The aesthetic consciousness of nature occupies an important place in East Asian art and culture as a whole. In particular, the space called the sea is recognized as a pure spiritual space that includes various subjects after Western modernization. This paper compared the aesthetic consciousness of the East and the West, which influenced Hiroshi Sugimoto, who grew up in Japan and is working in New York, and analyzed and considered Sugimoto’s maritime works from an aesthetic and philosophical perspective through the East Asian aesthetic category. ‘Maritime characteristic’ seen through Sugimoto’s photographic work enables us to understand human life and see the world again. Finding the interface between East Asian aesthetic concepts and Sugimoto’s maritime works is valuable in recognizing and communicating marine culture as well as viewing the East Asian ocean. It will also be a part of a small exploration process that seeks the specificity of marine culture beyond the universality of the ocean where the freedom and indifference of the sea breathe.