GREG GOODE:

One could say that in artistic terms, “wabi-sabi” is a term describing the Zen-like esthetic, made popular by the tea ceremony. Wabi-sabi is hard to translate into English, but as Koren tells (pp. 21-22), sabi originally meant “chill,” “lean,” “withered.” Wabi meant the misery of living alone in solitude, cheerless, alone. Later, they acquired more positive values. Together, the words indicate the simplicity of the hermit, the spiritual opporunities of solitude, the beauty of inconspicuous and the overlooked.

This book tells about the esthetic of Wabi-Sabi. In Koren’s words:

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