Translated by John Clark The first English translation of a remarkable book on modern aesthetics that clarifies a distinctively plebian Japanese sensibility based on a unique category of taste, IKI. The work anticipates directions in postwar thought, structuaralism in particular, through its opposition of high and low culture. The only version of Kuki's text - including those in Japanese - to provide full interpretive notes. Essential reading for studies in Japanese culture.
About the book
Translated by John Clark The first English translation of a remarkable book on modern aesthetics that clarifies a distinctively plebian Japanese sensibility based on a unique category of taste, IKI. The work anticipates directions in postwar thought, structuaralism in particular, through its opposition of high and low culture. The only version of Kuki's text - including those in Japanese - to provide full interpretive notes. Essential reading for studies in Japanese culture.