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Originally Posted by
videocrew 
Wabi means something similar to rustic simplicity, understated elegance, imperfection etc.
Sabi is the beauty that comes with age and wear, sortof like patina, but more all-encompassing.
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Originally Posted by
mickey711
Not exclusively, though. That page also defines it as "a beauty of things modest and humble" as well as "things unconventional."
The chapter of the book entitled Provisional Definition indicates that the closest English word to wabi-sabi is probably rustic, which is defined as "simple, artless, or unsophisticated ... [with] surfaces rough or irregular."
This chapter's definition of the words Wabi and Sabi differ fairly substantially from those offered by Videocrew:
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Originally, the Japanese words "wabi" and "sabi" had quite different meanings. "Sabi" originally meant "chill," "lean," or "withered." "Wabi" originally meant the misery of living alone in nature, away from society, and suggested a discouraged, dispirited cheerless emotional state. Around the 14th century, the meanings of both words began to evolve in the direction of more positive aesthetic values. The self-imposed isolation and voluntary poverty of the hermit and ascetic came to be considered opportunities for spiritual richness. For the poetically inclined, this kind of life fostered an appreciation of the minor details of everyday life and insights into the beauty of the inconspicuous and overlooked aspects of nature. In turn, unprepossessing simplicitity took on a new meaning as the basis for new, pure beauty.
The chapter goes on to argue that the meanings of both "wabi" and "sabi" have become conflated such that "When Japanese today say 'wabi' they also mean 'sabi,' and vice-versa." I haven't done a lot of reading on the subject, but this seems like kind of a strong claim.
I think this is a great book, but it's a little contextually limited, as it's for Artists, Designers, Poets, and Philosophers but not historians of the phrase, who may be more concerned about the philosophy of tea cups.
