The Journey

Momoyama Period

1573 to 1603 A.D.

Momoyama Period

The tea master Sen no Rikyū formalized the roji as a passage: a path guests walked to leave the outer world behind before reaching the tea house. Stepping stones, stone lanterns, a stone water basin, each one precisely placed, none of it extra.

The principle of wabi, rustic simplicity, imperfection, the beauty of the plain, became central. In the roji, gardens set aside displays of aristocratic wealth for exercises in restraint. In their quiet modesty they found a deeper kind of beauty.

Momoyama Period, view 1 Momoyama Period, view 2 Momoyama Period, view 3

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