Date

1979

Author

Güvenç, Bozkurt

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This article is not about arts or architecture of Japan, but several tastes of beauty that are found in things stil l considered to be "Japanese" , As such it is not an essay but a chapter of a field work about contemporary Japanese Culture (soon to be published). In the absence of a specific concept comparable to Western "Fine Arts", all things Japanese display some trait of beauty. Picasso's famous reply "Oh, Art?.. What isn' t (!) " becomes rather relevant for the culture of Japan . Hence the scope is limited to topics treated here : (1) varieties and adjectives of beauty, (2) pottery : A noble tradition , (3) calligraphy (brushwork) as a mirror of personality , (4) tea ceremony as an "etiquette " bridging nature and culture , (5) origins of living arts and artists , (6) Zen Budizm which is but a thatched roof over all other arts. Inadequacies inherent in such a biased outline have been partially compensated by the liberal use of photographs, proverbs, maxims, sketches, haikus and impressions of the author as a participant observer-. The underlying theme that emerges may be that the real beauty is found in the actual behavior of a people. The natural environment and sociocultural values merely help to shape o r t o prescribe such behavior. Japan has no doubt changed and continues to be changed. Among the rapidly modernizing societies of the world, however, Japan alone displays a deep understanding of, proximity to, and respect for, the Nature. Japan fell neither slave to Nature, nor did Japan try to master her —like the Western peoples— . Their maxim of life has been to be with the Nature and with the times. In the long while, They have successfully absorbed several foreign arts and cultures. Rather than being divided over, or having to choose between, the old or new, Japan is a continuous present of both old and new! Products change but overall purposes and processes remain. Among' the principles that help to achieve this unique result the following are noted : - Simplicity rather than complexity, - Humanness rather than monumentalizm, - Genuineness rather than exhibitionism, - Naturalness rather than artificialism, - Humility rather than perfectionalism. And the above principle s may be restate d around the several aesthetic values of Zen Budism as the Japanese art of living ; - Spiritual rather than ceremonials, - Creativity rather than morality , - Through beauty rather than artistry , - With nature rather than against it, - Towards self-enlightenment rather than intellectualizm. As living examples, artful practice s —ranging from appreciation of Sansui (mountain-water) to the practice of Ikebana (flower arrangement) and to the building of t e a gardens— have been treated as a continuum with man-made scale of karesansui (dry-lands cape) at the center. The taste- for beauty somehow remains a basic nutrient of Japanese life rather than being a side decoration.

URI

http://jfa.arch.metu.edu.tr/archive/0258-5316/1979/cilt05/sayi_2/227-268.pdf
https://hdl.handle.net/11511/51217

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Department of Architecture, Article