shibui

Hello and welcome to Word of the Week! I’m your host, Liz. This podcast is dedicated to words and phrases that are untranslatable into English. Let’s discover the nuance of the world’s languages, shall we?

This week’s word is shibui. A Japanese word meaning ‘the beauty of aging’. One of the many words in Japanese remarking on beauty. Shibui, like wabi or sabi or aware, speaks to a specific kind of beauty. This is about beauty that only time can reveal. Shibui can be used to describe the taste of a certain type of tea, the scenery of moss covered gardens, or the impression you get when looking at an older person’s face. 

To a Japanese person, the emotional connotation of shibui is culturally natural and familiar. To a Westerner, you might need an example to understand it fully. Think of Katherine Hepburn. She was a traditional beauty in her youth, but she grew into a different kind of beauty as she aged. And not just how she looked, but how her character deepened and solidified. The grit and grain of her as a person was more revealed in older age, rather than hidden beneath the surface of a smooth, young facade. 

But again, it’s not just the beauty of aging in humans, it’s the beauty of the taste of an aged tea or for Westerners, a cheese or cured meat. Taste and smell is very closely linked to our emotional connection with the world and our memory. If you taste an aged food or drink, your reaction isn’t just to the taste or smell, it’s to the environment the food came from. 

We remember life’s flavors, we understand nature’s cycles of growth and decay, so we recognize the potent symbol shibui can reflect to us. In a prominent consumer culture where starlets get plastic surgery, and entire industries are focused on the culture of youth, the kind of face that reflects a life well-lived isn’t as highly valued as it could be. Maybe the next time someone complains about the ravages of time, just tell them that they’re starting to exhibit a delightful shibui.

Here’s to this week… May you all endeavor to adopt this Word of the Week and see the world a little bit differently. I’ll be back next week with a new word. Thank you for listening!