Do you like lacquerware? It’s an essential part of Japanese culture, and while I admire its beauty, I must admit I rarely use it in daily life—I often find myself treating it with a little too much care.
However, reading Tanizaki Junichiro’s In Praise of Shadows has given me a renewed appreciation for the allure of lacquerware. Tanizaki famously wrote, “Lacquerware’s beauty cannot be fully appreciated without shadow,” emphasizing that it’s under dim lighting that lacquer truly glows. For example, he describes gold maki-e (gold leaf design) as not meant to be fully revealed in bright light but rather to shimmer faintly in the shadows, grazed by distant candle light, allowing each detail to emerge gradually. In darkness, its lavish gold surface seems to hide, revealing itself little by little, creating a sense of subtle allure.
Lacquerware, then, is designed to shine in spaces of subdued light. When parts of it merge into shadow, and a faint light highlights select features, it leaves a lasting impression, embedding itself in the viewer’s memory. Today, when so much is exposed to bright, constant light, I feel there is a serene depth to beauty found in shadow—one that we may be at risk of forgetting.
This perspective may also inspire modern design and spatial aesthetics. Instead of illuminating everything, perhaps there’s a richness in allowing certain elements to remain hidden, inviting beauty to emerge slowly from the shadows. It’s in this concealed elegance that true richness may reside.
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