The Portfolio

Winter is the end of the seasonal cycle in the northern hemisphere. This season is associated with death and inactivity. 

Wabi (侘) is expressed in the clarity and simplicity that follow from the harsh conditions of survival that nature imposes in this season.  

Hie (冷え) - chill beauty. 

Shibui (渋い) - aesthetic of simple, subtle, and unobtrusive beauty.

Yohaku no bi (余白の美) - the beauty of paucity, an aesthetic appreciating the unexpressed portions of a scene. Natural scenes in winter often contain blankness.  

Kazahana (風花) - Snowflakes (literally "wind-flowers"). 

Mizore (霙) - Sleet. 

Shimo (霜) - Frost. 

Koori (氷) - Ice, frozen water. 

Ochiba (落葉) - fallen leaves. 

Sayuru (冴ゆる) - clear and cold Weather. 

Moya (靄) - Mist/fog. 

Spring is the beginning of the seasonal cycle in the northern hemisphere. This season is associated with birth and growth.

Sabi (寂) is expressed in the delicate, slow materialization (coming-to-life) of flora and fauna in nature. 

Aware (哀れ) - an emotion felt in response to beauty, especially one of a subtle, ephemeral nature. 

Seijakusei (脆弱性) - Fragility. Especially apparent in the delicate quality of flora in Spring. 

Shunkō (春光) - Spring sunlight. 

Wakamidori (若緑) - young green plants, fresh green. 

Harusame (春雨) - Spring Rain.

Kageroo (陽炎) - Heat Shimmer. The warm sun of spring heating up cold surfaces, producing a shimmering air. 

 Sakura (桜) - Cherry Blossoms.  

Summer is the climax of the seasonal cycle in the northern hemisphere. This season is associated with bloom and abundance. 

Wabi (侘) is expressed in the way Summer facilitates the amnesiac feeling of being in the present moment. 

Yūgen (幽玄) - subtly profound grace. Describes a beauty in "mystery and depth". In literal translation Yū means "dimness, shadow-filled" and gen means "darkness" - but the meaning transcends the literal translation to encapsulate a beauty that has a hidden, inscrutable element. 

Autumn in the northern hemisphere is the season of transition, the "descent", from the climax (Summer) to the end (Winter). This season is associated with maturity and incipient decline. 

Sabi (寂) is expressed in the subsiding, declining and dematerializing of flora and fauna in nature.  

Mujō (無常) - A Japanese word originating in Buddhism, Mujō (無常) means impermanence, transience or mutability.

Kanso (簡素) - Simplicity. The paring back of the rhythms of nature (cooler days and nights, shorter daylight, vegetation passing from bloom etc.) leads to a reduction of stimuli. 

Koko (考古) - Weathered Appearance. Altered in color, texture, composition, or form by exposure to the weather.

Shuuki (秋気) - Autumn Air. Gentle, crisp, calm. 

Momiji (紅葉) - colored autumn leaves, especially red and yellow. 

Uragare (末枯れ) - the withered twigs and branches of plants and trees in late autumn.