Tanizaki Junichiro on Japanese Aesthetics [4K UHD] - In Praise of Shadows

[Music] beauty always arises from the realities of daily life our ancestors who of necessity lived in dark rooms came to find beauty in shadows and eventually began using them for aesthetic purposes [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] upon his return from paris some years ago the author takabayashi musoan remarked that japanese cities like tokyo and osaka were much more brightly lit than cities in europe even in the center of the champs-elysees one could still find parisian homes lit with oil lamps to find such lighting in today's japan one would have to go far out into the mountainous countryside musan went on to say that japan and the united states are probably the world's most lavish in their use of electric lighting because japan tends to imitate america in every way upon reflection it seems to me that we japanese have been numbed by electric lighting and are surprisingly insensitive to the disadvantages of excessive illumination in fact the beauty of a japanese tatami room is created solely from variegated shadows there's nothing more to it than that westerners are often surprised by the simplicity of tatami rooms they see nothing but gray undecorated walls that perception is only natural however because they haven't grasped the enigma of shadows the interiors of japanese rooms are already well protected from sunlight but we take it even further by building extended eaves and adding verandas shoji screens diffuse the reflected light that steals in from the garden indirect dim lighting is the key element that defines the beauty of a tatami room moreover to ensure that this faint gloomy and transient light is serenely and intimately absorbed into the sand coated walls we purposely finish those walls in pale neutral colors the author tanezaki junichiro was born in downtown tokyo his lifetime touched three of japan's historical eras the meiji taisho and showa periods [Music] in the makioka sisters a portrait of shunkin and many other novels and essays tanezaki expressed the refined sensibilities of the japanese and his perception of female beauty he was nominated for the nobel prize several times [Music] in praise of shadows appears in a collection published in 1935 called sitsuyo essays it has been translated into about 20 languages and is highly regarded throughout the world as a masterpiece that helps readers decipher japanese culture the second and third decades of the 20th century saw the rapid westernization of japan the term showa modern indicated the flowering of a consumer culture that blended japanese and foreign elements born in tokyo tanizaki was immersed in that hybrid culture his early works were set against a backdrop of westernized manners and customs [Music] but tanezaki experienced a transformation at age 37 when the great kanto earthquake struck in 1923 leaving the ruined streets of tokyo behind he became a refugee in western japan where he subsequently settled in the following years tanezaki's eyes were gradually opened to japanese traditional culture which could be found in such cities as kyoto and nara exactly 10 years after leaving tokyo he wrote the essay in praise of shadows robert campbell has spent his career researching modern japanese literature he believes that in praise of shadows came into being precisely because tanizaki relocated from tokyo to western japan kansas m m what is the beauty of light and shadow in traditional japanese culture eaves verandas shoji screens earthen walls tanezaki's eye was caught by the unique way that light is captured in traditional japanese houses in delicate prose he discusses the world of beauty woven by faint indirect light how cold and lonesome is the backlit hue emanating from behind the shogi screens after ducking beneath the eaves and traveling the corridor the garden light finally arrives but it no longer has the power to illuminate as if drained of blood it merely emphasizes the whiteness of the shoji paper we revel in unbound enjoyment when we see the indistinct outdoor light achieve a firm hold on the dusky surface of the wall struggling to preserve the last vestiges of its life for us the interplay of light and faltering darkness on the wall are superior to any kind of decoration we never tire of gazing at them in praise of shadows continues to influence modern architects as well this home was designed so that occupants could minimize artificial lighting and since changes in natural light with the turning seasons m m [Music] um me alcohols give tatami rooms emotional color tanizaki says that the beauty of an alcove comes from the harmony between the earthen walls and the hanging scroll after hanging a scroll by the edo period painter maruyama okio we film the alcove using only natural light the painting depicts a rapid change in weather with a sudden rainstorm drenching the banks of a river of course our tatami rooms also feature tokonoma alkos where we hang scrolls or display flower arrangements the scrolls or flowers however are not decorations in their own right so much as a means of deepening the shadows in hanging a scroll we value above all else the harmonization of the scroll and the wall an aesthetic element we call tokutsuri or alcove reflection in other words the scroll is simply another refined surface that accepts the wavering faint light and therefore serves exactly the same purpose as the sand coated wall if a tatami room were likened to a sumi ink painting the shoji screens correspond to the lightest inktones while the alcove represents the deepest [Music] whenever i see an elegant alcove in a tatami room i'm awestruck by the japanese who understand the secret of shadows and masterfully manipulate light and darkness [Music] [Music] this is otakeshiro a contemporary artist using paper cloth film and other materials he creates many works that have a three-dimensional feel one of japan's foremost artists he designed an official poster for the tokyo 2020 olympics the figure kicking a ball is depicted in bright colors when he was in his late 20s otake read in praise of shadows for the first time he was particularly moved by tanezaki's description of the beauty of the traditional alcoves shadows [Music] [Music] in this work otake pasted papers