Praise to the shadow

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Praise of the shadow - draft of a Japanese aesthetic ( Japanese 陰 翳 礼 讃 , In'ei Raisan ) is a long essay by Tanizaki Jun'ichirō . It was published in Keizai Ōrai ( 経 済 往来 ) magazine in 1933 .

overview

The long essay ( 随筆 , zuihitsu ) consists of 16 sections, which are headed in the Japanese text. The main focus of the section can usually be read from the heading. The signature Draft Japanese Aesthetics in the German version is misleading insofar as it is not a systematic treatise on aesthetics , as it was founded in Germany by Baumgarten as a philosophical sub-discipline. Rather, it is a narrative work in which Tanizaki exemplifies his aestheticist idea of ​​beauty using individual examples. The essay is significant in literary history because it reflects the central position of Japanese aestheticism as one of several anti-naturalist movements at the beginning of the 20th century.

content

Yatadera, Kyōto,
paper lanterns and lighting
Shōren-in, Kyōto,
Shōji and spatial effect
No theater
Section 1 - Architectural Hobby ( 普 請 道 楽 )
Tanizaki describes questions about the interior design of a Japanese house based on given own experiences and those of a friend with house building. The focus of attention is on the parts of the house that cause the interplay of light and darkness in a residential building: the lighting, heating and shōji .
Section 2 - The temples in Kyoto and Nara ( 京都 や 奈良 の 寺院 )
This section describes the toilet facilities of the temples in Kyōto and Nara in contrast to the Japanese tea house and western ceramics.
Section 3 - Luminaries in the form of paper lanterns ( 行 燈 式 の 電燈 )
When comparing modern western lighting (electric lamps) with traditional paper lanterns, as well as fountain pens and brushes, Tanizaki raises the question of an independent Japanese development in science, thought and literature. A first criticism of the all too rapid adoption of Western achievements can be heard.
Section 4 - A Writer's Fantasy ( 小説家 の 空想 )
The question raised in the previous chapter is deepened into a criticism of the uncritical adoption of borrowed achievements that are not tailored to Japanese needs. Tanizaki advocates an independent Japanese development with which the Japanese could have followed a “direction corresponding to their nature” and continued an almost 1000-year-old tradition.
Section 5 - Paper ( 紙 )
Using various examples, such as the difference between the whiteness of Japanese Hōsho paper and that of Western paper, Tanizaki examines the differences in gloss, light effect and color tone of Japanese everyday objects. The "hand shine" ( nare , the well-worn) is introduced as a characteristic of good taste. The use of things always leads to a kind of pollution. The saying of Ryokuu is expanded and supplemented: Good taste is a cold thing and an unclean thing too.
Section 6 - Waranji-ya Restaurant ( わ ら ん じ や )
Tanizaki describes the visit to the Waranji-ya restaurant and his enjoyment of the candlelight and the resulting twilight. In this twilight, the beauty of the wooden and lacquered dinnerware comes into its own. In contrast, ceramic crockery, but also gold-decorated lacquer work, looked vulgar when illuminated by electric light, withdrawn from the darkness.
Section 7 - Wooden Soup Bowls ( 吸 い 物 椀 )
This section extends the previous consideration, the importance of darkness, to Japanese cuisine. "When you think about all these things, you come to the conclusion that our kitchen usually makes the shade the basic tone and is inextricably linked with the darkness."
Section 8 - Architectural ( 建築 の こ と )
Once again, Tanizaki contrasts the European with the Japanese architecture, a light-flooded Gothic cathedral with a dim temple structure. The beauty of the shadow is justified with the purpose and function of the buildings. Simplicity is most useful to the purpose. Japanese buildings followed the principle of shielding against sunlight, while European buildings used protection from the weather.
Section 9 - Japanese Housing ( 日本 座 敷 )
The magic of the shadow gives a Japanese living room a mysterious aesthetic expression. This becomes particularly clear in the tokonoma (wall niche).
Section 10 - The Light of Gold in the Dark ( 暗 が り の 中 に あ る 金色 の 光 )
The purpose of using gold for wall screens or incorporating gold thread into Nō costumes is not just a decorative one, in an originally dark environment, the house or Nō theater, an illuminating accent is set that also has a practical use. Tanizaki consciously refers to the female actors ( onnagata ) of the Nō theater and emphasizes differences in the brightness and color of the skin.
Section 11 - The Darkness of the Nō Stage ( 能 舞台 の 暗 さ )
Compared to the Kabuki and the Bunraku puppet theater, the more traditional Noh theater belongs to the greater beauty due to the darkness.
Section 12 - The Women Then ( 昔 の 女 )
This section deals with the beauty of women. The traditional way of dressing only reveals the hands, feet and face. The clothing ( kimono ) is designed to cover the rest of the body in darkness , right down to blackening the teeth .
Section 13 - Beauty in the Dark ( 暗 が り の 中 の 美 )
Searching for the beautiful in the dark and in the shadow is justified by the nature and character of the East Asians. In order to avoid the ugliness, one therefore prefers "cloudy" colors for everyday objects.
Section 14 - The World of Shadows ( 陰 翳 の 世界 )
The natural law of darkness in contrast to the white of the skin is essential for the ideal beauty of women. In the interplay of darkness, the wickedness of the entertainment district and the white make-up of the geishas , the connection between the beautiful and the ugly can be heard.
Section 15 - The night in Tōkyō and Osaka ( 東京 や 大阪 の 夜 )
Using the example of the moon show, Tanizaki shows that modern and bright city lighting cancels out the aesthetic demands placed on darkness.
Section 16 - The Complaints of the Elders ( 年 寄 り の 愚痴 )
In summary, this section alludes to the upheaval in which Japan has historically been since the Meiji Restoration . Japan has taken a course along the lines of Western culture. This disadvantage could perhaps be compensated for in the field of art and literature. For this, the half-forgotten world of the shadow must find its way back into literature.

