Lo Zen e l’estetica del vuoto Forme dell’arte nella Via del Buddha

The coming to power of the bushi clans from the late twelfth century stimulated the emergence of a peculiar Japanese culture and aesthetics, with different characteristics from those that had prevailed in the aristocratic milieu of Kyōto in the previous period. The close relationship that had developed between the warrior class and the new Zen school coming from China stimulated the acculturation of the warriors and their appreciation of the arts. Zen, in fact, acted as an intermediary transmitting the great continental culture to the archipelago where, adapted to the Japanese environment where a virile character, marked by rarefied values of essentialism prevailed, gave birth to extraordinarily precious fruits characterised by great elegance and by a high spiritual sensibility. This essay aims to describe some aspects of what is called the ‘aesthetics of emptiness’ inspired by the doctrines of the Zen school.