Shibui: The Japanese Art of Finding Beauty in Aging

by Sanae Ishida

"Shibui" is a Japanese word that describes the simple, subtle beauty that emerges with time.

Blending Japanese philosophy and universal insights, this book combats anti-aging messages by allowing you to discover the beauty in aging and savor life's later chapters with joy and grace.

Shibui offers a fresh, culturally rich perspective on aging in a market saturated with crass anti-aging messaging. Like the Japanese concept of ikigai, which is about finding your purpose, shibui offers a gentler viewpoint about celebrating beauty that emerges with time.

Using beautiful watercolors, personal stories, and practical tips and activities, author Sanae Ishida—a self-described Japanese American woman "of a certain age" with plenty of lived experience—is passionate about empowering others to celebrate the gifts of maturity.

Discover the secrets to a long, satisfying, and happy life from a culture with one of the longest-living populations with this welcome (and long overdue) reminder that "old" is not a negative.

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help, Audiobook, Lifestyle

160 pages, Hardcover

Published November 4, 2025

About the author

Sanae Ishida writes, draws, sews, and takes photos almost every day. In addition to writing and illustrating books for kids, she's written several books on sewing. She lives with her husband and daughter in Seattle, Washington. It's possible that she and her daughter have too many handmade clothes.

Reviews

[Bella Azam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shibui by Sanae Ishida compiled personal essays and reflections on on self, inner beauty & appreciation of imperfection and ageing. With beautiful watercolors illustration, the author incorporates anecdotes of her personal life & how her roots as Japanese American shaped her views on the beauty of ageing. Shibui, its a concept of learning to appreciate beauty as it grew over time. When we think about getting older, we think about our health declining, our appearance wrinkled and greying, the loss of youthfulness and the fear of death as we grew in age. But in this book, it let us ponder upon the theme of everydayness, the act of be in the present, to fully embraced our ageing as something that evolved in time, maturing to become maybe the best of ourselves.

The concept is simple yet I was reminded by how much we chase for perfection and wanting more when we could look around us and see the things we surround ourselves and how contented we can be by letting us feel what we have is more than enough. I love the illustrations scattered thoughout the book accompanied each chapter, giving the book a nice outlook. I also like how the author talked about the Japanese culture on which she relates to and incorporates into her daily life while also gave us an in depth understanding of the concept.

Thank you to TImes Reads for the review copy

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short, personal essays on themes related to aging, blended with wisdom from Japanese culture. Beautiful, watercolour illustrations.

Mokuteki - doing small daily practices with deliberate, intentional and unconditional love.

Tantanto - going with the flow in a light, detached manner. It's the opposite of striving, but it's not giving up either. The Buddhist tenet of the middle way comes close to the definition. Sometimes the most beautiful and meaningful moments come not from pushing harder, but from allowing things to unfold naturally.

[CatReader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sanae Ishida is a Japanese-American writer and illustrator. Her 2025 book Shibui is a very brief (160 page/<2 hour audiobook) illustrated essay collection on Japanese wisdom about aging, with Ishida's own reflections as she's reached midlife. I listened to the audiobook, though I found out when writing this review that the author illustrated the physical edition with her watercolor art, which I'm sure would have been the preferable medium for this book. The essays were nice albeit brief; the author's insights were earned and clearly well-thought-out albeit not novel.

My statistics:
Book 355 for 2025
Book 2281 cumulatively

[alstroemeriaswan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A meaningful short-personal essay about aging, reflections on self and the beauty of imperfections.

[Jess Hicks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely little book with a sweet message about finding the joy in aging. Couldn’t have run across it at a better time as I’m stuck on the couch resting a broken ankle and watching the leaves fall outside my window. Is there beauty here, too?

[M. Raymond · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beauty That Comes with The Passage of Time

Shibui by Sanae Ishida is literally a small treasure of a book. It is a petite 5x7-inch hardback, with a beautiful watercolour of persimmons on the cover. The title (English and Japanese), the authors name, and the painting are embossed or slightly raised, so that when you hold it in your hands, your fingers get a soothing tactile experience.

I received a review copy from the publisher in plain brown mailing packaging. When I opened it, looked at it and touched it, I thought, how fitting.

Shibui.

I learned this word in my Japanese class years ago and was struck by its beauty and truth. That the subtle changes that happen to things over time gives them a patina that often invites us to look closer.

The author invites us to view our aging selves from this same perspective. To look at ourself and see any lines as the beauty we have earned the privilege of wearing.

We all know that our modern western culture prizes the beauty of youth. It aggressively markets this to all of us, but most especially towards women. We are taught to avoid “looking our age” at all costs. Now even teenage girls are buying wrinkle creams.

