Silent Bodies: Japanese taciturnity and image thinking

A nonverbal transmission and an implicit way of communication are highly encouraged in Japanese society. The reason for this “silence prerogative” is often found in historical facts of lengthy feudal era or in ancient philosophies and religions such as Buddhism and Confucianism and their various co...

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Main Author: Ana Došen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of Belgrade 2017-03-01
Series:Etnoantropološki Problemi
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.eap-iea.org/novi-ojs/index.php/eap/article/view/733
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spelling doaj-b9c3392fbe1d42ae82c68253bfec9aac2020-11-24T23:42:40ZengUniversity of BelgradeEtnoantropološki Problemi 0353-15892334-88012017-03-0112110.21301/eap.v12i1.5Silent Bodies: Japanese taciturnity and image thinkingAna Došen0Faculty of Media and Communications Singidunum University, Belgrade A nonverbal transmission and an implicit way of communication are highly encouraged in Japanese society. The reason for this “silence prerogative” is often found in historical facts of lengthy feudal era or in ancient philosophies and religions such as Buddhism and Confucianism and their various concepts which privilege taciturn way of communication. Moreover, the unspoken comprehension is often complemented by the attitude which equates truthfulness with silence. This paper explores the silence as a communicative act in the domain of Japanese art, where the body takes over the place of the language. In traditional Japanese theatrical performance, such as noh, words are often inadequate to convey emotion and therefore the aesthetics of emptiness, understatement and abstraction is transcended by the masks with "nonmoving lips". Drawing on theoretical perspectives from both East and West, I argue that the silent bodies operate as deliberate and integral determinants of Japanese non-silent art forms – especially in cinema and theatre. In the Eastern thought, visual perception is fundamental in cognition of the world, whereas auditory discernment is secondary to "image-thinking" (Yuasa). Accustomed to taciturnity, Japanese audience effectively corresponds to the performance and "completes" it in silence. https://www.eap-iea.org/novi-ojs/index.php/eap/article/view/733silenceJapanishin – denshiharageienryo–sasshicinema
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Ana Došen
spellingShingle Ana Došen
Silent Bodies: Japanese taciturnity and image thinking
Etnoantropološki Problemi
silence
Japan
ishin – denshi
haragei
enryo–sasshi
cinema
author_facet Ana Došen
author_sort Ana Došen
title Silent Bodies: Japanese taciturnity and image thinking
title_short Silent Bodies: Japanese taciturnity and image thinking
title_full Silent Bodies: Japanese taciturnity and image thinking
title_fullStr Silent Bodies: Japanese taciturnity and image thinking
title_full_unstemmed Silent Bodies: Japanese taciturnity and image thinking
title_sort silent bodies: japanese taciturnity and image thinking
publisher University of Belgrade
series Etnoantropološki Problemi
issn 0353-1589
2334-8801
publishDate 2017-03-01
description A nonverbal transmission and an implicit way of communication are highly encouraged in Japanese society. The reason for this “silence prerogative” is often found in historical facts of lengthy feudal era or in ancient philosophies and religions such as Buddhism and Confucianism and their various concepts which privilege taciturn way of communication. Moreover, the unspoken comprehension is often complemented by the attitude which equates truthfulness with silence. This paper explores the silence as a communicative act in the domain of Japanese art, where the body takes over the place of the language. In traditional Japanese theatrical performance, such as noh, words are often inadequate to convey emotion and therefore the aesthetics of emptiness, understatement and abstraction is transcended by the masks with "nonmoving lips". Drawing on theoretical perspectives from both East and West, I argue that the silent bodies operate as deliberate and integral determinants of Japanese non-silent art forms – especially in cinema and theatre. In the Eastern thought, visual perception is fundamental in cognition of the world, whereas auditory discernment is secondary to "image-thinking" (Yuasa). Accustomed to taciturnity, Japanese audience effectively corresponds to the performance and "completes" it in silence.
topic silence
Japan
ishin – denshi
haragei
enryo–sasshi
cinema
url https://www.eap-iea.org/novi-ojs/index.php/eap/article/view/733
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