Birds, Beasts, Blossoms, and Bugs

This scholarly book with its magnificent illustrations explores in detail a fundamental fact of Japanese art, a theme also intrinsic to the very "nature" of the Japanese people, and an essential expression of their philosophy and heritage. The book traces the development of this threme through an examination of some 140 objects from the twelfth to nineteenth centuries. The outstanding collections in the United States are represented by works of superb quality. These range from those rich in color and detail to others in which severity of line predominates, almost modern in the results. The wealth of material includes screens, kakemono, makemono, bronze, wood, lacquer, stone, papier-mâché, tsuba, inro and netsuke. The flowers, animals, insets and birds are depicted with great elegance and frequently with humor; several are illustrated by details which bring out the superb draftsmanship, satirical eye and love of beauty that are characteristic of the best in Japanese art.