of continuation
of expansion
of openness
of dilation
of tying
of binding
of weaving
of joining
of bracing
of matching
of stopping
of grouping
of gathering
of piling
of layering
of heaping
of bundling
of tightening
of grasping
of felting
of pairing
of distribution
of complement
of surfeit
of discard
of scattering
of wrapping
of enclosing
which surround
of encirclement
which hide
which cover
which support
which hook
of tension
which suspend
which hang
which spread
of circling
of curve
of curvature
which rise
which droop
which flow
which swirl
which rotate
which smear
of natural things
of inlay
of firing
of texture
of impression
which are rolled
which are creased
which are folded
of storing
of bending
of shortening
of twisting
of twining
of dappling
of crumpling
of shavings
of tearing
of chipping
of splitting
of cutting
of severing
of dropping
of removing
of simplification
of difference
of disarrangement
of dancing
of shading
of open-work
of splashing
PURPOSE
to what degree is this form called into being for a specific purpose?
IDEA
to what degree is this form articulated by a will, intellect, desire, and forced into a particular way by its creators?
MATERIAL
to what degree does this form reflect the attributes of its materials?
HAND
to what degree do we arrive at this form from a skill or process or craft tradition?
TIME-HISTORY
what are the histories and traditions of this general form?
is there a lineage of skill or craft that carries this form?
what contextual significance does this form carry? How does this significance change when the form changes hands?
where do the materials for this form come from, and how are they processed?
CLIMATE-SPACE
how does this particular form exist in space and time?
what is the specific trajectory of this particular form in the world?
in other words, how has this form become particular?
FORMS OF CONTINUATION
FORMS OF UNION
FORMS OF COLLECTION
FORMS OF ARRANGEMENT
FORMS OF ENCLOSURE
If the determinants of form
can be sought among the four concepts called
Purpose (purposeful use or useful function), Idea (conception
power or artistic volition),
Material (nature’s raw materials or characteristics of materials),
and Hand (skill or technique),
it may be said that the forms which unify are mostly due to
Purpose.
And these forms that are collected under Unity
can be divided, according to the characteristics of each of them,
into the following five sub-groupings:
tsunranari–continuation; mushi–union; atsume–collection;
kubari–arrangement; and kakomi–enclosure.
In the process of formation,
the fact that the forms which seem to have been most strongly
affected by Purpose
can be generalized as forms which unify
is indicative of the characteristic manner in which forms in
Japan respond to function.
In other words, it can be said that
in the additive quality recognizable in “continuation,”
“union,” “collections,” “arrangements,”
and the containment evident in “enclosure”
there lies the characteristics of response to function.
In order to respond to use,
form is created in an appropriate size.
For instance, enlarging a certain basic form can create an object of
suitable size.
In contrast to this very common method, here in Japan multiple
units are frequently connected together
and thus by adding units a larger object is achieved.
Here the addition form called cumulative
becomes an important characteristic of forms in Japan.
Another Japanese characteristic is to continue
enclosing in order to unify, which
may be contrasted to the Western characteristic
to extend order outwardly in response to function;
in contrast to the Western extroverted nature,
this tendency to enclose may be said to reflect the Japanese
introverted character.
FORMS OF SUPPORT
FORMS OF CURVE
If what determines form can be sought among the four concepts
called Idea, Material, Hand, and Purpose,
forms of force are volitional forms,
and it may be said that much of their origin
is due to the Idea (power of conception or artistic volition).
And these forms that are collected here,
according to the characteristics of each of them,
can be classified into two sub-groupings, Support and Curve.
It is natural that the generalized term force should be ascribed to
the forms for which the causal origin
is the most strongly connected with the desire of the creators.
However, the substance,
in the case of the sub-group “support,” generally reveals a downward
direction.
But ascendancy, in the case of the curve,
is another characteristic of these forms in Japan.
Generally speaking, a support form is considered most ideal
when the supporting power apparently surpasses
that of gravity and results in an upward thrust,
but in Japan there are many support forms that lead toward
strengthening the visual impression of stability owing to the
downward pull of gravity.
There are also many expressions of balance with gravity,
such as those we find in objects which are hooked, suspended, or
hung.
Not ascent that overpowers gravity,
but descent that acquiesces to gravity
may be taken as one of the characteristics of forms in Japan.
We found still another spatial characteristic
which can be observed in various curves or curvatures
and which is in contrast to the materiality emphasized by the West:
Generally, curves or curved surfaces
express the fullness of the power of substance itself,
but in Japan there are many cases that, rather than being expressive
in themselves,
are instances of forms that send echoes through the space that
surround the object.
Ascent versus descent; substantiality versus spatiality–
these are the characteristics that can be seen
in certain aspects of Japanese forms that express power.
FORMS OF FLUIDITY
FORMS OF THE NATURAL
If what determines form
can be sought among the four concepts called Material, Hand, Purpose,
and Idea,
forms of adaptation are greatly due
to Material (nature’s raw material or the characteristics of such
material);
and those forms that are collected here,
according to the characteristics of each of them,
can be classified into two sub-groups:
forms of fluidity and forms of the natural.
The reason why the origin of those forms most strongly connected
to the characteristics of the material from which they are created
is generalized as adaptation is that they reveal
how forms in Japan respond with the greatest rapport
to the nature of the raw material used.
In other words,
it is an adaptability that is in accordance with the materials
themselves;
and it is in harmony with the organic features of nature itself.
It is not artificially applied to process after process
so that the original material can no longer be identified,
but rather it retains nature’s objects as they are;
it is an adaptability that tries to symbolize
the characteristics of the things with the least treatment.
And this tendency,
in contrast to the geometric forms in the West,
creates organic forms in Japan, and it results in living, natural
forms.
This fact appears most clearly
in the contrast between the geometrically patterned Western
garden
and the natural garden of Japan.
This is not only true of the effect of the garden as a whole,
but also of the way stones or plants are sued
down to minute details everywhere.
Conforming to natural growth and movement, form is created;
natural objects themselves are viewed as forms.
FORMS OF REDUCTION
FORMS BY TWISTING
FORMS OF SEVERING
FORMS OF TRANSFIGURATION
If the determinants of form
can be sought among the four concepts called Hand, Purpose, Idea,
and Material,
it may be said that “Forms of Change”
are mostly due to “Hand” (skill and technique);
and these forms that are collected here,
according to the characteristic of each of them,
can be divided into four sub-groups; forms of reduction;
forms of twisting; forms of severing;
and forms of variation.
In the process of creation
the forms we consider to be most strongly influenced by skill and
technique
are characterized by “change,’ and that they can be so grouped
together
shows that the forms themselves retain some relation to their
original shapes.
Judging this relation from the viewpoint of technique,
it may be said that the effect of the operation can be
autonomy of form, or it can result in a partly treated form,
or it can evolve gradually;
however, not by continued or repeated applications of mechanical
technique,
but by instant or sudden application of creative skill, the object is
formed,
which is one of the characteristics of all forms in Japan.
Forms created suddenly by “breaking,” “twisting,” “shaving,”
“splitting,” or “cutting”
are surprisingly numerous;
and one further form
that is ever changing and gracefully beautiful
is one resulting from the continuous gradual changes, step by step,
of skill
rather than from the tirel;ess repetition of the same technique.
The ever-changing process itself becomes a form, and thus fixed.
It may be called “simplification” or “shading,” and
its examples are far more numerous than we imagine them to be.
This, it seems, is rooted deeply in the climate of Japan,
which is marked by the beautiful gradually changing features of the
four seasons.