In Search of the Spirit: The Living National Treasures of Japan

by Sheila Hamanaka, Ayano Ohmi

After World War II the Japanese government designated as Living National Treasures men and women who had devoted their lives to traditional Japanese crafts and performing arts. For this superlative book the authors visited six of these extraordinary artists, then blended a brief, illuminating text with color photographs, calligraphy, and illustrated sections to convey the essence of each art form. Readers will visit backstage at a Bunraku puppet theater, learn how the famous Japanese swords are made, and much more! 2000 Notable Children's Books (ALA), Notable Children's Trade Books in the Field of Social Studies 2000, and National Council for SS & Child. Book Council, Notable Children's Trade Books in the Field of Social Studies 2000, National Council for SS & Child. Book Council

Hardcover

First published March 24, 1999

Reviews

[Cheryl]

Reminds me of Cherokee National Treasures: In Their Own Words. I guess this "Living Treasures" is a thing? The book about Cherokee artists is more like a coffee table book, lots of pages, lots of artists, more for adults.

Anyway, this focuses on six artists, and is meant to be more educational for children (1o and up?)... it even shows a fair bit about how the art is created. Performers and craftspersons, no authors or painters.

I carefully skimmed it and recommend it to anyone interested in learning a bit more about traditional Japan, about their heritage.

But I can't rate it as I didn't read enough to be sure how universal the appeal is, or how much I would have appreciated it had I read the whole thing.

June 2024

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Learn about the lives of a potter, sword maker, Noh Actor, Bunraku puppeteer, bamboo weaver and a Yuzen Dyer...The living national treastres of Japan...

very interesting and realistic read about the lives of these great (humble) men who take great pride in their life long crafts

[James Crawford · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is subtitled The Living National Treasures of Japan. Japan does something that I think is incredibly smart; they designate certain people as Living Treasures, people whose cultural abilities have contributed significantly to Japanese culture.

The first person discussed in a man who puts extremely beautiful designs onto kimonos. The book then shows the various stages involved in making and decorating a kimono. This is a really interesting part of the book.

The second person is a man who is a bamboo weaver. Then, as with the kimono entry, the book shows the process of weaving bamboo.

The third person is a Bunraku puppet master. This part includes a lot of back-stage photos, showing how the puppets are constructed and prepared for a performance.

The next living treasure is a sword maker. There is a section of black-and-white photos showing how a sword is made.

The next person is a Noh actor. This has a section which shows what the very subtle gestures in Noh mean.

The last person covered is a potter. There is a section showing how different layers of clay aer used to make an object.

The book is filled with beautiful photos. The only disappointment is that no women were included. I'm thinking in particular of one I saw on a TV program about Living Treasures of Japan who made colored papers.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

The living national treasures of Japan were given grants to contribute to Japanese art and culture so historical developments in these areas would not be lost. I appreciated learning about puppeteering, basket-weaving, pottery-crafting, and some of these other arts. The interviews and pictures form a clear narrative, and a lot is revealed about Japanese culture in the way the artists speak about their work and lives.