28. In Praise of Shadows

In Praise of Shadows is an essay on aesthetics by a Japanese man of letters, Junichiro Tanizaki. This was written in 1933 between the Meiji Revolution and the Second World War - the old Japan is still there, with the new Japan growing on top of it but not yet reaching its fiery apotheosis.

He starts with the loo, and how great old Japanese lavatories are, wooden and outside, in nature, places of reflection and harmony and, above all, darkness. This is contrasted with the Western aesthetic of sparkling white porcelain, painfully bright and sterile, and is the jumping off point for an exploration of the differences between Japanese and Western aesthetics and a lamentation of the necessity of having adopted Western technology because the West got there first.

While Japan chose to adopt Western technology, they did so on their own terms. They proactively adopted it, mastered it, and ironically in doing so they retained their cultural distinctiveness in a way that no other culture quite achieved. Japanese culture is revered around the world, it’s a major export, and you get some people in the West who are completely obsessed with Japan. This demonstrates an extreme level of clear-sightedness. Knowing when you are outmatched and adopting the new technology at speed is something we could all learn from.

And we could learn even more from the Japanese love of darkness. In Japan this was largely a product of necessity - Japanese architecture is heavy and dark as a result of building materials and the climate, in contrast to the large glass windows and narrow eaves of the West. But we could use it here. We should all be cleverer with light and materials. We should reintroduce varied light and shadow to our homes to create intentional aesthetics. We should fight against the blandness of Western modernity, we should fight to return shadows to our homes - and also to our minds.