Illusory Dwellings

Essays on the nature, production, and presentation of art, craft, and architecture in Japan, inspired by the author’s experiences in Kyoto.

Illusory Dwellings is not a guide concerning what to see in Kyoto, but a philosophical meditation on how to travel and observe in this capital of traditional Japanese art. Both intimate and scholarly, the book accompanies the reader on visits to famed gardens like Ryōan-ji, investigates the complex symbolism of the tea ceremony and the important role of the tea room, reveals the beauty of Japanese cuisine, and delves into the world of contemporary ceramics. It also provides context for the tensions and harmony between traditional and modern forms of art and craft in Kyoto and throughout Japan, and contrasts these with how they are received at home versus their treatment by Western museums in modernist contexts. Altogether this is an erudite and provocative analysis of artist and observer, a book to shape the reader’s aesthetic worldview and provide numerous occasions for discussion and debate. With over 50 black and white photographs.

Allen S. Weiss is the author and editor of over forty books in the fields of performance theory, landscape architecture, gastronomy, sound art, experimental theater, and ceramics. He has written extensively on Japanese culture, including Zen Landscapes: Perspectives on Japanese Gardens and Ceramics (Reaktion Books) and The Grain of the Clay: Reflections on Ceramics and the Art of Collecting (Reaktion Books), as well as Le goût de Kyoto (Mercure de France) and Guide anachronique de Kyoto (Éditions Arléa). He has been the recipient of Fulbright, Japan Society, and Étant donné grants, and is Distinguished Teacher in the departments of Performance Studies and Cinema Studies in the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University.