Ephemeral beauty - Hakana Bi “Beauty, to the Japanese of old, held together the ephemeral with the sacred. Cherry blossoms are most beautiful as they fall, and that experience of appreciation lead the Japanese to consider their mortality. Hakanai bi (ephemeral beauty) denotes sadness, and yet in the awareness of the pathos of life, the Japanese found profound beauty. For the Japanese, the sense of beauty is deeply tragic, tied to the inevitability of death.” — Makoto Fujimura @iamfujimura