In Praise of Shadows
1977 • 69 pages
Ratings11
Average rating3.4
15
Ratings11
Average rating3.4
"This is a powerfully anti-modernist book, yet contains the most beautiful evocation of the traditional Japanese aesthetic, which cast such a spell on Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Frank Lloyd Wright.
"The contradiction is easily explained: Tanizaki sees the empty Japanese wall as not empty at all, but a surface on which light continually traces its fugitive presence against encroaching shadow. He constructs a myth of the origin of the Japanese house: it began with a roof and overhanging eaves, which cast a shadow on the earth, calling forth a shelter."
Read more: http://www.bdonline.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=3159684&origin=BDweeklydigest#ixzz0iOulXDEW
Reviews with the most likes.
I really, really tried reading this, but I had to drop it. One reason why I dropped it is that while it's great to appreciate old, antiquated things, dismissing everything new is a bit much. And, okay, maybe I can see where the author is coming from, but it still feels extreme.
Another reason why I dropped it is that it simply can't keep me engaged.
And I think there's some historical context relevant to this essay, but I'm not a history enthusiast and I only read some references about it so I won't develop on it, I just thought that that is interesting and that maybe the essay is more than just about aesthetics.
Less of a book about aesthetics and more about the Japanese appreciation for nuance and the beauty of transience/time (which is most easily expressed through talking about the visual, I guess). Tanizaki crafts compelling arguments rooted in history/reality rather than abstract philosophical argument, but I can't help feel that his undercurrent of disdain and condescension sours his praise a little. You can appreciate the difference in tastes (western vs Japanese) without putting the other side down.
