Lesson · 4 min Stretch
In Praise of Shadows
In one line Tanizaki praised the beauty of shadow and dim light, which bright modern rooms had driven away.
In 1933 the Japanese novelist Jun’ichiro Tanizaki wrote a short essay, In Praise of Shadows. Electric light was spreading through Japan, and he worried about what it was erasing. Western taste, he said, seeks brightness and shine. Older Japanese taste found beauty in shadow.
He describes lacquerware that comes alive only in candlelight, gold leaf glowing faintly in a dark room, and the soft murk of a temple interior. In bright light these things look flat or garish. In shadow they gain depth, because the eye has to work and the imagination fills in what it cannot see.
His essay is part nostalgia and part argument: what we light, we also change. A companion lesson, Beauty in What Passes, explores beauty in what fades.
Go deeper
Tanizaki admits he enjoys modern comforts and is half joking at times, complaining about electric fans and white tiled bathrooms. Critics note that the essay sets up a simple contrast between East and West and can romanticize the past. Designers and architects still cite it, especially in arguments about lighting and the value of dim, layered spaces.
The café lights
A café owner fits bright overhead lights so customers can see everything. The room feels clean but cold, and people leave quickly.
She swaps them for low lamps on each table. The wood grain shows, faces soften, and conversations stretch out. The menu and the coffee are the same. What changed is how much the light leaves to the eye.
Try this today Tonight, light one room dimly and look at a familiar object for a minute. Notice what the shadow adds.
Cite or share this lesson
A plain reference you can paste into notes or an essay:
Quest2Reason. “In Praise of Shadows.” https://quest2reason.com/learn/lesson/in-praise-of-shadows. Accessed 13 November 2026.
Sources
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, “Japanese Aesthetics” — Discusses Tanizaki’s In Praise of Shadows alongside yugen and other Japanese aesthetic ideas.
- Wikipedia, “In Praise of Shadows” — Summarizes the essay, its examples of lacquer, gold and dim rooms, and its later influence on design.