A work of criticism that ranges across classical literature, painting, tea, flowers, Noh, and haikai to explore the life and form at the root of Japanese beauty. Beginning with reflections on Nachi Falls and portrait painting, it connects views of nature, art, and mortality, offering a broad account of the sensibility running through Japanese culture from the classics into the modern age.

The book looks at the sense of life and form at the source of Japanese beauty from the meeting point of classical literature and traditional arts.