What is the Book About?
In Praise of Shadows, written by Junichiro Tanizaki, is mainly about the contrast between Western and Eastern architecture. The author, while not an architect, offers a critique of the growing influence of Western sensibilities when it comes to architecture and home decor. In his view, the core of Eastern, and particularly Japan’s identity boils down to an appreciation and curation of darkness and shadows. This opposes the Western, particularly American sensibility that—perhaps not surprisingly—reveres lightness.
Tanizaki talks at length about how these diverging trends and core identities emerge from psychological and even physiognomic differences. For instance, when he refers to the American denigration of African slaves, they exalt their own whiteness. He also suggests, perhaps somewhat speculatively, that there has always existed a temperamental difference between the two global regions apropos lightness and darkness.
He claims, for instance: “Why should this propensity to seek beauty in darkness be so strong only in Orientals? The West too has known a time when there was no electricity, gas, or petroleum, and yet so far as I know the West has never been disposed to delight in shadows. Japanese ghosts have traditionally had no feet; Western ghosts have feet, but are transparent” (30).
My Thoughts
There are a lot of interesting ways to think of this dichotomy and how it applies to our modern world. This book was published in 1933. A lot of time has passed since then, and many things have changed about how the world looks. The Western complexion, if you will, seems to me to still follow its implicit devotion to lightness, a lack of darkness. If I were to wager a guess as to what the root cause of this might be, I would have to name Christian influence as one of the leading factors. The fact that light has been synonymous with good and darkness with bad, with all of its exegetical connotations, it follows that in other aspects of our lives, such as decoration and architecture, there exists a subtle and yet all-consuming favoring of light. We tend to minimize shadows in the West. We associate darkness with sorrow, death, solemnity, grief, and so on.
I see this disposition exists in profile; that is, social media. People in the West, and perhaps in most parts of the world with access to social media, but particularly the West, people tend to brighten their likeness to accentuate or draw attention to certain features. This speaks to the pervasiveness of White conceptions of beauty. I might also suggest that in certain Eastern countries, people often want to brighten their complexions, to make themselves paler. I will not comment on the morality of this issue, but I must admit the observation remains what it is. Another criticism I’ve seen levied at Black celebrities is that they use filters or makeup that brightens their skin, thus minimizing the genuine shade of their skin—implying, some would say, that darkness is not a welcome characteristic.
Who Should Read It?
Anyone with a casual or even professional interest in architecture should read this book. It’s short, only about 50 pages, so I wouldn’t consider it a big investment to start reading. Tanizaki touches on other aspects of culture, including Japanese theatre and Western film, however briefly, and does in fact praise shadows in varying capacities. This is not to say that he despises lightness, but it’s clear to me that he harbors a particular love and respect for the so-called root Japanese aesthetic that appreciates darkness and often seeks it. His perspective is refreshing and remains relevant to cultural discussions today.
Comments