The Japanese Sense of Beauty

What makes Japanese art unique? In The Japanese Sense of Beauty, art critic and historian Takashina Shūji reflects on the aesthetic and philosophical sensibilities underly­ing Japanese art throughout its history, from the earliest calligraphy and painted screens to modern masters like Hishida Shunso and Yokoyama Taikan.

Along the way, Takashina explores themes such as the relationship between subjective perspective and “flat” composition and the playful intermingling of word and image throughout the plastic arts of Japan. He also offers fresh critical perspectives on many individual artists, in­cluding Takeuchi Seihō, one of the first to fuse traditional techniques with Western realism, and Takahashi Yuichi, who combined a vivid mastery of texture with deceptively traditionalist compositions. Other essays in this wide-rang­ing collection touch on everything from the symbolism of Mount Fuji to the ancient music known as gagaku, show­ing how even the most disparate topics can shed new light on what is essential to Japanese culture.