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A Tractate on Japanese Aesthetics
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This provocative book is a tractate—a treatise—on beauty in Japanese art, written in the manner of a zuihitsu, a free-ranging assortment of ideas that “follow the brush” wherever it leads. Donald Richie looks at how perceptual values in Japan were drawn from raw nature and then modified by elegant expressions of class and taste. He explains aesthetic concepts like wabi, sa
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Paperback, 80 pages
Published
July 1st 2007
by Stone Bridge Press
(first published May 1st 2007)
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As Richie explains in his preface, he has deliberately chosen to write A Tractate on Japanese Aesthetics as a zuihitsu , the form in which many influential Japanese chose to address aesthetic matters. Such an essay is not logically organized, not linear, not deductive. The author is supposed to "follow the brush" (I suppose we must say follow the pen, though, now, are we to follow the keyboard?), follow his thoughts as they arise. To heighten this, for him necessary, nonlinearity, he juxtapos
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Texto breve que consigue profundizar en conceptos de la estética japonesa que llegaron a convertirse en una forma de vida para artistas, artesanos y poetas: fûryu, shibui, wabi y sabi, yûgen, aware, iki... Un buen punto de partida.
Nocciolo duro dei termini che indicano (quando ciò è possibile) la forma e l'esperienza dell'estetica giapponese. Precisissimo e curato molto bene.
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This is a useful book explaining what makes Japanese art, literature, and philosophy unique. Donald Richie has lived in Japan since the end of World War II and is responsible for a series of illuminating works, including an early survey on Japanese film. A Tractate on Japanese Aesthetics is a short work with large implications:
Many people everywhere spend their whole lives trying to escape the thought that one day they and all of theirs will be no more. Only a few poets look at the fact, and onl...more
igual soy muy occidental para apreciar las sutilezas del zuihitsu que emula el ensayo, pero, pese a ser un librito precioso, se queda extremadamente corto. muchos conceptos quedan sin desarrollar suficientemente, muchos son sólo menciones sin mayor atención... mucho se ha quedado en el tintero. quizá que haya 10 páginas de bibliografía en un libro de 50 páginas sugiera que podía haber sido *un poco* más extenso. de todos modos, las 50 páginas que sí se han escrito son hermosísimamente sugerentes
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When seeking an introduction to an unfamiliar topic, I am wary of two types of books: the highly technical, impenetrable beasts dense with signs and meta-signs aimed at experts in a neighbouring field, and the colloquial, jokey-breezy anecdotal stories filled with mental candyfloss aimed as those seeking educational fairground entertainment. Once in a while, I find myself in either readership, but usually I seek a middle ground, and even then I require a particularly fortuitous opening into a su
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Libro breve, ma intenso come dire. Una serie di collegamenti tra la storia, la filosofia e lo sviluppo dello studio sull'estetica giapponese.
Quando anche il modo in cui disponi i fiori rivela la tua classe sociale... ...more
Quando anche il modo in cui disponi i fiori rivela la tua classe sociale... ...more
Richie claims to have written a zuihitsu; lots of high school students claim to have written haiku, as well, but, you know. They aren't Basho, and Richie is not Chomei. I'm not really the audience for this text, which feels very 'mystical East,' a feeling that is probably more about me than Richie, who obviously knows more about Japan than I will ever know; I'm just very sensitive (i.e., I object) to the idea that there is some impassible barrier between Japanese thinking and everyone else.
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Dealing with Japanese aesthetic terms in translations is difficult, because the Japanese terms in themselves can be ambiguous depending on the context. Richie in this brief book does an excellent job in explaining where each term fits in the spectrum in relation to others and the world it describes. An invaluable reference for wordsmiths dealing with the word in relation to Japan.
Un ensayo muy conciso y sintético que repasa algunos de los aspectos mas interesantes e intrigantes de la estética japonesa. Un complemento ideal al reconocido clásico de Junichiro Tanizaki El elogio de la sombra.
"Taste is an indication of an aesthetically legitimate dominance. Hence its rules and regulations, its complications, and its numerous dicta to be observed."
"'Simplicity--this was something that Rikyu tried to teach his pupil, Hideyoshi, at hose "court" he was arbiter. One famous anecdote illustrates his method. Rikyu's garden of morning glories was known for its beauty. Hearing of it Hideyoshi demanded that he be invited to visit. So he was, but when eh arrived all the morning glories were no m ...more
"'Simplicity--this was something that Rikyu tried to teach his pupil, Hideyoshi, at hose "court" he was arbiter. One famous anecdote illustrates his method. Rikyu's garden of morning glories was known for its beauty. Hearing of it Hideyoshi demanded that he be invited to visit. So he was, but when eh arrived all the morning glories were no m ...more
As a rule, I dislike rating non-fiction books. This little work (70 small pages) is pocket-size, which is fine - it only claims to be a tractate. I read this with little knowledge/experience of Japanese aethetics. I have had several helpings of ancient Chinese aesthetics as well as all the Western stuff. So, I read this as a type of introduction/overview. As such, I am giving this four stars.
The author does not come across as one who wants to sound pretentious or supercilious. I do think he is g ...more
The author does not come across as one who wants to sound pretentious or supercilious. I do think he is g ...more
Excelente ensayo sobre un tema muy difícil de abordar, por sus múltiples aristas, y por la necesidad de familiarizar al lector con muchos conceptos nativos, para poder discutirlo con propiedad. Creo que Richie logra realizar una síntesis muy buena de la estética nipona, dotando su "ensayo libre" de un "hilo conductor" que le permite examinar las principales nociones de belleza japonesas. La traducción está muy bien lograda, pero la diagramación del texto pudo ser mejor. En ocasiones, no queda cl
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Jun 01, 2018
Patrick McCoy
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Donald Richie has always wrote elegantly about Japanese culture and in A Tractate On Japanese Aesthetics (2007), he looks at Japanese concepts of beauty. As a result, I found the analysis of concepts like wabi sabi, mono aware, sibui, and the others interesting. However, this slim volumes is more akin to an introduction-it is only 80 pages long and interspersed throughout the essay are inserts with parallel discussion about western aesthetics. Essentially it is a long essay rather than a book, t
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Es un excelente ensayo. Muy sintético e informativo.
