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Japanese Aesthetics Donald Keene (1922 - )

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Japanese Aesthetics Donald Keene (1922 - ) Japanese Aesthetics Donald Keene (1922 - ) Japanologist, Japanese literature & culture, Professor Emeritus at Columbia University until 2011. Moved to Japan permanently and acquired Japanese citizenship in 2011. Concepts of Japanese Aesthetics by Donald Keene Suggestion To allow the imagination room to expand To suggest rather than to state in full •Power of suggestion in Haiku •Room for imagination Power of suggestion • Furuike ya kawazu tobikomu mizu no oto An old pond A frog jumps in Sound of water Irregularity •Asymmetry •Something incomplete is interesting •Blank space has meaning •Flower arrangement, haiku (5-7-5 syllables) Flower arrangement in Japanese style • Irregularity Flower Arrangement • Kado is a traditional Japanese art that was established in the mid 15th century and has flourished since the 16th century. Its origin is said to date from the sixth century when Buddhist priests offered flowers before Buddha. Its fundamental concept is to express the three elements of heaven, earth and mankind in a balanced composition using natural flowers. Basic upright style flower arrangement In irregularity, Japanese find and see harmony and balance. symmetrical • Western style flower arrangement • Beautiful from any direction The Versailles Palace Garden Symmetry • Simplicity • Preference for understatement • Short poems: haiku, 5-7-5 syllables Tanka, 5-7-5-7-7 syllables • Simple settings for tea ceremony Tea Ceremony • Tea was first introduced into Japan from China in Nara period. (710-784) In the 15th century it developed further more and established as an art form by Sen no Rikyu in the Muromachi period in the 16th century. Kaiseki ryori simple taste? Lacquer boxes for food Pleasing to the eye? • Perishability • Preference for impermanence • Impermanence was a necessary element in beauty: Love for cherry blossoms is connected with the appreciation of perishability. • Passage of time in nature kintsugi Repairing ceramics with gold wabi • Simple refinement • Serene • Solitude • Free from worldly concerns sabi • Quiet simplicity, • Solitude • Tranquility, • Acquired grace with age, aged beauty Wabi & Sabi Wabi & Sabi Image of wabi & sabi Saihō-ji Moss garden Saihō-ji Moss Garden Mono no aware (Pathos) • An aesthetic response to the transience of beautiful things • Gentle melancholy • Pathos of life Yūgen mysteriously deep and unfathomable Nature • Importance of nature • The sense of harmony with nature • The Japanese have viewed nature not as opposed to man but as a blessing under which he is allowed to live in harmony with his surroundings. Why nature became important • Long rice growing civilization clear-cut four seasons, temperate climate, abundant rainfall. • Shinto belief in a superior and mysterious force of nature; • The sacred called (kami) reside in natural elements • Worship sacred trees, rocks, offering to guardian deity of the rice field, etc. Nature • Traditional Japanese houses are open to the yard, sliding paper doors, etc. • Japanese value kokoro (spirit, heart, and soul); kokoro has been believed to dwell not only in human beings but also in physical objects. Based on this belief a great stress is placed upon a deep communion between people and nature. Nobility of failure • Heroes may lose the fight but admired for their courage and noble moral code. • Lord Asano in 47 Royal Retainers Nobility of failure • A person is admired whose sincerity will not allow him to make the maneuvers and compromises that are often needed for mundane success..
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