The beauty of everyday things / Soetsu Yanagi ; translated by Michael Brase.
Material type:
TextLanguage: English Original language: Japanese Series: Penguin classicsPublisher: London : Penguin Books, 2018Copyright date: ©2017Description: 346 pages : illustrations ; 18 cmContent type: - text
- still image
- unmediated
- volume
- 9780241366356
- 0241366356
| Item type | Home library | Collection | Call number | Materials specified | Status | Date due | Barcode | Item holds | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adult Book
|
Main Library | NonFiction | 745.0952 Y21 | Available | 33111009729902 |
Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
"Radical and inspiring ... Yanagi's vision puts the connection between heart and hand before the transient and commercial" - Edmund de Waal
The daily lives of ordinary people are replete with objects, common things used in commonplace settings. These objects are our constant companions in life. As such, writes Soetsu Yanagi, they should be made with care and built to last, treated with respect and even affection. They should be natural and simple, sturdy and safe - the aesthetic result of wholeheartedly fulfilling utilitarian needs. They should, in short, be things of beauty.
In an age of feeble and ugly machine-made things, these essays call for us to deepen and transform our relationship with the objects that surround us. Inspired by the work of the simple, humble craftsmen Yanagi encountered during his lifelong travels through Japan and Korea, they are an earnest defence of modest, honest, handcrafted things - from traditional teacups to jars to cloth and paper. Objects like these exemplify the enduring appeal of simplicity and function: the beauty of everyday things.
The essays appearing in this book were selected from Yanagi Soetsu korekushon 2: mono (Chikuma Shobo; chapters 2-7, 10-14) and Mingei yonju-nen (Iwanami Shoten; chapters 1, 8, 9, 15, 16) -- Title page verso.
First published in Japan as Soetsu Yanagi: selected essays on Japanese folk crafts by the Japanese Publishing Industry Foundation for Culture (JPIC) 2017.
"The common utilitarian objects depicted in this book were considered aesthetically insignificant until the appearance of Soetsu Yanagi. It was Yanagi who discovered the beauty that could only be produced by simple, humble craftsmen repeatedly and unselfconsciously working on the same objects day after day. From this quotidian world emerged a distinctive beauty - wholesome, free, and devoid of self-awareness. To bring these crafts to the notice of the world, Yanagi established the Japan Folk Crafts Museum in 1936, from whose collection the objects illustrated herein have been chosen for inclusion by the publisher. In the essays, Yanagi expounds his philosophy of folk crafts and highlights particular pieces. Altogether, the book constitutes a penetrating insight into the world of Japanese handicrafts"
Translated from the original Japanese into English.