--- product_id: 71989443 title: "The Beauty of Everyday Things (Penguin Modern Classics)" price: "€ 28.57" currency: EUR in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.gr/products/71989443-the-beauty-of-everyday-things-penguin-modern-classics store_origin: GR region: Greece --- # 4.5/5 Customer Rating Top 10 in 3 Craft Categories 35,962 Best Seller Rank The Beauty of Everyday Things (Penguin Modern Classics) **Price:** € 28.57 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Summary > ✨ Rediscover beauty in the ordinary — because every object tells a story. ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** The Beauty of Everyday Things (Penguin Modern Classics) - **How much does it cost?** € 28.57 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.gr](https://www.desertcart.gr/products/71989443-the-beauty-of-everyday-things-penguin-modern-classics) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Key Features - • **Critically Acclaimed & Loved:** Join 460+ readers who rate this book 4.5 stars for its thought-provoking content. - • **Enduring Appeal of Simplicity:** Celebrate the beauty in natural, sturdy, and functional handcrafted items. - • **Cultural Journey Through Craft:** Explore traditional Japanese and Korean artistry that inspires mindful living. - • **Timeless Craftsmanship Insight:** Discover Yanagi’s radical vision connecting heart and hand in everyday objects. - • **Elevate Your Everyday Aesthetic:** Transform your relationship with common objects into a source of inspiration. ## Overview The Beauty of Everyday Things by Soetsu Yanagi is a Penguin Modern Classic that champions the value of handcrafted, simple, and functional objects. With a 4.5-star rating from over 460 readers and top rankings in Glass & Enamelling, Ceramics, and Pottery categories, this book invites professionals to rethink their connection with everyday items through the lens of traditional Japanese and Korean craftsmanship. ## Description "Radical and inspiring ... Yanagi's vision puts the connection between heart and hand before the transient and commercial" - Edmund de Waal The daily lives of ordinary people are replete with objects, common things used in commonplace settings. These objects are our constant companions in life. As such, writes Soetsu Yanagi, they should be made with care and built to last, treated with respect and even affection. They should be natural and simple, sturdy and safe - the aesthetic result of wholeheartedly fulfilling utilitarian needs. They should, in short, be things of beauty. In an age of feeble and ugly machine-made things, these essays call for us to deepen and transform our relationship with the objects that surround us. Inspired by the work of the simple, humble craftsmen Yanagi encountered during his lifelong travels through Japan and Korea, they are an earnest defence of modest, honest, handcrafted things - from traditional teacups to jars to cloth and paper. Objects like these exemplify the enduring appeal of simplicity and function: the beauty of everyday things. Review: Excellent - Excellent Review: Interesting plot, good condition - The book arrived in good condition, just as described. The plot of You Could Be So Pretty is truly great and interesting, making it a very worthwhile and thought-provoking read. Definitely recommend the content! ## Features - Software game 1290 - Software game 1291 - Software game 1292 - Software game 1293 - Software game 1294 ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | 35,962 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) 8 in Glass & Enamelling 9 in Ceramics 11 in Pottery & Ceramic Crafts | | Customer Reviews | 4.5 out of 5 stars 460 Reviews | ## Images ![The Beauty of Everyday Things (Penguin Modern Classics) - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61QiWm1jdKL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Excellent *by R***D on 24 April 2026* Excellent ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Interesting plot, good condition *by M***R on 5 January 2026* The book arrived in good condition, just as described. The plot of You Could Be So Pretty is truly great and interesting, making it a very worthwhile and thought-provoking read. Definitely recommend the content! ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ A passionate and energetic celebration of the beauty of everyday objects *by A***E on 9 March 2020* In spite of the fact that the Amazon page claims that there are 14 reviews, some with 5 stars, only two negative reviews are displayed no matter what I do. In spite of finding this book immensely difficult to review, I wanted to offer a more positive perspective than the two I could see. I bought the book because I am an archaeologist interested in object biographies (ways of looking at objects beyond their obvious utility) and thought that a Japanese perspective, as opposed to a Western perspective, might offer new ways of looking at objects. The book is formed of a series of essays, some of them delivered as lectures, one of them a letter meant for general publication. There is no introduction to the book, so the reader is plunged straight into the essays without any mediating explanation of what Yanagi was trying to achieve. Soetsu Yanagi is a passionate writer, and his prose is very much a flow of thoughts that tumble over one another with a real energy. Apart from his letter to Korea, which I found chaotic, his work is not incoherent, but it is, as others have pointed out, repetitive even within single essays. I found the repetition helpful, because it reinforces his ideas, but I can see that others might find it frustrating. Tying the essays together is the concept of mingei, two words (the masses/people and craft) to form a single concept "arts of the people." By this he means items of everyday use, created to a local standard, the product of communities rather than individuals, and embedded in tradition, skills passed from one generation to the next so that the creation of such items is instinctive. They are handmade and crafted from nature, in the sense that local materials constrain what can be achieved, but skills make the most of such materials. Such items are inexpensive, utilitarian, anonymous and produced in large numbers, but people build relationships with them as they become intimate parts of households. There is a huge emphasis on how beautiful these items are, and what makes them beautiful. The concept of beauty also holds all the essays together, and the word is repeated sometimes several times on a page. It was of great importance to Soetsu Yanagi and he comes back to it continuously. Yanagi has a profound belief in the connection of beauty, nature, religion and the honesty of handmade, ordinary, "miscellaneous" items. He gives numerous examples, focusing mainly on ceramics and textiles, and some paintings and prints. His essay on pattern is particularly good, one of his more analytical chapters, in which he discusses the relationship between patterns and the natural world on which they are based. These essays are not a discussion, they describe a viewpoint. His view of folk art is tied up with his view on life and religion, and some of his ideas about the freedom of creativity in folk art would be challenged today. Throughout, he questions the value and sincerity of formal art, and criticizes how art is usually analyzed. He forcefully supports the imperfect, which represents reality, contrasting it with the artifice of attempts to achieve perfection, and in particular signed pieces. He firmly rejects the everyday items produced by industry, considering them ugly and commercial, dishonest. He is concerned that the crafts of the past will be lost in the future under the tidal wave of factory mass production of disposable items, and partly to bring past and future together was the driving force behind the Japan Folk Crafts Museum, to which the final essay is dedicated. It all feels a bit like hurtling down a set of rapids, but Yanagi's ideas are interesting and his passion compelling. I had specific questions coming into the book, and I found it useful and enjoyable, but I am by no means certain how wide the appeal of his writing style might be. I suspect it's a Marmite thing - you are either going to love or hate this book. I really enjoyed going along for the ride, and it was thought-provoking, which is I think one of the biggest compliments one can pay a book. ## Frequently Bought Together - The Beauty of Everyday Things (Penguin Modern Classics) - In Praise of Shadows (Vintage Classics) - Ways of Seeing: John Berger (Penguin Modern Classics) --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.gr/products/71989443-the-beauty-of-everyday-things-penguin-modern-classics](https://www.desertcart.gr/products/71989443-the-beauty-of-everyday-things-penguin-modern-classics) --- *Product available on Desertcart Greece* *Store origin: GR* *Last updated: 2026-08-02*