Kakuzō Okakura > Quotes

“Teaism is a cult founded on the adoration of the beautiful among the sordid facts of everyday existence. It inculcates purity and harmony, the mystery of mutual charity, the romanticism of the social order. It is essentially a worship of the Imperfect, as it is a tender attempt to accomplish something possible in this impossible thing we know as life.”
― Kakuzō Okakura, The Book of Tea

“Those who cannot feel the littleness of great things in themselves are apt to overlook the greatness of little things in others.”
― Kakuzō Okakura

“In joy or sadness flowers are our constant friends.”
― Kakuzō Okakura, The Book Of Tea

“Much has been said of the aesthetic values of chanoyu- the love of the subdued and austere- most commonly characterized by the term, wabi. Wabi originally suggested an atmosphere of desolation, both in the sense of solitariness and in the sense of the poverty of things. In the long history of various Japanese arts, the sense of wabi gradually came to take on a positive meaning to be recognized for its profound religious sense. ...the related term, sabi,... It was mid-winter, and the water's surface was covered with the withered leaves of the of the lotuses. Suddenly I realized that the flowers had not simply dried up, but that they embodied, in their decomposition, the fullness of life that would emerge again in their natural beauty.”
― Kakuzō Okakura, The Book Of Tea

“Translation is always a treason, and as a Ming author observes, can at its best be only the reverse side of a brocade- all the threads are there, but not the subtlety of colour or design.”
― Kakuzō Okakura, The Book of Tea

“Tea ... is a religion of the art of life.”
― Kakuzō Okakura, The Book of Tea

“Fain would we remain barbarians, if our claim to civilization were to be based on the gruesome glory of war.”
― Kakuzō Okakura, The Book of Tea

“We take refuge in pride because we are afraid to tell the truth to ourselves.”
― Kakuzō Okakura

“For life is an expression, our unconscious actions the constant betrayal of our innermost thought.”
― Kakuzō Okakura, The Book of Tea

“In the liquid amber within the ivory porcelain, the initiated may touch the sweet reticence of Confucius, the piquancy of Laotse, and the ethereal aroma of Sakyamuni himself.”
― Kakuzō Okakura, The Book of Tea

“We must know the whole play in order to properly act our parts; the conception of totality must never be lost in that of the individual.”
― Kakuzō Okakura, The Book of Tea

“Everyone has to build anew his sky of hope and peace.”
― Kakuzō Okakura, The Book of Tea

“Those of us who know not the secret of properly regulating our own existence on this tumultuous sea of foolish troubles we call life are constantly in a state of misery while vainly trying to appear happy and contented. We stagger in the attempt to keep our moral equilibrium and see forerunners
of the tempest in every cloud that floats on the horizon. Yet there is joy and beauty in the roll of the billows as they sweep outward toward eternity. Why not enter into their spirit, or, like Liethse, ride upon the hurricane itself?”
― Kakuzō Okakura

“The Taoist and Zen conception of perfection... the dynamic nature of their philosophy laid more stress upon the process through which perfection was sought than upon perfection itself. True beauty could be discovered only by one who mentally completed the incomplete. The virility of life and art lay in its possibilities for growth.”
― Kakuzō Okakura, The Book Of Tea

“New York City vagrant:
"What sort of 'nese are you people? Are you Chinese, or Japanese, or Javanese?"

Kakuzo Okakura responds:
"We are Japanese gentleman. But what sort of 'key are you? Are you a Yankee, or a donkey, or a monkey?”
― Kakuzō Okakura

“Behold the complacent salesman retailing the Good and True.
One can even buy a so-called Religion, which is really but common
morality sanctified with flowers and music. Rob the Church of her
accessories and what remains behind? Yet the trusts thrive marvelously,
for the prices are absurdly cheap,--a prayer for a ticket to heaven,
a diploma for an honorable citizenship.Hide yourself under a bushel
quickly, for if your real usefulness were known to the world you would
soon be knocked down to the highest bidder by the public auctioneer.”
― Kakuzō Okakura, The Book of Tea

“In my young days I praised the master whose pictures I liked, but as my judgment matured I praised myself for liking what the masters had chosen to have me like.”
― Kakuzō Okakura, The Book of Tea

“[Tea-masters] have given emphasis to our natural love of simplicity, and shown us the beauty of humility. In fact, through their teachings tea has entered the life of the people.”
― Kakuzō Okakura, The Book of Tea

“A master has always something to offer, while we go hungry solely because of our own lack of appreciation.”
― Kakuzō Okakura, The Book Of Tea

“...But it is also told that Niuka forgot to fill two tiny crevices in the blue firmament. Thus began the dualism of love--two souls rolling through space and never at rest until they join together to complete the universe. Everyone has to build anew his sky of hope and peace.”
― Kakuzō Okakura, The Book of Tea

“Why do men and women like to advertise themselves so much? Is it not but an instinct derived from the days of slavery?
Γιατί αρέσει τόσο πολύ η αυτοδιαφήμιση σε άνδρες και γυναίκες; Δεν είναι αυτό ένα ένστικτο με ρίζες στην εποχή της δουλείας;”
― Kakuzō Okakura, The Book of Tea