Japan: Philosophy of Beauty. Review of the Book by Elena L. Skvortsova Japanese Aesthetics of the Twentieth Century. An Anthology

Abstract

The review covers the publication of the book “Japanese Aesthetics of the 20th century. An Anthology”, compiled, translated and commented by Elena L. Skvortsova. By genre, this work is an anthology, which presents works of famous Japanese thinkers–aestheticians of the 29th century. The author selected and translated into Russian some significant fragments from the vast Japanese philosophers’ heritage devoted to aesthetic problems and representing the main direction of their thought or the expression of their views. The review indicates that Elena Skvortsova fully succeeded in her job. And, although anthologies alone are not enough to study any subject, while other textbooks and special research are also needed, the combination of comments, along with the general structure of the academic research by Elena Skvortsova, makes the book more than a simple anthology. Although the book under review is devoted specifically to Japanese aesthetics, the texts contained in it give us a broad idea not only of the aesthetic vector of Japanese philosophy but also says a lot about the general originality and even uniqueness of Japanese philosophical thought. The book’s significance is enhanced by its extensive list of bibliography in Russian, Japanese and Western languages, a voluminous dictionary of Japanese terms and equally voluminous index of names. In domestic Japanese studies, there has not yet been a work of such a level and scale, and it is unlikely to be surpassed in the nearest future, the review emphasizes.