Obeständigt – Kontraster i japansk kultur
Lars Vargö
In Japanese culture, contrasts have always been a key factor. This culture has fascinated the outside world for hundreds, if not thousands of years. But Japan is a country largely created by migrants, not least during periods of migration from China and the Korean peninsula.
Whether it is the holiest places of Shintoism, the principles of calligraphy, the rustic beauty of everyday objects or what the artists and poets express in their works, in Japanese culture there are clear contrasts between the permanent and the impermanent, between the ideals of beauty that strive for perfection and those that rather emphasize the futility of denying the wear and tear of time, in order instead to make art out of impermanence.
Lars Vargö, diplomat and former ambassador to Japan, is one of Sweden’s leading experts on Japan. He has shown this in a series of authoritative books about the country.
ISBN 9789189826090
Picture from Carlsson Bokförlag’s website.
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