Mono no Aware, Wabi, Sabi, Yûgen

Jûdô players today are plagued with choices. Should they go to practice for fun, education, competition, or other reasons? Should they buy a blue jûdôgi, a white one, or an unbleached one? Should their jûdôgi be a single weave or a double weave? Should they bow? Should they learn falling and rolling?

The questions a beginning, intermediate, or advanced student faces are manifold. Some of them are simple, like how do you count in Japanese. Others are difficult, such as how to perform advanced waza. Some seem very simple and yet are incredibly complex, like the joshi obi and the appropriate selection of a uniform.

This entry is about the appropriate selection of a uniform. I’m not going to argue with any who come here and make them feel that if they don’t do it the way I believe they should they are wrong. I’m simply going to lay out my interpretation of appropriate based on wabi, sabi, yûgen, and mono no aware as I understand them.

MONO NO AWARE (物の哀れ)

A basic definition of mono no aware is a pathos of things referring mostly to the impermanence of all things in the world. Accepting mono no aware within ourselves, we accept that things are more valuable because they are fleeting, not because they are simply beautiful.

Take the Japanese love of the cherry blossom. These simple flowers are quite pretty in all their varieties, but they are no rose. The cherry blossom is valued more highly by the Japanese specifically because they tend to fall shortly after their first appearance, usually no more than a week or two.

WABI (侘、わび)

Wabi can be translated simply as a simple and austere beauty. In thinking of wabi the philosopher thinks of the absolute requirements to complete the thing being done. For example, some things gain value through use but, if the thing is bought brand new, little regard is kept for them in the beginning. These objects seem to develop a character all their own, in judo, a favorite, well-worn jûdôgi or obi.

Looking at the case of the blue or white jûdôgi one should consider the intent. The white uniform is traditional, though not strictly adhering to the wabi ethic, though acceptable. The blue uniform, distinctly non-traditional and lacking in simplicity due to the reason for its inception into jûdô (differentiation of jûdô players in competition), does not conform to the wabi ethic.

Finally, the most acceptable, is the unbleached jûdôgi. This is thought, by many students and instructors, to be a beginner’s uniform. Something to be worn until one dedicates themselves to jûdô. However, the lack of bleaching more strictly adheres to the wabi ethic.

SABI (寂、さび)

A rustic patina, as when things age and develop a certain aspect, like the Statue of Liberty’s green tint, defines sabi at its most basic level. When one considers sabi on could look at the Golden Pavilion at Kinkakuji in Kyoto, Japan. The original was built in the fourteenth-century but was destroyed by fire in 1950. In 1955, an exact replica of the Golden Pavilion was built, including the gold leaf covering originally intended. The original, with 500 years of history and aging, was rife with sabi. The new, as lamented by many of the long-time residents of Kyoto, lacks sufficient sabi to be worth looking at. (Japanese Aesthetics, 2005)

Taking the concept of sabi and applying it to jûdô, one could consider a dôjô with many years of practices. A place that has developed its own character that cannot be separated from jûdô and would be greatly missed or not easily replaced should something happen to it.

YÛGEN (幽玄)

Yûgen is a profound grace when viewing this world, not the world beyond, and experiencing this world with one’s cultivated imagination. Have you ever looked at a kata or randori where everything seems to flow so smoothly that imagination sees everything?

Take into consideration the performance of Ju no Kata (柔の形) or Itsutsu no Kata (五の形). Both of these kata display the essence of jûdô. The expert performer of these seems to flow effortlessly through each movement, so integrated into the performers’ persons that they seem not to be performing kata, but doing what comes naturally. This is yûgen.

WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH JÛDÔGI?

The first thing to consider is the purpose of jûdô, which, as defined by Dr. Kano, is the “eventual perfection of the human character.” Thinking about perfecting character, one must learn how to subjugate one’s desire for pre-eminence and ego-gratification. In the early stages of one’s jûdô education, desiring to learn more and become better than another is normal. This desire of knowing more or being better than someone else is ego boosting and contrary to perfecting character. The student in the early stages of jûdô should start learning and growing. The instructor should be guiding the student away, gently, from the belief that the student is better than others.

Dr. Kano developed the jûdôgi. It was specifically created and formalized to create equality in learning jûdô. This equality in appearance helps all students, new and old, to recognize that they are there to help each other become better people. Specifically, Dr. Kano selected unbleached cotton because it is simple, thus conforming to the wabi ethic.

The blue jûdôgi was introduced by the International Judo Federation to help spectators and other observers of a jûdô match watch and understand the gross movements used in shiai (試合). The wabi principle is very clearly violated in this case because it is used to differentiate competitors, not because of the color.

How does one decide? In my club, it’s simple. I order the uniforms and I order the white jûdôgi. I don’t advise my students to get blue jûdôgi unless they are competing actively. The final question is single- or double-weave; another fairly simple decision. I recommend that beginners who have not thoroughly decided to commit to jûdô purchase a single-weave. I advise competitors and long-term students buy a double-weave or other longer wearing jûdôgi.