Secrecy in Japanese Arts

by Maki Morinaga

This book explores the Japanese tradition of secret transmission of knowledge within a closed and often hereditary group. The author investigates how esoteric practices function, how people make meaning of their practices, and how this form of esotericism survived into the modern age. The first two questions are examined by using esoteric texts from the fifteenth to eighteenth centuries. The last looks at theatrical treatises from the late nineteenth century on.

ebook

First published May 6, 2005

Reviews

[sanaz]

Although it felt repetitive sometimes, it was insightful and a great read for me, wanting to write an essay on Japanese arts.