A while back I had read an article (in English) online about an Japanese ceramics artist and his work, with the writer describing the artist's rather spartan furnishings as a result of his attitude or lifestyle that eschewed luxury or comfort, allowing him to better focus on his art. Whether that was actually true or not, he described it using a Japanese word, perhaps a zen concept, explaining and using that idea to paint an ethereal picture of the artist's dedication to his work. I don't know how much liberty he was taking (if any at all) with the word he was using, but here I am asking if there's anyone out there familiar with a Japanese word that encapsulates this idea/concept.
Added: I had been scanning thru hundreds of images of Japanese ceramics and checking into artists' background and then became fixated on some fantastic examples of [金継]{きんつぎ} / [金繕い]{きんつくろい} and this is where I lost where I was before when I can across that term I'm inquiring about. I don't think I can make my way back (though I've tried) to that particular article.
In all honesty, I don't think I'd be able to give a yea/nay on the correct one any more, even if saw it, but I appreciate all of the suggestions that have been offered. I think, so far, that [質素倹約]{しっそけんやく} probably best approximates what it was that I was looking for even though the definition doesn't come close to how romantically the author of the piece described it.
