The Art Of Japanese Life | Journal
Journal – Documentaries about Japanese Domestic and Aesthetic Culture on YouTube
Art historian Dr James Fox takes us on a captivating journey through the art and history of one of the world’s most enigmatic cultures. Travelling the length of Japan, James explores every inch from the falling cherry blossoms to the dazzling modern cities. Along the way James will discover for himself the importance of art and aesthetics to the Japanese life and culture.
Dr James Fox begins his Japanese art exploration here by taking a journey through Japan’s mountainous forests, marvels at its zen gardens and admires centuries old Bonsai. He does this to explore the connections between Japanese culture and the natural environment. He examines how the country’s two great religions, Shinto and Buddhism, helped shape a creative response to nature which is extremely different to the West.
However, Dr James Fox also takes a closer look at modern Japan’s changing relationship to the natural world and travels to Naoshima Art Island to see how contemporary artists are finding new ways to engage with nature. In this landmark series, art historian Dr James Fox takes us on a captivating journey through the art and history of one of the world’s most enigmatic cultures.
He will learn the secrets behind brush-painting, block-printing, bonsai-trimming as well as the importance of the Japanese nature and it’s historical value and traditions that surround each element.
James explores the art of the Japanese home. The clean minimalism of the Japanese home has been explored round the world: from modernist architecture to lifestyle stores. The origins of this aesthetic are less known however. They evolved from a system of spiritual and philosophical values which dates back centuries. We get to explore one of the last surviving traditional wooden villages in Japan and also take a deeper look at the unique spirit of Japanese craftsmen who turned joinery into an artform – building houses without the need for nails, screws or even glue. In this landmark series, art historian Dr James Fox takes us on a captivating journey through the art and history of one of the world’s most enigmatic cultures. Travelling the length of Japan, James explores every inch from the falling cherry blossoms to the dazzling modern cities. Along the way James will discover for himself the importance of art and aesthetics to the Japanese life and culture. He will learn the secrets behind brush-painting, block-printing, bonsai-trimming as well as the importance of Japanese homes and how their domestication has influenced the world.
Dr James Fox explores how the artistic life of three great Japanese cities shaped the country’s attitudes to past and present, east and west, and helped forge the very idea of Japan itself. The first city he explores is Kyoto, the country’s capital for almost a thousand years. We get to explore and understand how the flowering of classical culture produced many great treasures of Japanese art, including “The Tale of Genji”, considered to be the first novel ever written. We also venture to the city of Edo, where Tokyo now stands. Dr James Fox continues by visiting Tokyo’s more contemporary side and meets street photographer Daido Moriyama and one of the founders of the world famous Studio Ghibli, Isao Takahata, whose anime work in the form of films has helped establish anime as a powerful and serious art form.
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