Dolls come with pretend makeup and creams, even dolls that are supposed to depict children!

I am going to invite everyone reading this review to pause a moment.

Think about how you might have been a bit harsh on yourself for not remaining in a time capsule that kept you perpetually at age 25.

This book is like a lovingly made tonic to all the nonsense we have been sold about aging.

The essays blend a mix of Japanese concepts about the beauty in aging along with the author’s own life experiences. The stories and exercises are meant to help us look at our changing body with respect.

And throughout the book, beautiful, gentle watercolour paintings make the experience of reading like a restful journey. A spa in your hands, so to speak.

Although it is probably a “No brainer” to suggest this book would be a welcome gift to anyone who has started to grow more than a few grey hairs, I actually feel it could greatly benefit the younger generations.

I see myself giving this book to people in their 30s. So that before those grey hairs come, they hopefully will have developed an appreciation for the changes of life. To look at themselves and others with appreciative eyes.

Through the lens of SHIBUI.

[Lyana A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am in quiet awe of this book especially the illustrations, all lovingly created by the author herself. They feel intimate and deliberate, mirroring the very philosophy the book explores.

Shibui is a Japanese concept that invites us to appreciate the natural changes that come with time, to find beauty in authenticity rather than artificial preservation. At its heart, it asks us to accept aging not as loss, but as something inevitable and deeply beautiful.

Shibui is a word rooted in acceptance. It is paradoxical, non-dualistic, and richly layered, with no direct equivalent in English. Throughout the book, Ishida explores Shibui through multiple lenses: beauty, health, purpose, wealth, connection, and ultimately, our relationship with mortality itself.

I particularly enjoyed the author’s personal essays. They read like gentle reflections and reminders to value maturity, simplicity, and subtlety in a world that often glorifies excess and youth. Familiar Japanese philosophies appear throughout, such as wabi-sabi (finding beauty in imperfection) and hara hachi bu (eating until you are just no longer hungry), and I appreciated how Ishida thoughtfully weaves them back into the broader idea of Shibui.

One of my favourite reflections is on the concept of tantanto, moving through life lightly and with detachment, going with the flow without force. It is the opposite of relentless striving, yet it is not resignation either. There is something deeply comforting in that balance.

I’ll end this review with a quote from the author that beautifully encapsulates the spirit of the book:

“Let us love heartily, live gently, and release gracefully all that’s not meant for us—let’s savor all the mellowed sweetness of aging.”

[Susan Muldowney · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love everything about this book. The size is perfect - it fits comfortably in your hands and is substantial without being heavy. Sanae's beautiful watercolors throughout would be reason enough to buy it, but her message on aging will make you think and touch your heart. The book is divided into six chapters, and each of those are made up of smaller bites of wisdom. Perfect to read, stop and digest before going on. I've read it twice and know I won't stop there. A thoughtful gift for anyone of a certain age.

[Chloe Kelly Wee Chua · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was horribly frustrated at the shallowness of this all before finding out this was just meant to be a picture book, nothing more, nothing less. The topic itself is interesting, and I like how simple and calming the writing is, so I hope Ishida considers writing longer essays on it soon, longer memoirs, longer thoughts. (Something like an expanded version of this picture book might be nice, is what I'm trying to say.) The illustrations were nice.

[Jeannie · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️ 3.75
A sweet little coffee table-esque book about Japanese insights on aging. Loved the message.
"Rather than focusing solely on reaching an arbitrary finish line, may we find beauty and meaning in each circuit."

[Rahdika K · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lovely book with beautiful illustrations. Most of the insights were valuable though it’s something that have been there or read upon many times by most of us who are familiar with such concepts. Still enjoyed the book.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love anything by Sanae. Now approaching my mid 40’s, I’ve been looking for less “anti-aging” and more “appreciate aging,” so this little book was just in time. More like a series of essays, you can pick it up whenever you please and read for a few moments. The paintings are all really nice too.

[Udon · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short easy winter read for when the sznal sadnothingness hits. That said i felt the book relied a lot on telling and not showing, with personal essays that seemed repetitive even as they are supposedly spanning different themes. Still, a pretty cosy book esp with the illustrations!

[Varnu]

Kintsugi, boro and tsugihagi embroidery

osozaki "late blooming"

[Emily Mellow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Important and well executed. It's a very quick read, and worth it.

[Lauren Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting journey through the Mahayana Buddhist worldview, particularly in regard to ageing and death. Little practical advice.

[Jessi Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Important read for anyone aging, especially in America.

Very short and the illustrations added to the depth of the message. Very beautiful book!

[Edie Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book gives a positive spin on growing old based on Japanese precepts. The author presents a much needed vision of aging.

Her illustrations are charming.