The article is devoted to the analysis of the phenomenon of the tea ceremony and its main concept of wabi, without which it is impossible to understand the ideological foundations of Japanese spiritual culture. At the same time, the basic concept in which the tea ceremony is recognized and described leads to the ultimate category of the entire Far Eastern culture – Nothingness (Emptiness, nonexistence), which is crucial for understanding Japanese religions, philosophical and aesthetic thought. The article discusses the views of the founder of the Kyoto school of philosophy Nishida Kitaro (1870–1945) and some of his students on the nature of the categories of wabi and Nothingness. Also, an analysis of these categories by researchers of the second half of the 20th century, Izutsu Toshihiko and Izutsu Toyoko is given.
Japanese culture; Nothingness; Emptiness; Being; Wabi; Muga; tea ceremony; Nishida Kitaro; Nishitani Keiji; Hisamatsu Sin’ichi; Suzuki Daisetsu; Izutsu Toshihiko; Izutsu Toyoko.