Perhaps no one is more qualified to write about Japanese culture than DonaldKeene considered the leading interpreter of that nations literature to theWestern wo... » 

Perhaps no one is more qualified to write about Japanese culture than DonaldKeene considered the leading interpreter of that nations literature to theWestern world. The author editor or translator of nearly three dozen books ofcriticism and works of literature Keene now offers an enjoyable andbeautifully written introduction to traditional Japanese culture for thegeneral reader.The book acquaints the reader with Japanese aesthetics poetry fiction andtheater and offers Keenes appreciations of these topics. Based on lecturesgiven at the New York Public Library The Metropolitan Museum of Art and theUniversity of California Los Angeles the essays though written by a renownedscholar presuppose no knowledge of Japanese culture. Keenes deep learning infact enables him to construct an overview as delightful to read as it isinformative.His insights often illuminate aspects of traditional Japanese culture thatendure today. One of these is the appreciation of perishability. thisappreciation os seen in countless little bits of Japanese life in temples madeof wood instead of durable materials in the preference for objects such aspottery that are worn broken or used rather than new and in the nationallove of the delicate cherry blossom which normally falls after a brief threedays of flowering. Keene quotes the fourteenthcentury Buddhist monk Kenko whowrote that the most precious thing about life is its uncertainty.Throughout the volume Keene demonstrates that the rich artistic and socialtraditions of Japan can indeed be understood by readers from our culture. Thisbook will enlighten anyone interested in Japanese literature and culture. «