Yugen aesthetics in Junichirō Tanizaki’s literature

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Wang Xiliang

Abstract

Yugen aesthetics thought was first conceived in the kadou and kagaku of Japan in the Middle Ages. “Yugen” is not only a concept of style, but also a concept of value. In the latter level, “Yugen” has a universal aesthetics value. Into the Edo era, the word “Yugen” was almost no longer used, until the twentieth century, this is the era of rediscovery of “Yugen” aesthetics. Junichirō Tanizaki once used the word “Shadow” to refer to “Profundity” and reinterpreted the beauty of “Yugen” in Japanese culture from an aesthetics standpoint. Tanizaki’s sense of the “Yugen” aesthetics is also reflected in his literary creation, so this paper will take the “Yugen” aesthetics as the entry point to explore and analyze the “Yugen” aesthetics consciousness in Tanizaki’s literature.

Published: Nov 14, 2022

Article Details

Section
Comparative Literature and Oriental Literary Theory