The Heritage of Japanese Art Book

Over the past few years, familiarity outside Japan with Japanese works of art has steadily been increasing through museum exhibitions and the publication of books. Yet many books on Japanese art are too scholarly and detailed for the average reader. Thus The Heritage of Japanese Art fills the need for a book of impeccable scholarship that is also easily approached, a book that is both comprehensive and lavishly illustrated. The text of The Heritage of Japanese Art is an abridged version of a long out-of-print classic prepared by the leading scholars of Japanese art history. In approach it is chronological, each chapter being devoted to one period and showing not only the development of the art but also social, political, and religious movements and their effect on the art of the time. The media covered include painting, sculpture, textiles, ceramics, woodblock prints (ukiyo-e), lacquerware, and metalwork. The objects illustrated in the 161 full-color plates have been selected as the finest and most representative of their period, style, and medium. In fact, the vast majority of them are classified as "National Treasures" or "Important Cultural Properties." Each color plate is accompanied by a discussion of the work and its artistic features. With these superb illustrations and the interesting and extremely readable text, The Heritage of Japanese Art has all the qualities of a classic that will be enjoyed for many years, and provides the reader with the opportunity to possess a "mini-museum" in his or her own home.Read More