The concept that the Japanese call ki, meaning the spirit of things, can be seen throughout Japanese life and culture. What Gian Carlo Calza calls 'Japan style' in his authoritative text is demonstrated through such things as an exquisitely arranged single flower or the particular quality of meticulously designed architectural forms and spaces, the rituals of the traditional tea ceremony, and the attention that is paid to the manner of creation as well as to the finished object itself.
The book identifies the specific qualities that make up aspects of Japanese culture, examining the elements intrinsic to its art, architecture, objects and rituals, and gives the reader the pleasure of a journey into the Japanese aesthetic, past and present.
