e awaiting the rise of some princely master
who shall establish a new dynasty. Would that we loved the ancients
more and copied them less! It has been said that the Greeks were great
because they never drew from the antique.

The term, Abode of Vacancy, besides conveying the Taoist theory of the
all-containing, involves the conception of a continued need of change
in decorative motives. The tea-room is absolutely empty, except for what
may be placed there temporarily to satisfy some aesthetic mood. Some
special art object is brought in for the occasion, and everything else
is selected and arranged to enhance the beauty of the principal theme.
One cannot listen to different pieces of music at the same time, a real
comprehension of the beautiful being possible only through concentration
upon some central motive. Thus it will be seen that the system of
decoration in our tea-rooms is opposed to that which obtains in the
West, where the interior of a house is often converted into a museum.
To a Japanese, accustomed to simplicity of ornamentation and frequent
change of decorative method, a Western interior permanently filled with
a vast array of pictures, statuary, and bric-a-brac gives the impression
of mere vulgar display of riches. It calls for a mighty wealth of
appreciation to enjoy the constant sight of even a masterpiece, and
limitless indeed must be the capacity for artistic feeling in those who
can exist day after day in the midst of such confusion of color and form
as is to be often seen in the homes of Europe and America.

The "Abode of the Unsymmetrical" suggests another phase of our
decorative scheme. The absence of symmetry in Japanese art objects has
been often commented on by Western critics. This, also, is a result of
a working out through Zennism of Taoist ideals. Confucianism, with its
deep-seated idea of dualism, and Northern Buddhism with its worship of
a trinity, were in no way opposed to the expression of symmetry. As
a matter of fact, if we study the ancient bronzes of China or the
religious arts of the Tang dynasty and the Nara period, we shall
recognize a constant striving after symmetry. The decoration of our
classical interiors was decidedly regular in its arrangement. The Taoist
and Zen conception of perfection, however, was different. The dynamic
nature of their philosophy laid more stress upon the process through
which perfection was sought than upon perfection itself. True beauty
could be disc