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Iki avoids explicitness, eloquence, and verboseness. Implicitness is another axis to be added to the understanding of iki. The concept of beauty allows narcissism, which may involve the self-asserting statement “I am beautiful.” A narcissist statement does not disqualify someone from being beautiful. In the case of iki, however, the statement “I am iki” is impossible because iki must not be self-asserting and explicit, but rather, inconspicuous and implicit.

 Yamamoto Yuji, An Aesthetics of Everyday Life: Modernism and a Japanese popular aesthetic ideal, “Iki”.