Evanescence and Etiquette
Subtitle: An Introduction to Japanese Culture
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Published: June 24, 2008
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 208
ISBN-13: 9781403967053
Subjects: Oriental & Indian philosophy; Social & cultural anthropology; Etiquette; History Of Civilization And Culture (General); History; Philosophy; History: World; Japan; Eastern; Philosophy / Eastern; Asia - Japan; Civilization; Customs & Traditions
Description: If we thought that reality were changeable, fragile, and fleeting, would we take life more seriously or less seriously? This book contemplates the notion of hakanasa, the evanescence of all things, as understood by the Japanese. Their lived responses to this idea of impermanence have been various and even contradictory. Asceticism, fatalism, conformism. Hedonism, materialism, careerism. What this array of responses have in common are, first, a grounding in hakanasa, and, second, an emphasis on formality. Evanescence and Etiquette attempts to illuminate for the first time the ties between an epistemology of constant change and Japan's formal emphasis on etiquette and visuality.