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In Praise of Shadows (陰翳礼讃 , In'ei Raisan?) is the title of a short book on aesthetics by the Japanese author Jun'ichirō Tanizaki. First published in 1933, the essay consists of sixteen sections that discuss traditional Japanese aesthetics. Comparisons to light and darkness are used to contrast Western and Asian cultures; while the West, in its striving for progress, is presented as continuously searching for light and clarity, the subtle and subdued forms of oriental art and literature are seen by Tanizaki as an appreciation of shadow.
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[W]e Orientals tend to seek our satisfactions in whatever surroundings we happen to find ourselves, to content ourselves with things as they are; and so darkness causes us no discontent, we resign ourselves to it as inevitable. If light is scarce then light is scarce; we will immerse ourselves in the darkness and there discover its own particular beauty. But the progressive Westerner is determined always to better his lot. From candle to oil lamp, oil lamp to gaslight, gaslight to electric light—his quest for a brighter light never ceases, he spares no pains to eradicate even the minutest shadow. |
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I would call back at least for literature this world of shadows we are losing. In the mansion called literature I would have the eaves deep and the walls dark, I would push back into the shadows the things that come forward too clearly, I would strip away the useless decoration. |
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