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SHOTS IN THE DARK: Japan, Zen, and the West. By Shoji Yamada; translated by Earl Hartman. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2009. viii, 290pp. (Table, figures.) US$35.00, cloth. ISBN 978-0-226-94764-8.
People do not believe they really look like the grossly distorted images in fun-house mirrors, so they laugh them off. However, when a magic mirror reflects an image distorted in a beautiful way, people want to think: yes indeed, this is how I really look. (2)
In Shots in the Dark, Shoji Yamada examines two of the most beautiful and enduring "distortions" of traditional Japanese culture: Eugen Herrigel's Zen in the Art, of Archery and the many portrayals of the rock garden at Ryoanji in Kyoto as "the most beautiful garden in Japan."
The photograph on the sleeve ?? Shots in theDarkgives us a powerful hint at what Yamada is getting at. At first glance, the photo would appear to prove the deep spiritual roots of traditional Japanese archery. It shows a Japanese archer decked out in kimono and hakama, drawing a bow in the middle of a beautiful Japanese garden. This...