of various textures and thicknesses to create the surface he says he recently realized that his insistence on making work this way is connected to in praise of shadows [Music] foreign [Music] this is otaki's most recent work [Music] he created it after he re-read in praise of shadows last year [Music] [Music] tanezaki also touched on beauty in daily life and food culture for example his essay includes the following descriptions of yokan sweet bean paste and miso soup translucent and with a cloudy surface like jade yokan absorbs sunlight deep within and glows with a dreamlike luminescence the depth and complexity of its coloring are never found in western confections when one takes a cool smooth portion in one's mouth it feels as if a sweet fragment of the room's darkness is melting on one's tongue even mediocre yokan has an ever-expanding depth of flavor i was once invited to a tea ceremony where miso soup was served i often had miso soup without thinking twice on this occasion however when i looked at its muddy red hue filling a black lacquer bowl in the faltering candlelight its color seemed truly profound and appetizing even in the context of this essay one section stands out as particularly unique it deals with the traditional japanese toilet when i go to a shrine or temple in kyoto or nara and am guided to a dimly lit impeccably clean toilet i find myself deeply grateful for japanese architecture tatami rooms are also fine of course but the japanese toilet truly provides a place of spiritual rest always separated from the main building the toilet is situated down a corridor in a shaded spot redlined with the fresh smell of greenery and moss squatting in the dim light one might enter a state of absorbed meditation in the faint glow of the shoji screens gaze at the garden scene outside the window either way it's an indescribable experience though i've said it before other necessary elements are the dimness of the light the impeccable cleanliness of the space and a quiet atmosphere in which even the drone of mosquitoes can be heard while using such a toilet i enjoy hearing the quiet patter of rain particularly in eastern japan toilets have a long narrow window at floor level that's used for cleaning out the space drops of water falling from the eaves or tree leaves above wash the bases of stone lanterns and moisten the moss on stepping stones before being absorbed into the ground their gentle sound can be heard all the better close at hand our ancestors made everything into poetry they took what would normally be the dirtiest place in the home and transformed it into a place of elegance connecting it with traditional themes of natural beauty they enveloped it in nostalgic associations so [Music] this is a residence ando tadao designed about 40 years ago soon after becoming an architect the toilet is in a back room and can only be accessed by passing through a courtyard open to the rain and wind this is ando's conception of a modern toilet can't do that on it me [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] tanezaki also writes about the darkness of night and japanese aesthetic sensibilities the flickering candle flames that have given light to countless generations of japanese tanezaki writes that one can't appreciate the beauty of makie traditional lacquerware sprinkled with gold and silver unless it's seen in candlelight one might say it's impossible to conceive of the beauty of lacquerware without stipulating the condition of darkness without lacquer vessels gleaming in that gloomy room how much less appealing would we find the dream world created by mysterious candles and lamplight the fluttering lamps create a pulsing beat in the night like small streams flowing on the tatami and gathering in pools the light of a single lamp glints thinly fleetingly and fitfully here and there creating a pattern as if mackie gold and silver dust adorned the night itself [Music] traditional japanese beauty appears to greatest effect in darkness to demonstrate we'll use a japanese candle to light a gold screen painted by hasagawa tohaku an artist active in the 16th and early 17th century the reflected light casts a faint golden glow into the surrounding darkness like the horizon line at dusk i can't think of any other instance when gold displays such mournful beauty because modern people live in brightly lit houses they don't know this kind of golden beauty but i'm quite sure that people in olden days living as they did in dark houses were not only entranced by this beautiful color but also well aware of its practical value surely they used gold as a reflector to help illuminate rooms that otherwise lacked adequate lighting that is their use of gold leaf and gold dust was not just a luxury but a way to use reflections to brighten their rooms that would explain why gold was so extraordinarily prized over silver and other metals unlike the latter whose luster gradually fades with time the gleam of gold remains long undimmed illuminating the interior darkness [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] one theme that occupied tanezaki in his novels all his life is the shape of love between men and women in his personal life he created new works in the pursuit of the ideal woman the year after he wrote in praise of shadows tanezaki married for the third time at the age of 48. women were an inexhaustible source of inspiration for him his entire life he had written previously about the relationship between nighttime darkness and feminine beauty casting his thought back to olden days when lamplight was scarce a luminescent gem shines with splendor in the night but loses its potency when exposed to the broad light of day similarly i don't believe that beauty exists apart from the workings of shadow that is our ancestors believed that women like makier lacquerware and mother-of-pearl vessels are inextricably linked to darkness they accordingly enveloped women's arms and legs in the darkness of long sleeves and hems and gave just one feature an exposed emphasis the nape of the neck tanisaki's musings eventually reached the point where he equated the ancient relationship between darkness and feminine beauty with the true essence of japanese aesthetic sensibility in those times women in the middle and upper classes rarely