In Praise of Shadows

What if industrialization was defined by Japan instead of the West? That’s the question stuck in my craw since I finished In Praise of Shadows by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki.

The author, a novelist writing in 1933 Japan, cites many examples, from minute to grand. Would there be no ballpoint pens in favor of calligraphy-friendly brush-tipped pens? Would we design audio equipment for the resonance of Japanese music? And, most preeminently to this work, how would our built environment look if we valued dimness as much as illumination? Oh yeah. 

“We find beauty not in the thing itself but in the patterns of shadows, the light and the darkness, that one thing against another creates.”

Unsurprisingly, I’m an American (who doesn’t need authorization to work, employers!) who grew up way past 1933. I’ve got daylight-level bright bulbs throughout my home. I can see everything that hasn’t been swept under the rug. And like many Americans, I just kind of assumed “bright and polished” were the default. It’s clean! You can see things! I mean, who wouldn’t want their space illuminated? 

So if you’re into diving into POVs entirely different from your own — things that just might shake up your snow globe a little bit — you’ll appreciate this quick read. Yeah, there are some things that didn’t age too well, but it’s through the lens of someone watching his culture slowly replaced. The author laments the aesthetic degradation of things such as dining, theater, and even toilets, thanks to Western industrial influence. Patina giving way to gloss. 

And reading this book, you might come up with similar questions for today’s world. Would we engage in as much excess if we believed that every object had a spirit? Would the architecture of social media look the same if it was developed in a culture that values blending in more than sticking out? Would our perception of the digital world change, complement, or reject our tactile, analog experience?  

I can’t say for sure, but I’d bet there’d be a lot less flickering fluorescent bulbs. 

This book (or short essay?) was recommended by Kyle Chayka on Ezra Klein’s podcast. Thanks, Kyle!