For many years, our lives have been organized around an interest in Japanese aesthetics. The purpose of this site is to share a manuscript, Spontaneity in Japanese Art and Culture, resulting from a number of years of research and teaching in the area of Japanese aesthetics. The illustrated manuscript, written from an anthropological point of view, focuses upon the relationship between Japanese aesthetics and Japanese culture, including the aesthetics of everyday life. Please click on Chapter 1 in the menu at the left to start viewing the manuscript. 

Also available from the menu is information on books we have recently had published on Japanese architecture and Japanese gardens, as well as albums of selected photographs from our most recent trips to Japan.

We have recently added two new albums of our favourite photographs. Although these photos were mostly taken in British Columbia and Hawaii, they are informed by our experience with Japanese aesthetics.

If you wish to use an idea, quote, or photograph from the manuscript, please reference the source as follows: David and Michiko Young, Spontaneity in Japanese Art and Culture, http://japaneseaesthetics.com, 2006. We would appreciate a brief email message, informing us of what you are using, and how. The manuscript is open-ended in that revisions will be ongoing, including the incorporation of suggestions from readers.

David Young was born in the United States and spent his childhood in Sierra Leone, West Africa. He received a B.A. in sociology and philosophy from the University of Indianapolis, a B.D. in religion and anthropology from Yale University, an M.A. in Asian Studies from the East West Center, University of Hawaii, and a Ph.D. in anthropology from Stanford University. David taught anthropology at the University of Alberta in Canada until he retired in 1999 and moved to Japan to continue teaching anthropology at Kansai Gaidai University. He retired in 2003. Together with his wife, Michiko, he has conducted research on Japanese aesthetics for many years.Michiko Young was born in China and raised in Japan. After graduating from Kyoto University of Foreign Studies, she moved to the United States with her husband, and then to Canada, where she worked for many years in the international affairs office at the University of Alberta.

The Youngs now live on Gabriola Island, British Columbia, Canada. They have co-authored Introduction to Japanese Architecture (Periplus Editions, 2004), The Art of Japanese Architecture--a revised edition of Introduction to Japanese Architecture (Tuttle Publishing, 2007), and The Art of the Japanese Garden (Tuttle Publishing, 2005).

To contact the authors, please send an email to deyoung2@hotmail.com