darkness and light; the netherworld and this world; semidarkness; deep and strange
Literary term encompassing the boundary between the dark, mysterious realm (often the afterlife) and the world of the living, or the interplay of darkness and light. The glosses 'semidarkness' and 'deep and strange' reflect poetic or archaic uses. The word is rare in modern everyday speech and is mostly found in classical literature, religious texts, or poetic descriptions.
Stories of souls wandering the boundary between this world and the netherworld often appear in classical literature.
His paintings depict a profound darkness reminiscent of the netherworld.
幽玄 is an aesthetic concept of subtle, profound grace and mystery, often used in art and literature, whereas 幽冥 is more directly about the dark, hidden realm or the contrast between light and darkness.
hades; realm of the dead; underworld
Standard kanji form for the concept of the dark netherworld or the boundary between light and dark.
Alternate kanji form; less common but still encountered in literary or philosophical contexts.
A Sino-Japanese compound of 幽 and 冥, both conveying darkness, obscurity, or the unseen world. The contrasting sense “darkness and light; the other world and this world” is also associated with the homophonous spelling 幽明.