Ma

Ma Synopsis

From the bestselling author of WABI SABI (translated into 29 languages) comes a luminous treatise on how to build a spacious life in the modern world

ma ? (noun): space; pause; gap; distance; interval

Wind whispers in the pines, calling us into the space between things.

This kind of space, an essential aspect of Japanese culture and aesthetics, is easier to point to than define.

It is found in the pulsating whiteness around the ink-black forest of a sumi-e painting.

In the silence between notes that makes the music.

In the pause that deepens connection, and gives us room to breathe.

MA is a meditation on the essential nature of space in a human life, within the places that we live and the flow of time we are alive.

Join Japanologist Beth Kempton for a thoughtful, inspiring exploration of ma through art, architecture, animation, philosophy and travel, and discover how ma can be a doorway to meaning, wisdom and beauty.

As the pace of modern living continues to accelerate, this will be a balm for every weary soul, offering respite from the noise and simple tools to make each day feel more spacious.

Everything is waiting in the space in between.

'This is a book of love, of longing, of living. MA speaks tender truth to all the moments in between in ways I will carry with me always. The humility, humanity and hope held in these pages is a gift. A gorgeous, vital book.'
- Kerri nì Dochartaigh, author of Cacophony of Bone