In Praise of Shadows
Ranked #1 in Aesthetics, Ranked #2 in Architecture History — see more rankings.
An essay on aesthetics by the Japanese novelist, this book explores architecture, jade, food, and even toilets, combining an acute sense of the use of space in buildings. The book also includes descriptions of laquerware under candlelight, and women in the darkness of the house of pleasure. less
Reviews and Recommendations
We've comprehensively compiled reviews of In Praise of Shadows from the world's leading experts.
Jason Fried Co-Founder/BasecampRecommends this book
Kyle Chayka Tanizaki is mourning what has been paved over, which is the old Japanese aesthetic of darkness, of softness, of appreciating the imperfect—rather than the cold, glossy surfaces of industrialized modernity that the West had brought to Japan at that moment. For me, that’s really valuable, because it does preserve a different way of looking at the world. (Source)
Rankings by Category
In Praise of Shadows is ranked in the following categories:
- #10 in Architecture
- #56 in Art
- #79 in Design
- #88 in Essays
- #16 in Japanese
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