The uniqueness of Japanese sense of beauty --- shadows
Junichiro Tanizaki (2011) stated that “Beauty does not exist in the object but the ripples and brightness of the shadows created by objects” in his work ‘In Praise of Shadows’ to express his opinion on Japanese sense of beauty about shadows (p. 35). In aesthetics dictionaries, the shadow is vividly described as "the light and shade cast by many branches of foliage on the ground." Ancient Japanese discovered and enjoyed the beauty from shadows which led to shadow aesthetics become Japanese unique aesthetic tradition. On the other hand, European developed a totally different aesthetic tradition which advocates light and sunshine. This report will first compare the different aesthetic traditions
The roof is huge and heavy in spite of temples, palace, and farmhouse in Japan. The indoor area is full of shadows under the big roofs and people even cannot distinguish the walls and pillars. Japanese enjoy seeing the golden sunshine outdoor when they stay in the area where cannot be reached by light. They appreciate this kind of beauty and the beauty of Japanese house totally depends on the degree of shadows (Junichiro Tanizaki, 2011). Japanese are also accustomed to building corridors on the edge of the house and set paper doors to weaken sunshine expect using big roofs. By using these ways, they can create an environment of shadows in their house. In terms of tokonoma, the beauty of shadows is also applied. Tokonoma is a built-in recessed space in the Japanese house, so the light inserted will be weakened which creates a sense of mystery. Many hanging scrolls are not famous or perfect themselves but they become classical once they are hung in the tokonoma because the blurry image is more suitable for Japanese sense of beauty, they think the vague ancient poetry and painting is quainter. European houses, however, are heavily influenced by light. European ideal home is a clean and bright place where windows should be polished so that the sunshine can fully insert. The fireplace in the living room is not only for winter heating but also for lighting during a long night. The park usually
Western diamonds culture is more rational and focus on its formation mechanism and the beauty of structure, with more logical thinking but less imaginal thinking, more scientific exploration but less humanistic precipitation. Westerners pay more attention to its crystal structure, internal structure, material composition. They try to study diamonds from a natural point of view and a scientific point of view in order to understand nature and explore scientific knowledge which is a purely logical and knowledge-seeking culture. In fact, they do not have stone culture, but only stone science, geology and mineral science. However, people try to give jades meanings and appreciate these meanings in eastern. Easterners focus more on the character of jades, for example, people appreciate the shadows and weak light emitted by jades because they think it is kind of character of implicit and restraining which in line with their aesthetic
The prologue of the book clearly lays out Diamond thesis. He explains that past societies have collapsed based on five factors: human induced environmental damage, climate change, hostile neighbors, friendly trade partners, and society’s response to environmental problems. He also explains how is wrote this book in a scientific manner using the “comparative method”, comparing natural situations differing with respect to the variable of interest. There is a slight flaw in this though. Showing these correlations between different societies,...
Recently the concerns of women around their equality in society has become a hotly debated topic in the public spot light. Much of the debate concerns women and the ingrained sexism that permeates most cultures. Many women's activists feel that this ingrained sexism has widened the gap between men and women in a political, social, and economic sense. And for the most part they do have strong evidence to support these claims. Women have suffered through millennia of male dominated societies where treatment of women has been, and in some cases still is, inhuman. Women are treated like subhuman creatures that have only exist to be used for procreate and to be subjugated by men for household use. It has only been very recently that women have become recognized as equals in the eyes of men. Equals in the sense that they have the same political and social rights as males. While the situation has improved, women still have to deal with a male oriented world. Often women in the workplace are thought of as inferior and as a liability. This can be due to concerns about maternity leave, or women with poor leadership skills. But also in part it is due because of the patriarchy that controls all aspects and dynamics of the culture, family, politics, and economy. Even developed countries like The United Kingdom, United States, Germany, and France, could be classified as a patriarchies. These countries may not agree with this notion because of expansive, but not complete changes, that have gradually equalized women in society. However, there are developed countries that openly express a patriarchy and have enacted little societal changes to bring equality to women. Japan is one such country, and t...
...ng materials also linking back to Herzog’s use of wood. This is reflected an interest in the use of Japanese wooden-frame traditions showing the sensitivity and irregularity of the composition.
How far have we really come from tenth-century China? We may have changed our mode of torture but based on the evidence women will still go through extreme practices to make themselves attractive to men. Women today will always go above and beyond to look appealing to men. Whether it is minor adjustments such as hair color and makeup to extreme adjustments like plastic surgery and Botox women are continuing to go great lengths to look good for the opposite sex.