went outside if they did venture out they stayed concealed in their carriages and did not expose themselves to the gaze of people in the street this being the case it's no exaggeration to say that they secluded themselves night and day in their gloomy homes their bodies buried in darkness only their faces provided a sign that they existed at all i suppose those who praise the physical beauty of our brightly lit modern women have trouble imagining the ghostly beauty of women of the past others might say that the deceptive appeal of beauty glimpsed in darkness hardly counts as beauty at all but as i've already noted we easterners create beauty out of nothing by conjuring shadows there's a classic poem that reads gather and tie up brushwood you can build a cottage unbound it returns to the field ultimately this is how we japanese think beauty does not reside in physical objects it resides in the pattern of shadows the play of light and dark that are created between physical objects beauty does not reside in physical objects but in the pattern of shadows tanezaki's vision of women and darkness encompasses an infinitely expanding fantasy have any of you seen the color of darkness illuminated by a candle it was somehow a different substance from the darkness of a nighttime street it seemed to be filled with microscopic particles akin to fine ash that glimmered with an iridescent shimmer thinking that ash might get into my eyes i found myself unconsciously blinking in particular it seems to me that the visible darkness experienced inside a room has a flickering shimmering quality that lends itself to hallucinations which sometimes makes it weirder and more ghastly than outside darkness it might be the kind of darkness where specters and monstrous apparitions are likely to spring up and so women enveloped as they were in a thick curtain of shadow and living behind several layers of screens and sliding doors might well have had something in common with monsters of the night certainly women were wrapped in many layers of darkness that filled every available aperture from their collars and sleeve openings to the crossing hems at their feet [Music] indeed depending on the circumstance women themselves may have disgorged the darkness from the blackened teeth in their mouths or the ends of their black hair like silk spun out by monstrous spiders [Music] artist otake shinro says he recently made a new discovery concerning in praise of shadows more than 30 years ago otake made frequent trips from tokyo to the kyoto area in an active effort to absorb traditional japanese culture this oil painting dates from that time it depicts a scene he encountered in a famous japanese garden in kanazawa called kenrokuen it shows a bridge looming out of the gloom at dusk why was he so entranced by that scene last year otake returned to kendroquin and noticed something is my [Music] light and shadow life and death tanezaki's words have a charisma that invites readers to think deeply [Music] the great kanto earthquake provided the initial impetus for tanezaki's move to western japan more than 100 000 people died or went missing in that disaster tanezaki wrote in praise of shadows 10 years later [Music] in the recovery period he watched with complex emotions as tokyo resumed its course toward modernization and here we are today it's been nearly 10 years since the unprecedented damage caused by the great east japan earthquake my [Music] lived in a time of american style modernization that was aimed at greater material wealth and convenience it was a trend that could no longer be stopped but tanezaki had this to say truth be told no matter how stubbornly stoic you may be one can't help feeling cold on snowy days as the saying goes if a convenient warming device is set in front of you you'll be tempted to use it without worrying about whether or not it's elegant [Music] though this is inescapable i can't help wondering how our present society would be different if the east had developed a scientific civilization that was completely independent from that of the west this is something that always occupies my mind imagine for example if we had our own fields of physics and chemistry that provided the basis for technology manufacturing and our own unique development if that were the case wouldn't we now have all kinds of daily appliances medicines and handicrafts that better suit our national character [Music] indeed taking it a step further if we had approached the very principles of physics and chemistry from a perspective that diverged from those of the west we may well have uncovered properties and functions of light electricity and atoms that are quite different from what we've been taught [Music] m in praise of shadows was written 90 years ago tanizaki's ideas live on today concerning traditional japanese beauty and culture that are woven from light and darkness [Music] some people say that as civilization advances transportation will move to the skies and underground returning our city streets to their former quietness i have no doubt though that when that time arrives new devices will appear to be devil the elderly in the end this is just an idle complaint i myself fully recognize the many blessings of our times and know that nothing i say at this point will change anything japan is already pursuing the path of western culture as long as that's true it will push forward and leave old men like me behind but until the color of our skin changes we must be prepared to accept a heavy loss that falls only on us my intention in writing this is that i hope to leave behind in some field such as literature or the fine arts a way to make up for that loss [Music] we are already losing the world of shadows but i hope to call it back at least in the realm of literature i want to deepen the eaves of the temple we call literature darken its walls push over exposed things into darkness and remove useless decorations from the rooms i don't ask to do this with a whole street i'd be content with just one house in shadow no one can predict how it might go but just to experiment let's turn off the lights [Music] you

Channel: NHK WORLD-JAPAN

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Id: C42INHwTfDM

Length: 59min 6sec (3546 seconds)

Published: Tue May 17 2022