There is another aesthetic approach that exists side by side with the approach that emerged from this way of living in which people are prepared to entrust their lives to the flow of nature. This other approach is based on the belief that creativity becomes possible precisely by resisting and destroying existing concepts and preconceptions that people have previously created. The aesthetic concept of ha (“destruction”) has invigorated and revitalized the other Japanese aesthetic that I have described here.

The idea of ha as it appears in the tripartite concepts jo-ha-kyu and shu-ha-ri is a revolutionary one. In this context it is considered to be a device that interrupts (destroys) the current flow and permits a major leap forward.

The idea is that life forces are stimulated by defiance and are realized precisely through the process of destruction.

Catastrophe is a vital force which comes into being at the moment of destruction, and the idea that it was destruction itself that constituted the essence of beauty was present in the sukiya tea huts created by Sen no Rikyu in the middle of the 16th century. The idea of displacing modules, copying the image of a ramshackle cottage, and using the most basic and elementary materials and forms of expression constituted a form of resistance to the military samurai class, who placed importance on extravagance and order.

Ha might be described as a kind of life-inducing device that lurks behind Japanese ways of thought.

(Jo-ha-kyu and shu-ha-ri: The aesthetic concept of jo-ha-kyu is the principle of acceleration used in Gagaku and other forms of Japanese traditional music. Shu-ha-kyu denotes the three-stage principle underlying traditional study methods whereby the student initially adheres to the knowledge he acquires from his teacher and then discovers himself by breaking away from this knowledge and creating his own unique world.)

	The sukiya was a message of revolt directed by the merchant Sen no Rikyu against Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who stood at the pinnacle of the military class. This destructive message directed against the ruling class resulted in the establishment of one of the key aspects of the Japanese aesthetic.
	Cherry blossoms are manifestations of the Japanese aesthetic not at the moment they come into full bloom but when they begin to fall. The vicissitudes of nature symbolize death and, at the same time, the advent of a new season.
	A chair designed by Shiro Kuramata. One senses the designer’s strongly destructive intent, which suggests revolt against the very nature of being.