Yuugen (The subtle and profound) :
What is neither apparent in the meaning of words nor clearly visible to the eyes, for these very reason, the aesthetic world that man can sense behind it all: This is Yuugen. It is one of the emotions flowing in the depth of the Japanese feelings that value suggestiveness and encourage brevity. This kind of deep emotion is related to the process of shaping a short poetic style which tries to express everything using limited kinds and numbers of words.That is to say, the beauty of Yuugen, which values suggestiveness, is an aesthetic quality that takes shape where only a few words can awaken many thoughts. Therefore, it can be said to be an aesthetic world made possible only in a community sharing a homogeneous culture, where people communicate without saying everything.Wabi, Sabi (Subtle taste, Elegant simplicity) :
Wabi and Sabi are the highest aesthetic value aimed at by traditional Japanese arts, particularly the tea ceremony and poems in seventeen syllables. The two values have at bottom common qualities such as a sense of quiet sadness at bottom, encouragement of simplicity and rejection of gaudiness. Wabi expresses a way of being quietly clear and calm, a state mainly pursued by Sen-no Rikyuu who perfected the art of the tea ceremony. Sabi means having well-seasoned, refined simplicity, an ideal state in Bashoo's poem in seventeen syllables. Both men sought the beauty that is one with nature free from worldly concerns and annoying human relations.Mujoo (Transience) :
Mujoo is one of the most important views of the world in Buddhism, it refer to the notion of the transmigration of souls, which holds that every single life inevitably dies and everything is under constant changes.Ma (Interval in time or space) :
Ma means an interval in time or space, but it is not simply a blank. It is a concept that can even be the key word when practicing or commenting on traditional Japanese art, especially theater such as NOH and KABUKI, dance, music, storytelling, and painting. This Ma is closely connected to rhythm and breathing, and is originally a concept from music that was applied to other fields of arts. In theater, it is realized by a kind of stillness inserted in spoken lines or between actions to leave suggestiveness, and in music, Ma is realized in different ways according to a performer's interpretation. In painting, the effect of empty space on the whole is important. Thus, the void containing nothing considerably affects the movement and expression of the whole.Haji (Shame) :
The sense of shame is said to form the core of the Japanese mentality. This is a concept that spread when the anthropologist Ruth Benedict classified Japanese culture as a "shame culture", as oppose to the Western " guilt culture". According to this classification, in Western countries, the absolute moral standard of guilt forms a principle of people's behavior, but, in Japan, behavior is not ruled by an inner principle but an external feeling of shame. There are various criticism against this kind of simplification. For example, Western people. Too, have a sense of shame like the Japanese, and the Japanese also have an inner moral principle. Nevertheless, it is true that the Japanese place importance on the sense of shame. Particularly for Samurai in the feudal period, being put to shame in public was as good as being dead.