Ageing with grace
Running counter to Western anti-ageing messages, the Japanese philosophy of shibui teaches that beauty, harmony and a simple appreciation of life all deepen with the passing of time
When it comes to the concept of ageing well, the Japanese philosophy of shibui offers a powerful antidote to the modern Western obsession with youth. Shibui places value on change, wisdom, peace, dignity, connecting with nature – even wrinkles! It is an understanding that there is a simple beauty to be found in the passing of time.
In her new book, Shibui: The Japanese Art of Finding Beauty in Aging, Seattle-based author and artist Sanae Ishida draws on her own Japanese-American upbringing, as well as her personal experiences of being a woman in midlife, to explore different dimensions of ageing well, namely beauty, health, purpose, wealth, connection and approaching life’s natural end. She writes: ‘In the shibui perspective, ageing isn’t something to conceal and overcome, but rather a natural progression that confers dignity and worth.’
What is shibui?
Sanae’s book outlines the seven qualities commonly attributed to shibui as ‘simplicity, implicitness, modesty, silence, naturalness, everydayness and imperfection’. She says that although difficult to define precisely, shibui could be likened to a river – a way of living that is active and immersive, but with a ‘profound stillness that reigns within and beneath’. Sanae says that she often heard her Tokyo-born mother saying that something ‘was shibui’, and wondered initially what it meant. ‘Shibui is such an interesting word – in Japanese it’s more like a feeling,’ she says. ‘What I love about the concept is that it’s very nuanced, and ageing can be very nuanced too. My mother used it to mean sophistication, being down to earth, simplicity and refinement.’
The philosophy is based around the profoundly spiritual feeling you might experience when you come across someone or something that reveals a beauty that only age could create. ‘I like to think about trees turning red and gold with the changing of the seasons,’ says Sanae. ‘We celebrate their beauty – we don’t go painting the leaves to make them green again.’