Fuzei (風情)

Fuzei is one of the aesthetic feelings which have existed from ancient times in Japan. Generally speaking, it means that the objects are deteriorated by the wild nature for a long time or that we find some beauty, omomuki (taste, meaning) or mood in the fragile, the simple or the empty which are created by Japanese four seasons per se and feel it in our minds. Also we make our minds calm by feeling it and sometimes stir our minds and make them rich.

However, the term 'fuzei' can also be used to refer to matters concerning a person's personal history, education, or aesthetic sensibilities, so it is a fairly ambiguous word that can not be precisely defined.

Recently, as a typical example, Japanese admire England which is supposed to be a country of gentlemen and likewise, lots of foreigners come to like Japan admiring 'fuzei' with the global trend of Japonism.

[Original Japanese]