{"product_id":"the-colors-of-japan-background-characteristics-and-creation","title":"The Colors of Japan: Background  Characteristics and Creation","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe Colors of Japan is a visually stunning look into the unique use of color in Japanese culture from prehistoric times to the present day. That the Japanese should possess their own sense of color is not surprising  for like almost every other aspect of human life  color perception varies from culture to culture.  The first and most fundamental reason for this variation can be attributed to geography. People living in arid lands will obviously perceive green in a different way from people surrounded by lush forests  as is the case in Japan. Geography will also dictate the materials that can be used to create the pigments and dyes to color objects.  Once geography has set the stage  other factors come into play  such as the direction in which a particular culture evolves. For instance  certain colors may be restricted to certain classes  as happened in the classical period of Japanese history.  A third factor is external cultural influence  in which the color perceptions of one culture are adopted by another as part of the ebb and flow of history. In the case of Japan  the first sources of such influence were Korea and China.  The Colors of Japan presents a crystalline overview of these three factors by means of discerning writing and stunning photographs. The text covers the four basic colors  the relationship of Japanese color perception to natural phenomena  the development of hierarchies of colors  the aesthetic of mixed colors  and the particular culture of color developed by townspeople in the seventeenth through the nineteenth centuries.  The photographs range over a variety of objects  from the refined to the plebeian. There are lacquerware  various kimonos  combs  surcoats  picture scrolls  ceramics  sword mountings  shrine gates  paintings  woodblock prints  tea houses  a castle  paper stencils  fans  sculpture  umbrellas  screens  and human figures. Each is not only an illustration of a particular color as used in Japanese culture  but also a beautiful object in its own right. Nature  an all-important player in the nurturing of color perception  is not forgotten. The book includes lovely photographs of autumn foliage  a horseradish field  a pebbly stream in a temple garden  a tea house pathway  rows of tea bushes  and  last but not least  a tiny green frog.  As an approach to a different way of viewing color  as an introduction to the arts and crafts of Japan  or as a satisfying reading experience  The Colors of Japan is a book that anyone who possesses a aesthetic outlook on life will not want to miss.  The book includes full-color photos of the following: Torii gates at Fushimi Inari Shrine  negoro trays  negoro sake keg  lacquered wood combs  textile designs and motifs  jimbaori (surcoat worn over armor)  furisode kimono  Nachi Fire Festival  autumn foliage at Muroji Temple  Ban Dainagon picture scrolls  various forms of Imari ware  sword mountings  suit of armor  noren curtains  katabira kimono  paintings  Kyoto hills  various forms of Nabeshima ware  aizuri and other ukiyo-e  haniwa funeral sculpture  Jomon vase  tea-scoop and case  Joan Tea House  firemans hanten  paper stencils  carving on gate of Toshogu Shrine  horseradish field  pebble stream at Shinnyo-in Temple  Fushin-an Tea House  ukiyo-e by Katsukawa Shunsho  ukiyo-e by Utagawa Kunisada using berorin  Iga vase  sanda tiered celadon boxes  Oribe mukozuke (side dishes)  a green frog (aogaeru)  Japanese zelkova bonsai  pair of six-fold screens  green tea plantations  tea in a black bowl  fans  Jizo statue at Meigetsu-in Temple  ikat kimono  uchikake kimono  Konkomyo Saisho-o Sutra  choken Noh costume  silk wrapping cloth  murasaki-e ukiyo-e by Chobunsai Eishi  sacred rope at Oyamazumi Shrine  annual rites at Hibara Shrine  snake-eye (janome) umbrella  dance fans  Kabuki actor Bando Tamasaburo  screen (Pine Trees) by Hasegawa Tohaku  Mino tea bowl  Raku tea bowl (\"Ayame\")  Himeji Castle  fifth-century gold seal  sobatsugi Noh robe with shokko motif  kariginu kimono  tachi sword mounting  gilded wood statue of Buddha Amida  Edo cosmetic set with tomoe crest  rakuchu-rakugai screen by Kano Eitoku  pair of two-fold screens (Summer and Autumn Grasses) by Sakai Hoitsu  dry lacquer flower vase  and ceramic box with gold and silver on black ground.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44956419948597,"sku":"ByrdShop_477002536X","price":33.97,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9784770025364.jpg?v=1770319729","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/the-colors-of-japan-background-characteristics-and-creation","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}