Aesthetics

The emaki of Japan in the middle ages consists of scenes to be contemplated with the development from the sight to the left, so it has three characteristics in expression as follows. First, the look of the emaki is regulated in length by that of paper space on which it is painted, and consequently, scenes develop into a horizontal direction. Second, the emaki is unfolded necessarily from the right to the left when contemplated, so the events are arranged from the right to the left both in time and space. Third, the emaki is destined to continue developing infinitely to the left, that is, the look of the emaki is open to the left direction. The nenju-gyoji emaki (composed in about 1170, I estimate) has, however, remarkably different character as the emaki though it takes the form of emaki. It contradicts in many points with such characteristics in expression of the emaki as referred to. I point out those contradictory points and set forth my opinion about the reason.

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It seems that musical esthetics in our time is remarkably inefficient. It dose not have any kind of influence upon practical musicians. And it seems that its all tasks are supplanded by modern positive musicology. Such retreat of musical esthetics is attributable to the uncorrect subject and method of the automatic musical estheteics. Since E. Hanslick, the automatic musical esthetics has locked the essence of music in the inner mental world. But the effect of music, which leads us into such inner world, is not music itself. Music is open to the social life. The modern musical esthetics must speculate above all these social aspects of music. In such way musical esthetics would recover its prestige, and perform its mission.

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The aim of my research is to explain the character of "space" in two typical religious architectures. A greek temple as the "house of god, " being exclusive of human scale from its space-construction, presents its symbolical content at its external appearance which adapts to and harmonizes with the Greek natural environment. The essential function of the christian church is to enclose commodious space inside of the building for meeting and liturgy. So that the space follows a preceeding order which starts at the entrance of church (purification), moves through the nave (meeting) and ends at the alter (liturgy). But from 15th century onward, this traditional space order had been changed by replacing the Latin-Cross Plan with centrally planed church, and Cupola became the formal subject both interior and exterior of church in 16th century. When the traditional Latin-Cross Plan had revived with the rise of Catholic Reformation in 17th century, "Piazza" had been combined with church, and the proceeding space order had been prolonged from the interior to the exterior of the church.

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