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.

The Japanese Sense of Beauty is an important contri­bution to the study of aesthetics and cultural history, of­fering insights that will change the way you think about Japanese art.

TAKASHINA Shūji
Takashina Shūji was born in 1932 in Tokyo. After graduating from the University of Tokyo’s College of Arts and Sciences, he studied in France from 1954–1959 on the invitation of the French government. Since his return to Japan, he has held positions including University of Tokyo professor, director general of the National Museum of Western Art, and his current role as director of the Ōhara Museum of Art. A specialist in Western art from the Renaissance onwards, he is also deeply versed in the art of Japan. His many publications include Light and Dark in the Renaissance (Runessansu no hikari to yami, recipient of the Minister of Education’s Art Encouragement Prize), A History of Modern Art in Japan (Nihon kindai bijutsushi-ron), Van Gogh’s Eye (Gohho no me), A History of French Painting (Furansu kaigashi), Picasso: The Logic of Plagiarism (Pikaso: Hyōsetsu no ronri), Twentieth-Century Art (Nijusseiki bijutsu), A History of Modern Painting (Kindai kaigashi, in two volumes), and The Patrons of Art (Geijutsu no patorontachi). His other contributions to the art world include translations of works by Edgar Wind and Kenneth Clark.

*information as of time of publication

Japan Library series
Art & Design

Publisher:
Japan Publishing Industry Foundation for Culture

Hardcover
¥2,700 + tax
ISBN 9784866580203
210 mm x 148 mm / 256 pp. / March 2018

Softcover
¥2,600 + tax
ISBN 9784866582481
210 mm x 148 mm / 256 pp. / October 2023

eBook
ISBN 9784866580425 (ePub)
ISBN 9784866580326 (PDF)

Color Plates / Preface to the English Edition / Preface to the Japanese Edition / I. Word and Image: The Japanese Aesthetic Consciousness / II. Japanese Beauty, Western Beauty / III. Roots of the Japanese Aesthetic Consciousness / Afterword / Original Publication Details

大胆に切り捨てる一方、多様な要素を隔てなく取りこむ。その構成力に日本特有の感性を見る。国立西洋美術館館⾧を経て、現在、大原美術館館⾧である著者が、センス・オブ・ニッポンの本質を日本美術に検証する。

高階秀爾
1932年、東京生まれ。東京大学教養学部卒業。1954―59年にフランス政府招聘留学生として渡仏。東京大学教授、国立西洋美術館館長を経て、現在は倉敷の大原美術館館長。専門はルネサンス以降の西洋美術史であるが、日本美術についての造詣もたいへん深く、多くの著書がある。『ルネッサンスの光と闇』（芸術選奨文部大臣賞）、『日本近代美術史論』、『ゴッホの眼』、『フランス絵画史』、『ピカソ剽窃の論理』、『20世紀美術』、『近代絵画史』（上下）、『芸術のパトロンたち』などの多くの著書がある。またウィント、ケネス・クラークなどの翻訳により、美術の啓蒙に尽力している。

＊著者略歴は書籍刊行時のものを表示しています。