Kakuzo Okakura

The Ideals of the East (Dodo Press) Kakuzo Okakura

Okakura Kakuzo (1863-1913), also known as Okakura Tenshin, was a Japanese scholar who contributed to the development of arts in Japan. Outside Japan, he is chiefly remembered today as the author of The Book of Tea (1906) in which he introduces the term "Teaism" and how tea has affected nearly every aspect of Japanese culture, thought, and life. He attended Tokyo Imperial University, where he first met and studied under Ernest Fenollosa. In 1890, Okakura was one of the principal founders of the first Japanese fine-arts academy, Tokyo bijutsu gakko (Tokyo School of Fine Arts). Later, he also founded Nihon Bijutsuin (Japan Institute of Fine Arts). He wrote all of his main works in English. Okakura researched Japan's traditional art and travelled to Europe, the United States, China and India. He gave the world an image of Japan as a member of the East, in the face of a massive onslaught of Western culture. His other works include The Ideals of the East (1903) and The Awakening of Japan (1904).