Arts and crafts of old Japan

An accessible introduction to traditional Japanese visual and decorative arts, surveying painting, color woodblock printing, sculpture and carving, metalwork, ceramics, lacquer, and the related disciplines of landscape gardening and flower arrangement. The text explains key aesthetic principles—such as economy of means, refined taste, and conventions that differ from Western realism—while describing materials, techniques, forms, and typical subjects in each craft. Illustrated examples support chapter discussions, and the narrative balances descriptive accounts of processes with cultural context and suggestions for further reading, aimed at general readers rather than specialists or collectors.