The Aesthetics of Shadow - 9780822354079

The Aesthetics of ShadowLighting and Japanese Cinema\nAuthor(s): Daisuke Miyao\nFormat: Hardback\nPublisher: Duke University Press, United States\nImprint: Duke University Press\nISBN-13: 9780822354079, 978-0822354079\nSynopsis\nIn this revealing study, Daisuke Miyao explores \""the aesthetics of shadow\"" in Japanese cinema in the first half of the twentieth century. This term, coined by the production designer Yoshino Nobutaka, refers to the perception that shadows add depth and mystery. Miyao analyzes how this notion became naturalized as the representation of beauty in Japanese films, situating Japanese cinema within transnational film history. He examines the significant roles lighting played in distinguishing the styles of Japanese film from American and European film and the ways that lighting facilitated the formulation of a coherent new Japanese cultural tradition. Miyao discusses the influences of Hollywood and German cinema alongside Japanese Kabuki theater lighting traditio.