In Praise of Shadows by Junichiro Tanizaki

For another of my #weeklyreads, I’ve decided to look at Junichiro Tanizaki’s In Praise of Shadows – a book we were directed to while I was a young architecture student at The Glasgow School of Art and one I must admit I did not appreciate at the time, nor fully read until a few years ago. But it’s a sensory experience of architecture and design, along with a profound reverence for the passage of time and the craftsmanship embedded in materials.

The text traces aesthetics of Japanese architecture, art, and daily life, while inviting us to consider the delicate beauty found in objects and practices that age and evolve. His reflections on craftsmanship shine through, accentuating a deep appreciation of traditional approaches to making things. The objects and spaces he describes are not just functional; they are living things, vessels of life, that acquire character through use and the slow rhythm of the seasons. He paints an image of a quiet grace in embracing beauty that comes from wear – not as decay, but as a constant beautiful metamorphosis. And when this inevitably comes to an end you can restart the process through fine craftsmanship creating the new.

To Tanizaki, craftsmanship was not merely a technical skill, but a practice rooted in a respect for material and making. He openly mourns the decline of these practices in the face of modernity and western ideals - where speed & uniformity overshadow the meticulous care and mindfulness that characterised Japanese craftsmanship. He argues that time imbues our objects and spaces with a richness that can never be replicated by the fast-moving trends of industrialisation. It is not a superficial or nostalgic longing for the past, but an acknowledgment of the passage of time and the beauty that can hold.

Of all of his reflections, I am always drawn to his witty commentary on differences in attitudes toward design and function, given through the example of a toilet. He critiques the western approach noting that the very idea of considering toilets as places worthy of aesthetic thought, let alone beauty, is anathema in western sensibilities. In contrast, Tanizaki extols the simplicity and quiet beauty in traditional Japanese lavatory spaces - where even this utilitarian space reflects deeper cultural appreciation. I suppose I find it a humorous, yet pointed critique of how we often separate function from beauty.

So, to wrap up - and educate my former unappreciative architectural student self - In Praise of Shadows invites us to slow down, to appreciate the quiet beauty of aging on the materials that form our surroundings, to honour the craftsmanship that makes this beauty possible. The work is a subtle, yet profound reminder of the beauty in imperfection, and that even the most mundane objects - like a toilet - can embody a sense of grace, through careful design and embrace of the passage of time.

#books #bookreview #theheritageexplorer #craftsmanship #craftmatters #craftsmanshipmatters #booksuggestions #conservationphilosophy #philosophyofcraftsmanship #weeklyreads #weeklyread