The ceramic bowl with an uneven glaze. The teacup mended with gold lacquer.

The images are calming and attractive.

They are said to reflect wabi-sabi – a Japanese aesthetic often summarised in the West as valuing imperfection, impermanence and incompleteness.

And wabi-sabi is having a moment on social media. It’s linked to everything from interior design to makeup trends and happiness.

So can wabi-sabi improve your wellbeing? Here’s what the psychological evidence says.

At its core, wabi-sabi, as it is commonly understood in the West, rests on three simple ideas: things are flawed, things change, and things are never fully finished.

There isn’t much scientific research on wabi-sabi itself. You won’t find clinical trials testing the effects of “becoming wabi-sabi”.

But the ideas behind wabi-sabi reflect several well-established principles in psychology – responding kindly to imperfection, accepting change, and loosening rigid perfectionism.

Read more: What is the Japanese ‘wabi-sabi’ aesthetic actually about? ‘Miserable tea’ and loneliness, for starters

Imperfection and self-compassion

Wabi-sabi begins with imperfection. Instead of disguising cracks, it incorporates them. The flaw becomes part of the object’s character, not proof it is worthless.

In psychological terms, this resembles self-compassion – responding to your own mistakes or shortcomings with warmth and care, rather than harsh self-criticism.

Self-compassion does not pretend errors do not exist. It changes how we relate to them.

Research........

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