L’estetica del vuoto: l’universo in un cerchio

The definition of the ‘aesthetics of emptiness’ could be problematic in itself and, perhaps, even misleading, since it is based on some assumptions that are almost taken for granted in the West but which have no correspondence in the East and, above all, in the Chinese and Japanese contexts. The problem derives, first of all, from considering aesthetics as a specific philosophical discipline in its own right. This idea is not at all confirmed in Japan since a distinction has never been made between theory and practice. So why do we talk about the aesthetics of emptiness? And, above all, in what forms and with what tools has Japan answered this question? This paper tries, through some specific examples, to address these issues and to propose some possible answers.