Japan has historically taken ideas from the United States on its business, merchandise, or other corporate sectors to improve within its political borders. These practices have become massive cultural and economic movements in Japan. Interestingly, Japan takes ideas and molds them into Japanese culture and style; therefore, these products are “Japanized.” To further elaborate on this statement, Japan has succeeded in its businesses and corporations such as the automobile industries around the world (for example, the NUMMI plant production transcended those of American automobile productions due to an enhanced Japanese corporate culture). Albeit many Japanese industries have roots in the United States, they have expanded globally. The music
During the day the Barcelona Pavilion is completely naturally lit. It captures the light with its’ clear walls surrounding the façade. The overhang from the long roof blocks direct sunlight to soften its intensity. He “was replacing the visual dependence of architecture on effects of light and shadow by playing with reflections” (Kostof p.703). The reflective pools are also a way to play with light.
Beauty has differed through time, different cultures and perceptions of the world. It’s not easy to define beauty, you could say that there are “a thousand” definitions of beauty. And there are numerous degrees of each. “Beauty depends on the eye of the beholder”. This saying is correct because what one individual considers beautiful is not necessarily what another individual may consider beautiful. Someone “beautiful on the outside” can be “ugly inside”. The media and the society are constantly using the conception of “beauty” to show us what we should strive to be. They assert that we have to appear a certain way to be viewed as beautiful. This is wrong, so what is beauty, really, and what different ways of looking at beauty are there?
The cultural diamond can be best understood and explained through an analysis of its framework and linkages. The diamond consists of four corners: the cultural object, the receiver, the creator and the social world.
The perception of the "ideal beauty" is an arbitrary and abstract concept that is constantly being modified as a result of the times. People are influenced by the images they see in the media to determine what the ideal beauty is. The media is manipulative and deceptive in nature, and it continues to carry harmful suggestions about ideal beauty despite the concrete evidence of damaging effects to people of all ages. Fortunately, it seems there may be shifts in the media that are beginning to portray men and women more realistically.
“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” a phrase that everyone has heard of at one point in his or her life. Walk by a cashier aisle in a supermarket and a there will be magazines shouting “How to lose 30 pounds in one month!” “Buff up with this weird new workout routine!”. “Fashion that’ll slim you down!” and the like. Is the concept of beauty and ugly really homogeneous, or does it vary? Is it just weight that’s considered? Exploring different ethnic groups prove that what one person thinks is beautiful may or may not be the same as the next person. (The article will mainly be focused on the women though, since their “worth” is judged more on their appearances than men. It will also be rather general on each ethnicity.)
The concept of beauty can be hard to define, as it is an ever-evolving notion. What people perceive as beauty has varied through time, across cultures (Fallon 1990) and can also vary based on individuals. To a culture, beauty can be its customs and traditions, and to an individual it can include physical appearance (outer beauty) or personality (inner beauty). However the word beauty can also defer according to gender, Ambrose Bierce (1958) once wrote, “To men, a man is but a mind. Who cares what face he carries or what he wears? But a woman’s body is the woman.” Despite the societal changes achieved since Bierce’s time, this statement still holds true. Attractiveness is a prerequisite for femininity but not for masculinity (Freedman, 1986).
Japan is located in the continent of Asia. This country is made up of many islands. There are four major islands in Japan which are Honshu, Hokkaido, Shikoku, and Kyushu. However, Honshu is the largest and most popular as well as home to Tokyo, Kyoto, and other major cities. Japan is often called "The Land of The Rising Sun” because it is located in the Far East and most peoples know that sun rises in the east. The Japanese also refers to their country as "Nippon" or Nihon" which means "source of the sun". Tokyo is the capital of japan and it is one of the largest cities in the world and also modern, very busy as well as extremely crowded. Japan is a well-developed and modernized country. The population in japan is almost 127 million, which 99 of them are Japanese. There are two main religious in Japan which are Shintoism and Buddhism. In Japan all citizens have Freedom to choose and practice their own religious. The Japanese economy is one of the third largest in the world after USA and China. The main export of Japan are cars, electronic devices and computers wh...
All young girls in America can remember watching the movie Beauty and the Beast by Walt Disney. At that time, it was a story of love and triumph, a girl falls in love and gets her prince charming. As we grow older, we question that movie and its intentions that we were too young to understand. Who is the real beauty and who is the real beast? A puzzling question due to our society constantly telling us how we need to look and be perceived as in order to not be “the beast” and more of “the beauty”.
Throughout history, civilizations have admired the beauty that the world has presented, but isn’t beauty held in the eye of the beholder? The word can be used to describe a variety of things. It can describe places, animals, objects, people and even ideas. However, the one beauty our society embraces today is human beauty. Because the perception of beauty differs from person to person, different ideas of beauty developed throughout history, which in turn formed standards for human beauty, and these standards have had a massive impact on today’s society.
Beauty, how do we define it? Why is beauty so important among us? These are some of the questions that will be discussed in this paper, leaving a clear understanding of what “beauty” is and the many qualities which define “beauty”. We are regularly challenged with “beauty”, trying to define what it is and what it’s supposed to be, who is and who is not, and what is and what is not?