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In Praise of Shadows
29 Sep 2003 by Brad Hurley
Eating at a Japanese restaurant the other day, looking at the bare walls unadorned by paintings, I was reminded of this wonderful essay by Jun’ichiro Tanizaki. In it, he notes that “the beauty of a Japanese room depends on a variation of shadows, heavy shadows against light shadows--it has nothing else.”
Westerners are amazed at the simplicity of Japanese rooms, perceiving in them no more than ashen walls bereft of ornament. Their reaction is understandable, but it betrays a failure to comprehend the mystery of shadows. Out beyond the sitting room, which the rays of the sun can at best but barely reach, we extend the eaves or build on a veranda, putting the sunlight at still greater a remove. The light from the garden steals in but dimly through paper-paneled doors, and it is precisely this indirect light that makes for us the charm of a room. We do our walls in neutral colors so that the sad, fragile, dying rays can sink into absolute repose.
Tanizaki’s piece is also available in Philip Lopate’s anthology The Art of the Personal Essay, which is full of great stuff, but at nearly 800 pages it’s hard to read in bed unless you have biceps like Don Schenck’s.
11 comments so far (Post a Comment)
29 Sep 2003 | Matthew Oliphant (formerly fajalar) said...
As a somewhat related, in-progress analogy...
I want all my designs to be like a Japanese Tea Ceremony.
Simple, elegant, full of purpose, with every movement an art to itself; a necessary supporting task to the overall goal, with respect to the business (provider of the tea) and the customer (receiver of the tea).
Uh, Matthew? Get back to work. Right.
29 Sep 2003 | JF said...
This weekend I decided I'm getting rid of 95% of my furniture and electronics equipment and starting over. The goal: NO MORE BULK. Only buying what I need. Keeping the space as open and airy and possible. Painting the walls white too. Clean, simple, and serene -- here we come.
29 Sep 2003 | Don Schenck said...
Voluntary Simplicity. Great book, great idea.
29 Sep 2003 | Matthew Oliphant (formerly fajalar) said...
That's what I want to do to my office at home (and my office at work too, but they might not like that:).
Especially since it is a small room. But that fake wood paneling on the wall has got to go. The wood floors and wood window trim will stay natural. Haven't decided between white walls, or something sand-ish in color.
On a somewhat related tangent, Arizona State University's School of Design has a Masters degree in Interior Design with a concentration in Human Factors. It's one of the degrees that holds a lot of interest for me. Designing living spaces for use.
Oh, and Don... can we get a hyperlink next time? This is my best guess.
29 Sep 2003 | Brad Hurley said...
This weekend I decided I'm getting rid of 95% of my furniture and electronics equipment and starting over.
Wow, that's admirable!
When I moved from the US to Canada last year, I had to prepare an inventory for Customs of everything I owned and its value in Canadian dollars. That motivated me to pare down my belongings: everything I got rid of was one less item to list on the inventory. I sold or donated tons of stuff that I'd accumulated over the years, including about 70 percent of my book collection. For clothing, if I hadn't worn it in the past year, it went to Goodwill. It felt great to lighten my load that way, even though I occasionally kick myself for getting rid of a few things that I could actually use now, or stuff that had sentimental value. And I really, really miss my kevlar canoe.
01 Oct 2003 | Don Schenck said...
Matthew, that's the book. Sorry about the sans hyperlink post -- I was lazy.
No, I *am* lazy.
Shadows? I'm replacing the boring bulbs and flourescent lights in my garage with spotlight track lighting, just so it looks more dramatic. Cool. My garage is my space; the rest belongs to the missus.
RE: Ridding oneself of 95 percent of your stuff
I wanted to do that a few years back; it would add a level of excitement to a (then) 22-year old relationship. Alas, my wife was like "IT'LL COST $50,000!" so she didn't go for it. Rats.
Go idea.
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