious depth: a beauty felt through what is hinted at rather than fully shown or stated.

Japanese aesthetics

LanguagePhilosophy

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The word, written 幽玄, comes from Chinese philosophical texts, where it meant dim, deep or mysterious. Japanese poetry critics took it up in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries for verse that only hints at its full meaning; the poet Fujiwara no Teika counted it among the ten proper styles of poetry. Around 1400 Zeami, who with his father shaped Noh theatre, made yūgen the highest aim of performance. Images traditionally linked to his idea include watching the sun sink behind a flower-covered hill and following wild geese until they vanish into the clouds: the feeling lies in what is left unseen.

Türkçe oku
Yūgen, Japon estetiğinde ince ve gizemli bir derinliği anlatır: Açıkça gösterilen ya da söylenen değil, sezdirilen şeyin verdiği güzellik.

幽玄 diye yazılan sözcük Çin felsefe metinlerinden gelir; orada “loş, derin, gizemli” anlamına geliyordu. Japon şiir eleştirmenleri onu 12. ve 13. yüzyıllarda, anlamını tam söylemeyip yalnızca sezdiren şiirler için kullandı; şair Fujiwara no Teika, yūgen'i şiirin on doğru üslubundan biri saydı. 1400 dolaylarında, babasıyla birlikte Noh tiyatrosuna biçim veren Zeami, yūgen'i sahne sanatının en yüksek amacı yaptı. Onun bu düşüncesiyle özdeşleşen imgeler arasında çiçeklerle kaplı bir tepenin ardında batan güneşi seyretmek ve yaban kazlarını bulutların arasında kaybolana dek izlemek vardır: Duygu, görünmeyen yerde saklıdır.

Sources and further reading

Background reading: Yūgen
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