iki | life

is a concept which evolved in the Edo period along with the licensed prostitution quarters to express an aesthetic of love involving flirtation without unseemly clinging to the loved one.

As a concept which evolved in the Edo period along with the licensed prostitution quarters, iki expressed an aesthetic of love that involved flirtation without excluding pride and a certain gallant detachment; a person with this quality has reached a kind of state of enlightenment in which there is no unseemly clinging to the loved one.

is a product of the cul­ture of Edo, and in some ways contrasts with the aesthetics of Kyoto and Osaka

Within Japan, iki is a product of the cul­ture of Edo, and in some ways contrasts with the aesthetics of Kyoto and Osaka. Kuki Shuzo points out that geometrical patterns, parallel lines, and cool, dark colors are said to be iki, while pictorial patterns, curved lines, and bright, motley colors are not. Even today this distinction coincides exactly with the differences in fashion sense of women in the Kanto (especially Tokyo) and Kansai regions.

is representative of Edo, with geometrical patterns, parallel lines, and cool, dark colors while pictorial patterns, while Kyoto’s style which is not iki is characterized by curved lines, and bright, motley colors.

iki life, n.All

iki life