Asymmetry
The Japanese concept of beauty incorporates none of the symmetry that is to be found in pre-modern Western and traditional Chinese perceptions of beauty. In symmetry, left and right, size, and volume are orchestrated to create perspective and balance. In asymmetry, the balance between left and right is altered to create a dynamic beauty.
Japanese flower arrangement (ikebana) enthusiasts will probably recall their first encounter with this art form with amusement, for the temptation must have been to construct a neat arrangement of equal numbers of flowers contained within a perfectly round or square perimeter. Though, of course, circles and squares do exist in Japanese design, it is the triangle that defines Japanese flower arrangement, and three main stems—long, medium, and short—are arranged in a triangular area in exciting, but comfortable, tension.
In terms of architecture, Buddhist temples built under strong Chinese influence in Japan in the eighth century had already begun to alter the imported aesthetic of symmetry by allotting different emphasis to different parts. A fine example is the Horyu Temple compound in Nara in western Japan where two unequal masses, the tall, slender pagoda and the low, wide Golden Hall, stand alongside each other. Here, again, one can see the aesthetic of dynamic tension asserting itself.
It is difficult to explain the Japanese love for asymmetry, yet it cannot be unconnected with their perception of nature. If, as proposed by a Japanese anthropologist, Western culture originated in the world of the desert, then perhaps the desert dwellers' view of the universe gave birth to monotheism and saw beauty in perfect symmetry that has little relevance to nature as a whole. And, if, in contrast, Japanese culture is seen to have originated in the chaotic world of the forest, then perhaps the pantheism that evolved led to an appreciation of the unbalanced harmony in the tension created by dynamic forces locked in unresolved conflict.
Asymmetry in Japanese flower arrangement
Asymmetry in Japanese architecture.
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