Classification in literary history

With the opening of the country at the beginning of the Meiji period , Japan began to adapt everything new from the western world in an incredibly rapid manner. In addition to the technical achievements, the way of thinking and literary currents from Europe were also taken up. The speed of this development led to an unmanageable variety of philosophical, literary and political currents.

There were also significant political events: the 1904/05 war between Russia and Japan , the colonization of Korea in 1910, the First World War and the great earthquake of 1923.

The most important western literary tendencies had already prevailed in 1910. Above all, the naturalism of Japanese provenance ( 自然 主義 , shizen shugi ) found its way into literary life. Influenced by French, Russian and Scandinavian naturalism , the weight of Japanese naturalism lay in the search for truth and knowledge of the essence of man. Only what has been experienced is true. Naturalism is socially bound through its socially critical awareness and the fight against all conventions that hinder the development of the "modern" personality. The expression of this current in prose is the first-person narration .

Contrary to naturalism, various literary currents developed between 1910 and 1930, which are summarized under the collective term anti-naturalism. What these trends have in common is that they put the reform of beautiful literature at the center of their interests. One of these literary counter-movements was aestheticism ( 耽美 主義 , tambi shugi ), of which Tanizaki and his teacher Nagai Kafū are the main representatives . Aestheticism is characterized by the principle of L'art pour l'art , the creation and enjoyment of beauty.

Aestheticism countered the faithful and self-tormenting representation of everyday life with the absolutely beautiful and the Japanese tradition of the Heian and Edo periods . The expression of beauty is the figure of the woman, the eroticism and the courtly culture. The representation of the erotic must in particular also be understood as an expression of protest against Westernization. In this context of literary history, Tanizaki's essay Praise of the Shadow can be seen as programmatic for Japanese aestheticism.

Appreciation

Tanizaki's literary work is characterized by the representation of human passions in the field of tension between Eastern and Western culture. Following Schaarschmidt, Tanizaki tries to safeguard the essentials of the Japanese traditional. He succeeds in synthesizing Japanese with modernity in his late work The Makioka Sisters ( 細 雪 , Sasameyuki ). In this respect he has rightly been called the “standard bearer of aestheticism”.

Mentioned people

  • Natsume Sōseki , Section 1, p. 10; Section 7, p. 29.
  • Saitō Ryokuu (1867–1904), writer and critic, Section 2, p. 11.
  • Buddha and Confucius , Section 4, p. 18
  • Kongō Iwao (1887–1951), Nō player, section 10, p. 44.
  • Yang Guifei , classical beauty of China, role of Kongō Iwaos in the Nō play The Emperor , section 10, p. 44.
  • Baikō Onoe (1870-1934), Kabuki Player and Onnagata, Section 11, p. 49.
  • Takebayashi Musōan (1880–1962), writer and translator Section 15, p. 62.
  • Albert Einstein , Section 15, p. 63.

Mentioned places

  • Onoe Shrine at Kakogawa, Section 7, p. 29
  • Chion-in and Hoganji , Section 8, p. 32
  • Sumiya House in Shimabara (Kyōto), Section 12, p. 51.
  • Nihonbashi in Chūō, Tōkyō, section 12, p. 51
  • Chūgū-ji , former women's monastery next to the Horyūji temple complex, section 12, p. 52.
  • Gion (Kyōto) , section 14, p. 59.
  • Ishiyama Temple (Lake Biwa), Section 15, p. 63.
  • Coast of Suma near Kobe, section 15, p. 64.
  • Hiei , Nyoi, Kurodani mountain ranges around Kyoto, section 16, p. 66.

expenditure

See also

Web links

Wikiquote: Tanizaki Jun'ichirō  - Quotes

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Note: Tanizaki uses the Kanji 椀 instead of the Kanji 碗 in the text . The two characters differ in the Hen radical: ( 木 ) ( ki , tree) instead of ( 石 ) ( ishi , stone). It means a wooden bowl in contrast to a ceramic bowl.
  2. ↑ Praise to the Shadow. , P. 31.
  3. ↑ Siegfried Schaarschmidt: Explanation attempts. Paths of Modern Japanese Literature. Edited by Otto Putz, Munich 1998, ISBN 3-89129-435-2 , p. 11.
  4. ↑ Horst Hammitzsch : Japan Handbook. Stuttgart 1990, ISBN 3-515-05753-6 , pp. 897-898.
  5. ↑ Horst Hammitzsch: Japan Handbook. 1990, p. 929.
  6. ↑ Horst Hammitzsch: Japan Handbook. 1990, p. 937.
  7. ↑ Siegfried Schaarschmidt: Explanation attempts. 1998, p. 13.
  8. ↑ Eduard Klopfenstein in the afterword to Praise of the Shadow. P. 82.