Description

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A visual journey through Zen’s influence on Japanese life, from calligraphy to the martial arts

Formed by a convergence of the Buddha’s teachings with Taoism and local tradition, Zen has had a profound impact on the art and culture of Japan. As a philosophy, Zen promotes a recognition of emptiness and impermanence. As an aesthetic, it is marked by striking simplicity and a reverence for space. It operates on the principle of wabi-sabi, the harmony found in all things transient and imperfect. Countless Japanese artists, artisans, and designers have engaged with the Zen tradition, their work the fruit of its wisdom.

 

Author Gavin Blair has spent nearly two decades as a writer and journalist in Japan. In these pages, he shows how Zen has found expression in all aspects of Japanese culture, be it the tea ceremony, origami, or bonsai. Gorgeous full-color photographs highlight the simple beauty of the Zen aesthetic, from the hanging noren curtains that adorn entrances and doorways, to the intricate craftwork of a wagasa umbrella. Together these images speak to the quiet power of Zen.

 

Above all, Zen is an invitation to contemplate the mind, to cultivate harmony with nature and ease through understanding. This book is for any reader who is curious about Japanese culture and the Zen tradition.

About the Author

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Gavin Blair has been reporting on Japan since the turn of the millennium. His work on Japanese culture, economics, politics, crime, and sports has appeared in outlets around the globe, including the Christian Science Monitor, the Hollywood Reporter, and France 24 TV.

Praise For…

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Zen in Japanese Culture offers a beautifully detailed and illustrated historical tally of the myriad ways Zen has influenced Japan’s art, architecture, cuisine, design, emotional well-being, weaponry, and martial arts. In the exquisite opening essays to each chapter, Gavin Blair explores the Japanese approach to life through Zen’s inextricability, and he leaves no doubt that civilized society may have reached its penultimate expression in the land of the rising sun.

— Foreword Reviews