Contemporary Philosophical Perspectives on Japanese Aesthetics
By (Author) Professor A. Minh Nguyen
Edited by Yarran Hominh
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Bloomsbury Academic
2nd April 2026
United Kingdom
Professional and Scholarly
Non Fiction
Hardback
1
Width 152mm, Height 229mm
This collection expands the kinds of concepts and practices that are usually considered in Japanese aesthetics, as well as shedding light on aesthetic concepts and practices from Western artistic traditions. The study of Japanese aesthetic traditions shows the deep connections between aesthetics, ethics, and politics, and the contributors take a self-consciously cosmopolitan approach to philosophizing on the topic. For instance, they understand Japanese aesthetics in relation not only to Shinto and Buddhist religious traditions that heavily inform both traditional and modern works but also to Early Indian Buddhism and to historical and contemporary European philosophy. Contemporary Philosophical Perspectives on Japanese Aesthetics highlights the relational holismprocess, impermanence, relationalityof artistic works, and it takes a distinctly philosophical approach, but one that problematizes distinctions between aesthetics, ethics, metaphysics, and politics. The collection exemplifies the philosophical and conceptual breadth and importance of Japanese aesthetics.
A. Minh Nguyen is professor of philosophy at Florida Gulf Coast University, USA.
Yarran Hominh is assistant professor of philosophy at Bard College, USA.