This study addresses the relationship between Japanese aesthetics, a field steeped in philosophy and traditional knowledge, and anime, a prominent part of contemporary popular culture. There are three premises: (1) the abstract concepts promoted by Japanese aesthetics find concrete expression at the most disparate levels of everyday life; (2) the abstract and the concrete coalesce in the visual domain, attesting to the visual nature of Japanese culture at large; and (3) anime can help us appreciate many aspects of Japan’s aesthetic legacy, in terms of both its theoretical propositions and its visual, even tangible, aspects.

Dani Cavallaro has written widely about literature, cultural theory, and anime. She lives in London.

Dani Cavallaro
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 207
Bibliographic Info: filmography, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2013
pISBN: 978-0-7864-7151-5
eISBN: 978-1-4766-0383-4
Imprint: McFarland

Table of Contents

Preface  1
1. Philosophical Perspectives  5
2. Creativity  54
One. Cultural Background 54
Two. Expressions of Creativity in Anime 73
3. Nature  127
One. Cultural Background 127
Two. Interpretations of Nature in Anime 146
Filmography  187
Bibliography  189
Index  197