In Jun’ichirō Tanizaki‘s 1933 classic "In Praise of Shadows," the Japanese author sums up in 73 pages what he feels Japan has lost in becoming modern. "In brief, it is his view that the traditional Japanese arts thrived in the shade, and that the glaring light of the Twentieth Century is destroying them," wrote Edward Seidensticker in "The Atlantic" in 1955. "He suggests at the end of the essay that we try turning down the lights."
Panelists included Stanford Prof. Robert Pogue Harrison, author, director of Another Look, host of the radio talk show and podcast series "Entitled Opinions," and a regular contributor to "The New York Review of Books," and three special guests: Mark Gonnerman,...