Rating: 
Summary: Thought provoking piece
Review: Tanizaki's 1933 essay is an excellent introduction to the Japanese aesthetic. True, it IS the personal reflection on one man who, were he anyone else, would probably be dismissed as a curmudgeonly crackpot. However, 'western bashing' is not the issue here -- a point that he makes repeatedly is that had Japan remained closed to the influences and technology of the west, those things that have developed in Japan (and, arguably, later developed Japan) would have had a very different complexion. Although he does not speak for all Japanese, the points he makes -- tastes in architecture, decoration, etc -- appear over and over in ordinary Japanese people's homes and lives, even today, 70 years later. (I recommend this book to anyone going to visit Japan -- it gives most Westerners an entirely new perspective on how to view Japanese art.)
Rating: 
Summary: Aesthetics, in a personal tone
Review: The book is at once a praising of traditional Japanese beauty, and a mourning of the gradual disappearance of it (Tanizaki was 47 years old when its content was first published in 1933). But in my opinion it is foremost a contemplation on the "best way" to appreciate Japanese art (emphasis mine). The way he repeatedly speaks of in the text is "in shadows," where [Japanese] objects are free from the trivialization direct light subjugates them to, where objects reveal their natural gradation. Whether the object be a painting in a temple, lacquerware utensils in a restaurant, plated gold on walls, or even miso soup in a bowl, it is in shadows where Tanizaki finds those objects most beautiful.
Why the difference in taste between Westerners and Orientals (the translation makes use of the word Orientals over Asians)? Tanizaki attributes it to different characteristics, and ultimately to skin color:
"In my opinion it is this: we Orientals tend to seek our satisfactions in whatever surroundings we happen to find ourselves, to content ourselves with things as they are; and so darkness causes us no discontent, we resign ourselves to it as inevitable. If light is scarce then light is scarce; we will immerse ourselves in the darkness and there discover its own particular beauty. But the progressive Westerner is determined always to better his lot. From candle to oil lamp, oil lamp to gas light, gas light to electric light -- his quest for a brighter light never ceases, he spares no pains to eradicate even the minutest shadow...
"And so we see how profound is the relationship between shadows and the yellow races. Because no one likes to show himself to bad advantage, it is natural that we should have chosen cloudy colors for our food and clothing and houses, and sunk ourselves back into the shadows. I am not saying that our ancestors were conscious of the cloudiness in their skin. They cannot have known that a whiter race existed. But one must conclude that something in their sense of color led them naturally to this preference."
The book proceeds with anecdotes and observations. I found Tanizaki's exposition quiet (though others may disagree on this point -- I did not read much into the nationalistic sentiments others find so prevalent in this book), interesting, and congenial. My only regret in the book was with its size (it is merely over 50 pages). It would have been great if the text appeared instead as a chapter in a collection of essays by Tanizaki.
Rating:
Summary: The subtle beauty of the shadows
Review: The ideas in Tanizaki's essay on the Japanese appreciation for shadows and nature-based arts and architecture should come as little surprise for those familiar with the Japanese culture and tradition. Tanizaki's suggestion that these inclinations came from practical origins made sense (a lot better than the still-common theory that the Japanese idea of aesthetics is a result of different, Japanese genes). It also seemed to me that the Japanese were more inclined to resign themselves to fate and find beauty in what was at hand (like the shadows) than to fight nature and create light at the expense of beauty.What interested me most was the fact that Tanizaki has a "us versus them" mentality, not so much that Japan or the West is better than the other, just different. However, it seems that if a young Japanese person were to read this essay today, it would seem just as "foreign" as it does to an American. Nevertheless, it was interesting to read Tanizaki's essay, which discusses everything from the theatre to the bathroom, gold and lacquer, women and race. One cannot help but read Tanizaki's essay without feeling his loss at the erosion of traditional society and the innate beauty within it. At the same time, it makes you look around and notice the lack of beauty in our everyday lives (in terms of art and architecture). America, too, was once a land of shadows and a people who we probably able to appreciate their beauty. Tanizaki probably never considered the fact that his culture and ours are really not so fundamentally different. If you read this essay, don't get caught up in Tanizaki's occasional bad-mouthing of Western culture (remember that he probably would have never dreamed that this short essay would be translated and read in the West!) Instead, treat this as a rare look into a common Japanese mindset and an opportunity to see for yourself whether Tanizaki's praise of shadows is a worthy one or not.
Rating:
Summary: is there ever a "pure Japan"?
Review: Where is this "pure Japan" the author constantly refers to in his book?
The enormous influence exerted on Japan by China throughout its imperial history, but particularly during the medieval period, is well-known. China, in its turn, benefited a great deal from cultural exchanges with India. The point is: when we come to culture, almost every culture, and certainly every great civilization, is a mixed hybrid. There is no such a thing as "pure"--"pure-bred culture" would have become extinct a long time ago.
Also, are Japanese people supposed to be doomed to live in candlelight for ever and ever? Why cannot they claim the modern inventions their own? Is modernity always synonymous with "the west"? I see this as dis-empowering for Japan, not empowering.
I am not a Westerner if "Westerner" in the author's definition means "a white person" (he does not think much about blacks or Asian Americans--I guess they are not on his horizon), but I think the Xenophobic tone in this book is decidedly the most unpleasant feature.
I don't like many aspects of modern life. I, too, appreciate the beauty of lacquer ware in candlelight. On one of those rare days of power outage, I enjoy using my oil lamp and just watch the shadows on the wall. But, modern life is all we have in this lifetime. It's no use to deplore it on and on. We should try to do something about it, change it and make it better. Using electric bulbs in an antique lamp is fine. But there's no need to keep whining about how the terrible West ruins everything "purely Japanese," because "pure Japan" has never existed.
Rating:
Summary: is there ever a "pure Japan"?
Review: Where is this "pure Japan" the author constantly refers to in his book?
The enormous influence exerted on Japan by China throughout its imperial history, but particularly during the medieval period, is well-known. China, in its turn, benefited a great deal from cultural exchanges with India. The point is: when we come to culture, almost every culture, and certainly every great civilization, is a mixed hybrid. There is no such a thing as "pure"--"pure-bred culture" would have become extinct a long time ago.
Also, are Japanese people supposed to be doomed to live in candlelight for ever and ever? Why cannot they claim the modern inventions their own? Is modernity always synonymous with "the west"? I see this as dis-empowering for Japan, not empowering.
I am not a Westerner if "Westerner" in the author's definition means "a white person" (he does not think much about blacks or Asian Americans--I guess they are not on his horizon), but I think the Xenophobic tone in this book is decidedly the most unpleasant feature.
I don't like many aspects of modern life. I, too, appreciate the beauty of lacquer ware in candlelight. On one of those rare days of power outage, I enjoy using my oil lamp and just watch the shadows on the wall. But, modern life is all we have in this lifetime. It's no use to deplore it on and on. We should try to do something about it, change it and make it better. Using electric bulbs in an antique lamp is fine. But there's no need to keep whining about how the terrible West ruins everything "purely Japanese," because "pure Japan" has never existed.
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