Traditions

Fülszöveg

Traditions is a collection of eleven provocative essays on the aesthetic sense of the Japanese. It begins with the story of kadö, or flower arranging. Writes Takashi Ishikawa: "In kadö, the arranger cuts the roots of flowers, grasses, and plants. He kills the plants and uses only a part of them for his art. He then 'resurrects' them, trying to achieve the utmost beauty in their arrangement." But the practitioner of bonsai, the subject of the second essay, "uses trees that retain their roots. His art requires living trees. A finished work of kadö remains unchanging, reflecting the idea and emotion of the moment of its creation. A bonsai continues to live and transform itself in subtle ways every day." Ishikawa breaks new ground in essays on iki and tsü. "Iki was an aesthetic concept, but tsü was a way of behaving," he writes. "Both evolved during the flowering of the culture of Höreki and Tenmei. Even though it was the dawn of the modern age, hoi polloi were chafing under... Tovább

Fülszöveg

Traditions is a collection of eleven provocative essays on the aesthetic sense of the Japanese. It begins with the story of kadö, or flower arranging. Writes Takashi Ishikawa: "In kadö, the arranger cuts the roots of flowers, grasses, and plants. He kills the plants and uses only a part of them for his art. He then 'resurrects' them, trying to achieve the utmost beauty in their arrangement." But the practitioner of bonsai, the subject of the second essay, "uses trees that retain their roots. His art requires living trees. A finished work of kadö remains unchanging, reflecting the idea and emotion of the moment of its creation. A bonsai continues to live and transform itself in subtle ways every day." Ishikawa breaks new ground in essays on iki and tsü. "Iki was an aesthetic concept, but tsü was a way of behaving," he writes. "Both evolved during the flowering of the culture of Höreki and Tenmei. Even though it was the dawn of the modern age, hoi polloi were chafing under restrictions imposed by their two-sworded masters. They found freedom in the licensed quarters, the Kabuki theater, and the geisha quarters along the Sumida River. In these haunts of pleasure tsü evolved as a code of behavior and iki as a refined aesthetic consciousness." Ishikawa shows how the concept of iki influenced kimono patterns and the ways women wore makeup and dressed. Vissza