Japanese Design: Art, Aesthetics & Culture

by Patricia J. Graham

What exactly is the singular attraction of Japanese design? And why does Japanese style speak so clearly to so many people all over the world?

The Japanese sensibility often possesses an intuitive, emotional appeal, whether it's a silk kimono, a carefully raked garden path, an architectural marvel, a teapot, or a contemporary work of art. This allure has come to permeate the entire culture of Japan—it is manifest in the most mundane utensil and snack food packaging, as well as in Japanese architecture and fine art.

In Japanese Design, Asian art expert and author Patricia J. Graham explains how Japanese aesthetics based in fine craftsmanship and simplicity developed. Her unusual, full-color presentation reveals this design aesthetic in an absorbing way, using a combination of insightful explanations and more than 160 stunning photos. Focusing upon ten elements of Japanese design, Graham explores how visual qualities, the cultural parameters and the Japanese religious traditions of Buddhism and Shinto have impacted the appearance of its arts.

Japanese Design is a handbook for the millions of us who have felt the special allure of Japanese art, culture and crafts. Art and design fans and professionals have been clamoring for this—a book that fills the need for an intelligent, culture-rich overview of what Japanese design is and means.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Japan, Design, History, Japanese Literature, Architecture

160 pages, Hardcover

First published September 30, 2014

Reviews

[Charlie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A useful introductory reference book with every page well illustrated with photographs of relevant art, like a more-detailed/academic DK Eyewitness guide. Includes a useful glossary of terms and a chapter at the end listing early Western and Japanese writers about Japanese aesthetics which provides a helpful further-reading list of mainly out of copyright works (my chief niggle with this book is that the author critiques the Japanese authors much more heavily than the Western ones, which is a weird look).

[Lucy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting book on Japanese culture, art and crafts and their importance to their culture and history. One thing I like about the Japanese is that they consider crafts like pottery and gardening to be just as important as "fine arts" like painting and sculpture. Such a nice contrast to Western artistic preferences.
Looks like a good introduction and it certainly makes me want to know more about their culture and artifacts.
Chapter One covers the Aesthetics of Japanese Design with terms that I couldn't keep in mind as to the meaning, though a glossary at the back helps. Chapter Two covers the Cultural Parameters of Japanese Design, divided into Religious values and Japanese design, and Design in Japanese culture: ten key characteristics. These two chapters make the book and give lots of pictures of examples. Chapter Three, while probably necessary or at least helpful to some people, I found to be boring: Early Promoters of "Artistic Japan" 1830s-1950s. This focuses on artists & art professors, art dealers, scientists & physicians, designers & architects, journalists, philosophers, art historians & art critics. Some nice pictures here too, thank goodness.
Recommended to people who want to broaden their knowledge of other cultures.
I'll probably want to read this again some time.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lovely plates and the first two-thirds of the book are fascinating. The last third, however, which is a series of short biographies of western artists and academics who helped popularise Japanese, feels more like filler.

[Edmond · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book seemed very fascinating for me to learn about Japanese art, but the book reads more like an encyclopedia. It has lots of reference material. I liked the people but was disappointed when the author stopped at 1950.

[Autumn Kearney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay. I’ll admit it. I checked this beautiful book out of my local library to look at the photos. I did not read the text. It was fun to browse through the photographs.

[N. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good reference book. I would suggest perusing this book if you want to study Japanese art Aesthetics.

I'd enjoyed reading this as a palette cleanser.

[Elizabeth Reuter · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful introduction for the beginner. The explanations of each design concept were clear and came with numerous, high-quality photographic examples. Many names and other sources are included, so anyone looking for more information will know where to look. But if the basics are enough, this book will satisfy on its own.

- Elizabeth Reuter
Author, The Demon of Renaissance Drive

[San Diego Book Review · Rating 5 out of 5]

Japanese design is clean, functional, and serves a purpose. Oftentimes it is an idea of high class and high value. This book gives readers an introduction into that world. This book is split up into three parts. Part one covers the major concepts of Japanese aesthetics of Japanese design. By looking at each concept briefly, readers are able to grasp the differences between them; and learn how there have been changes over time, and how certain trends were named by Westerners. Read the entire review at http://www.sandiegobookreview.com/jap...

Reviewed by Kevin Winters

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good introduction to Japanese Design, though as the author states, there's a lot of books like this out there. One thing that the author consciously did is have a section dedicated to people who helped educate western society to Japanese design, nice. Well illustrated but no separate bibliography, a large assortment of books and articles are mentioned throughout the book. Could serve as a reference for designers whose main interests are not Japanese design but need some familiarity.

[Azabu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Asian art expert and lecturer Graham curates an eloquent introduction
to the evolution of Japanese art with a lavish yet succinct four-color album. Opening with a visual survey of Japanese aesthetics, Graham defines basic terms such as ‘wabi-sabi’ and ‘ma’ or the elegance of empty space. In part two Graham explains how Shinto and Buddhist beliefs inform the design elements and then completes the volume with 28 thumbnail bios of the connoisseurs who brought the esthetic to the West.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This well researched and organized book is an excellent resource for anyone who has been captivated by Japanese design but is at a loss for interpreting its meaning. It makes clear how elements that might seem at odds play together in the Japanese design aesthetic. In addressing the topic of design it also provides a wonderful glimpse of Japanese culture. The illustrations are well selected and beautifully photographed.