Los Angeles pulses with a color palette and creative genius entirely its own — an urban landscape seemingly worlds apart from Japan. Yet, beneath the surface, wabi-sabi imbues the city. Like Japan, Los Angeles holds its own reverence for nature and beauty in the ordinary, and these moments await discovery along the city streets. Through this gallery, I invite you to uncover the surprising parallels between these seemingly different cultures, revealed through beauty in everyday scenes and our shared appreciation for life's impermanent nature.
At first glance, finding wabi-sabi in Los Angeles seemed impossible. How could a city notable for its individualism and relentless nature embrace beauty in simplicity? Looking closer, wabi-sabi reveals itself in unexpected places: a content cat basking in the evening light, Japanese black pines lining Sawtelle's sidewalks, a leaf blower finding solitude in his daily routine. These moments remind us that wabi-sabi isn't a confining philosophy – it exists wherever we pause to appreciate our simple lives. By embracing these principles, we can begin to see beauty in the overlooked, finding deeper meaning in the seemingly ordinary.