iki, ma...

went to a lecture on japanese aesthetics yesterday. japanese arts are very holistic and not separate from other parts of society. it is not possible or desirable to separate 'aesthetics' from other philosophical threads. i wish i had seen this lecture when i was younger since i have been constantly in an (east-west) identity crisis. the japanese have been going through this same process since the they were forced to modernize/westernize in the 19thC. there is something very deep in my psyche that reacts to japanese arts, like noh plays... and there it was laid out for me in this film. the sound is something primordial. another point is that noh is transmitted to the younger generation orally, that there has to be a master on site to correct you. this same principle applies to being japanese or any other nationality (?) that you need to live there or at least have parents of that nationality. but pardon me while i work this out because i am a couple generations removed from japan. my parents did some inculcating, but this is beyond me, something biological, like salmon...