日本美学について：竹取物語の中の日本道教美学の考え方を巡って = On Japanese aesthetics : regarding Japanese-Daoist Aesthetics in the Taketori Monogatari (The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter)

Abstract

The history of intangible objects is unexplored in scholarship in detail. Instead, intangible history is researched as a small part in tangible history such as political, social and economic history. This essay re-examines this by centring intangible history to explore intimately, thoughts and worldviews of an individual or group of individuals. To this extent, essay looked at how by tracing ideas, there are other alternative perspectives to history from the point of view of a person instead of an institution or structure. To do this, I utilised the History of Ideas method to investigate origins of Japanese aesthetics during the Heian period (794-1195) that are free from societal structures. The essay’s scope is limited to the Japanese aesthetics identified in Heian folktale Taketori Monogatari. As part of the outcome, I found that Daoism, had influenced Japanese aesthetics at a bigger scale than Buddhism, contrary to present research. By synthesising Daoist ideas with pre-existing research on Japanese aesthetics, the essay shows that Japanese aesthetics derived its ideas and worldviews from not only organised religion, but also unstructured belief systems. As a result, the essay posits the importance of intangible history – in combination with tangible history – in understanding the lives of people.