In “The Beauty of Everyday Things,” Soetsu Yanagi writes essays that concern the aesthetics of life in general but focus specifically on founding beauty in ordinary handmade objects. Yanagi Soetsu, Japanese philosopher and art critic, is one of the central figures in the Mingei (folk craft) movement that intends to celebrate and preserve the beauty of the craftsmanship of traditional handmade objects from Japan. In his essays, Yanagi argues that beauty is not something belonging to high art or luxurious items; it is found in the simple, day-to-day-useful objects decorated with art.
The Philosophy of Mingei
The philosophy that underpins his essays is referred to as well is Mingei, meaning folk craft. Mingei emphasizes strongly objects of beauty developed by unknown common craftsmen for common people. Often, the objects are utilitarian; tools, dishes, textiles; are not aimed at being works of art but gain natural beauty by their simplicity and functionality and are created sincerely. Yanagi believed that this type of object, produced with the intention of service and not display, had a genuine beauty, unlike that of elite objects.
Yanagi, whose spirit of craftsmanship was more based on the Zen philosophy of simplicity, naturalness, and imperfection, said that he appreciated objects which are “anonymous.” These objects seemed to be left without the creator’s name stamp and were shaped by tradition and necessity. According to Yanagi, such objects embody a collective wisdom and unconscious artistry far more profound than the individualistic expressions found in high art.
Beauty in Usefulness
One of the important themes in “The Beauty of Everyday Things” is that the most beautiful things are necessarily those that are useful. Yanagi argues that all such objects created to be used rather than merely displayed are beautiful because they can do something. For instance, a simple tea bowl or a wooden spoon, which each does something, bears a beauty in utility. The objects are not intended to be admired by their construction; the beauty comes naturally from the functionality and, at the same time, from the fact that they were constructed with care.
Yanagi indicates the difference with the art world, in which so much seems to be made to be merely beautiful, apart from practical use. He believes that concentration on beauty apart from the work itself results in superficial beauty with no thickness to it. In contrast, the tinge of wear and patina of years of use adds profundity to the beauty of everyday things and gives witness to the history of the object and the lives of those that used it.
The Role of the Craftsman
The craftsman, according to Yanagi, occupies a most honored position. Special veneration is reserved for the anonymous craftsmen of old, who made things because they were necessary, without the thought of art in their minds. It was these craftsmen, working within the guidance of tradition and the discipline of a communal setting, whom he credited with the ability to fashion beautiful things that would outlast any given period. Those craftsmen of old did not look for personal recognition, which is different for modern artists; their work was not judged on the criterion of originality but on its achievement of purpose, and they were more than content to remain unknown.
Through this, Yanagi centralizes the focus on the group or public rather than on individual aspects. He argues that those are produced without the ego or self-consciousness that characterizes the people who use them and produce them. Through repetition and adherence to tradition, through experience and knowledge of material and how to work on it, a purified item is formed without stifling creativity.
The Influence of Nature
Nature is behind a great part of Yanagi’s beauty. He is deeply affected by nature and believes truly beautiful things are those showing the forms and materials of nature. For example, true beauty may be found in the irregular form imposed upon a hand-thrown pot that may be hand-woven fabric, which yields a texture, or even the slight degrees of color found within a piece of wood – all according to Yanagi. These perfections—indeed, far from it—are what make the object beautiful in the first place, because they are a reflection of nature’s inherent variability.
Yanagi also reflected upon the necessity of being able to think of the natural materials—wood, clay, stone, and fibers—that were to age well in time. He contrasted this to the synthetic material, which would look perfectly new but mature badly. Therefore, Yanagi’s appreciation for natural materials was, in itself, an admiration of the impermanent—an erosion firmly enshrined within the fundamentals of Japanese aesthetics.
Critique of Modernity
Yanagi often denounces modernity in his essays, and he especially does regarding the form of industrialization and mass production that surfaced in the 20th century. He literally despairs at the loss of traditional skills and the object homogenization this characterizedness of industrial production. According to Yanagi, mass-produced things lack the experience of the individuality or character that was bestowed on handmade items. They are uniform, deprived of human touch, removed from the root materials from which they were made.
Yanagi is full of angst on the way industrialization would touch Japanese culture. As Japan advances through modernization, it would be estranged from its comparative roots, the legacy and historical strength of its traditions, and the characteristic aesthetic sense that developed over critical centuries. He calls for a return to the values of craftsmanship, simplicity, and the appreciation of everyday beauty that is central to the preservation of the Japanese culture.
Although written in the early 20th century, “The Beauty of Everyday Things” is a highly relevant book even today. In an age of mass consumption and disposability, the emphasis that Yanagi puts on quality and duration and the beauty of the handmade make his messages come across more pertinent than they ever did before. His essays reveal to us how to cherish the objects that are put into daily service, how to honor the craftsmen making them, and find beauty in totally ordinary things.
Yanagi’s work speaks tacitly to a larger philosophical meaning, as it defies modern understandings of beauty connected to affluence, status, and novelty. Instead, through this design, it offers a view of beauty as inherently democratic, accessible, and hinged on the rhythms of everyday life. By taking an interest in the ordinary as a source of beauty, Yanagi opened new philosophical and inspirational possibilities for the reconfiguration of a relation with the material world in this moment when industrial production was supplanting personal making in many areas of life.
This, therefore, in conclusion, makes “The Beauty of Everyday Things” something more than simply a tribute to stuff; it somehow epitomizes a deep kind of meditation over life, culture, and the human state. It calls for a reversion to simplicity, to love of the handmade, and to a better way of living with nature and tradition. The timeless message that Soetsu Yanagi is leaving through the window with his essays is that beauty isn’t what we seek in something extraordinary, but in an ordinary thing scattered all around us every day.