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Concept
Iki (aesthetics)
Summary
is a Japanese aesthetical concept thought to have originated amongst the merchant classes of Edo (modern-day Tokyo) in Edo period Japan.
Iki came to prominence within the context of the official social hierarchy of Edo-period Japan, subverting class through an expression of material wealth that formed an aesthetic language specifically aimed at one's peers – typically those within the merchant classes.
Sometimes misunderstood in the West as the archetypal or stereotypical aesthetics of Japanese culture, iki refers to a distinct aesthetic ideal of subdued displays of taste and/or wealth, with an emphasis on belying, on first glance, the efforts – monetary or otherwise – taken to appear stylish. Iki, having come into prominence around the same as many other now-traditional artforms, remains a cornerstone of aesthetic appeal and thought in traditional Japanese culture. Both geisha and kimono, amongst other cultural aspects, are thought to have been influenced by and developed through iki, and remain largely influenced by it to this day.
During the Edo period, a number of edicts were passed by the ruling samurai classes restricting expressions of material wealth by those officially lower in the social hierarchy as a way of preserving the status of the upper classes; this included edicts of dress preventing the lower classes from visibly appearing to be above their social class.
Though dress edicts had little impact on much of the working classes, who had little access to wealth allowing them to purchase new and expensive silk kimono, the merchant classes – socially impoverished but monetarily powerful – were directly hit by these laws, as changes had, over time, led them to control much of Japan's economy.
This led to the development of iki as an expression of the now-underground nature of the merchant classes' wealth; to obey the law was too safe, and to blatantly flout it too dangerous, leading to the rise of iki as both a visual dogwhistle and a neo-hierarchy within a specific societal peer group.
Official source
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