Literary and art theories in Japan
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Literary and art theories in Japan
(Michigan classics in Japanese studies, no. 6)
Center for Japanese Studies, University of Michigan, 1991
Available at 16 libraries
  Aomori
  Iwate
  Miyagi
  Akita
  Yamagata
  Fukushima
  Ibaraki
  Tochigi
  Gunma
  Saitama
  Chiba
  Tokyo
  Kanagawa
  Niigata
  Toyama
  Ishikawa
  Fukui
  Yamanashi
  Nagano
  Gifu
  Shizuoka
  Aichi
  Mie
  Shiga
  Kyoto
  Osaka
  Hyogo
  Nara
  Wakayama
  Tottori
  Shimane
  Okayama
  Hiroshima
  Yamaguchi
  Tokushima
  Kagawa
  Ehime
  Kochi
  Fukuoka
  Saga
  Nagasaki
  Kumamoto
  Oita
  Miyazaki
  Kagoshima
  Okinawa
  Korea
  China
  Thailand
  United Kingdom
  Germany
  Switzerland
  France
  Belgium
  Netherlands
  Sweden
  Norway
  United States of America
Note
Originally published: Cleveland, Ohio : Press of Western Reserve University, c1967
Includes bibliographical references (p. 252-269) and index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
Literary and Art Theories in Japan surveys thirteen major aestheticians to uncover what remained important over the course of Japanese history. Rather than take a comprehensive descriptive approach, Makoto Ueda focuses on views of the essential nature of literature and art, considering how people answered questions such as "How does art differ from life?" or "What is the use of art?" or "Can art ever become a religion?"
Literary and Art Theories helps readers gain a deeper understanding of Japanese literature and art. By learning about the philosophies of art in Japan, readers come to know the aims and methods with which the Japanese produced paintings, music, plays, novels and poems. As it happens, many of the major Japanese aestheticians were also great artists, so the person who carefully examines their theories of art will be rewarded with a glimpse into the secret of their creative achievements too.
Ueda's examination of Japanese aesthetic ideas also contributes to an international definition of art. Attempts to answer the questions "What is art?" or "What is literature?" are nearly always formulated within a single cultural tradition, but a definition of art that makes any claim to universality must be applicable to all traditions. Japanese theories of art, which developed independently of Western culture, provide a touchstone by which to test the universal validity of a Western aesthetic concept.
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