Trata de una forma sencilla, un tema bastante complejo e intangible.
La estética japonesa es un fenómeno único que tiene que ver con la filosofía y espiritualidad de ese pueblo. Es producto de una serie de condiciones históricas e incluso geográficas de la isla.
Como amante de las expresiones del arte japonés, este pequeño libro ha quedado subrayado y anotado, para volver muchas veces a él.
Hay un tema de la edición, que no sé si tiene que ver co ...more
Trata de una forma sencilla, un tema bastante complejo e intangible.
La estética japonesa es un fenómeno único que tiene que ver con la filosofía y espiritualidad de ese pueblo. Es producto de una serie de condiciones históricas e incluso geográficas de la isla.
Como amante de las expresiones del arte japonés, este pequeño libro ha quedado subrayado y anotado, para volver muchas veces a él.
Hay un tema de la edición, que no sé si tiene que ver co ...more
Breve acercamiento a términos de la estética japonesa. Y aunque se hace corto y quiero más, en la brevedad reside su valor. Lo empecé incómoda por eso de leer a un hombre occidental dándome lecciones sobre estética oriental... Pero reconozco que, a medida que avanza la lectura, con la perspectiva del relato de Richie, ese prejuicio desaparece. No escribe como un señoro rancio que viene a aleccionarte sobre "algo exótico" que solo él es capaz de entender, sino que te hace comprender la complejida
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A whirlwind tour through Japanese aesthetics which touches on key concepts like wabi sabi, aware, iki and shin-gyo-so.
I would have liked a more in depth explanation of each of these concepts, as well as less of the author's own subjective views on them. But this treatise certainly serves its purpose as a brief introduction to Japanese aesthetics - would recommend to those interest in reading about traditional Japanese aesthetics which differ a lot from the Western tradition which typically impos ...more
I would have liked a more in depth explanation of each of these concepts, as well as less of the author's own subjective views on them. But this treatise certainly serves its purpose as a brief introduction to Japanese aesthetics - would recommend to those interest in reading about traditional Japanese aesthetics which differ a lot from the Western tradition which typically impos ...more
A quick but thoughtful look at Japanese aesthetics, conveniently compiled for people like myself who have no prior experience with the subject. While I didn't find the writing style of the essay itself to be as daring as some have described it, it was the ending that made me sit back and think for a while about Richie's words and wondering to what extent they are true.
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I've never met a Donald Richie book that I didn't dislike and this one was no exception. At least it was mercifully short and I finished it, unlike 'The Inland Sea' which was so distasteful that I threw it at the wall (metaphorically). I'll never attempt another.
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A good overview of Japanese aesthetic terms and some of their history. I was disappointed in the ending where there was no attempt to apply these terms to Japanese arts past the Edo period. I'll be seeking that elsewhere.
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Interesting comparisons between western aesthetics and the aesthetic discipline of Japan (or lack thereof) Not crazy in depth but a nice primer on concepts that will get one thinking about the difference in standards of taste and beauty between the east and the west
A very informative book on the japanese conception of aesthetics. Recommended to anyone interested.
Just a plain glossary which concludes that japanese aesthetics is dead. Japanesa cinema never existed, it seems. You could do better with wikipedia.
Near vertical learning curve but many fascinating ideas and implications.
A good introduction to historical Japanese art and artistic terminology.
Visual aids would have helped to convey the terms more clearly.
Visual aids would have helped to convey the terms more clearly.
Not really a 'book', more of a free-flowing essay on the peculiar nature of the Japanese aesthetic sense. I had been interested in how the Japanese view beauty, because I found that some of their concepts(iki, wabi-sabi etc) accorded to omething close to my own tastes, and was eager to find out more. On that account, the book did not disappoint. The author (an expat living and observing Japanese life for more than 50 years) has a good grasp of the subtlety of the Japanese mind, and brings it out
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I wish it had been a little longer; I would have liked a bit more information on some of the concepts. Also, pictures!!! If you are describing a special ceramic tea caddy with the glaze dripping down it just so, PLEASE include a photo so I can see what you are talking about. So this book could really have used a few pictures to show some of the concepts. Other than that, I found this a great intro to a subject that I am not familiar with, and his theory of the Japanese people internalizing aesth
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Turns out seventeenth-century tea masters were the original hipsters, elevating the old and ordinary to a refined aesthetic (complicated simplicity). Of course Japan has compartmentalized and codified aesthetics to an extreme (unique?) level -- this essay also reminds us that these concepts have complex histories, in which they were redefined and repurposed to suit elite political and class distinctions. It was an interesting but not inspiring read.
a nuanced discussion of japan’s aesthetic sensibility and its concepts which at times is refreshingly deromanticized. highly recommended for creatives with an interest in japanese culture - and anyone referring to their creative expressions as “wabi sabi”.
I liked it a lot, yet it seemed like the outline of a larger work.
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Donald Richie is an American-born author who has written about the Japanese people and Japanese cinema. Although he considers himself only a writer, Richie has directed many experimental films, the first when he was 17. Although Richie speaks Japanese fluently, he can neither read nor write it.
During World War II, he served aboard Liberty ships as a purser and medical officer. By then he had alrea ...more
During World War II, he served aboard Liberty ships as a purser and medical officer. By then he had alrea ...more
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