As a child, many people have had the experience of standing with their back to the sun and bending their fingers to make shadows of birds and animals, or of deforming their body as distortedly as possible to enjoy the shapes of the shadows projected onto the ground, or of lifting their legs high to try to get in front of their shadow but feeling frustrated when they couldn’t get past it, or of walking towards the sun and sprinting to try to break away from the shadow that followed them, only to give up when they could never get away.
Derived from the verb kazasu (糳す), meaning to cover, conceal, or block, the word “shadow” refers to the dark area that appears on a wall or the ground when light is blocked by an object or person. The shape of a shadow resembles the outline of the object being blocked, but it can be elongated, shortened, or distorted depending on the position of the surface being shaded and the angle of the light source. Shade refers to the area where light does not reach.
In short, shadow (影) is related to light and visibility, while shade (陰) is related to the absence of light and spatiality.
Additionally, shadows can represent the shape or opacity of an object, or they can be imbued with symbolism, such as an expression of emotion or inner darkness, a mental image, a duplicate, a substitute, a clone, or even a metaphor, representing something haunting, unusual, or symptomatic.
In other words, shadow is a typical example of a polysemous word, and its basic meaning is a shape created by light, but it can also be expanded to include metaphorical meanings such as a state of little presence, an influence or trace, a fake or a substitute, etc. Furthermore, shadow has a high ability to form compound words, and many derivative words can be formed, especially in Japanese, such as kagemusha (影武者, shadow warrior), kagee (影絵, shadow picture), and omokage (面影, resemblance).
While it may not be used much in everyday life, using shadow in literature, art, or poetry as a symbol of natural scenery or emotions can help visualize situations or emotions and evoke a sense of realism, such as “a shadow creeps in” to describe the sky at dusk or before the weather turns bad, or “a shadow falls on my heart” to express a depressed or anxious state.
In waka poetry, the tea ceremony, landscape painting, and ukiyo-e, the concept of shadow symbolizes the pathos and transience of things. The delicate balance of light and shadow brings about soft shadows, which evoke feelings of peace and calm, depth, profundity, and emotional delicacy, and embodies the essence of Japanese inner aesthetics, such as the quiet passage of time and acceptance of the transience of life.
In Natsume Soseki’s novel “Kokoro (1914),” the protagonist’s psychological conflict is symbolized by the depiction of his teacher’s shadow reflected on a shoji screen. In the film “Spirited Away (2001),” the theme of loss of self is depicted through the scene in which the protagonist’s shadow disappears. Plato’s allegory of the cave (c. 375 BC) depicts people mistaking shadows for reality.
Furthermore, oppression through the use of power can expose the dark side of society or cast a dark shadow within individuals. Maintaining a balance between light and shadow, yin and yang, is an essential element in valuing harmony with nature and the subtleties of human emotion. In traditional Japanese aesthetics, such as Japanese gardens, shadows are used to express the beauty and transience of nature. In Eastern philosophy, embracing the dark side of things is believed to produce deeper understanding and serenity, leading to spiritual growth and peace.
This means that shadows are not simply black shapes, but can function as a rich form of expression that connects light and darkness, presence and absence; they are not simply physical phenomena, but exist as a mirror that reflects human perception and culture.
In “In Praise of Shadows (陰翳礼讃, 1933),” Tanizaki Junichiro (谷崎潤一郎, 1886-1965) attempted a comparative cultural analysis of Japanese aesthetics from the perspective of shadows. Tanizaki argued that before the introduction of electric light from the West, Japan traditionally had a sense of unity and harmony between nature and life, and that people had an innate awareness of the essence of true elegance in their artistic and aesthetic sensibilities, and wrote about the loss of the good old days and the true essence of beauty in a social context at the time when Western civilization was becoming more prevalent.
Tanizaki begins by discussing a traditional Japanese restaurant in Kyoto known for its use of old-fashioned candlesticks, stating that the beauty of Japanese lacquerware is best revealed in the dim light of the surrounding area.
Summary:
While white lacquerware is now available, traditional lacquerware has a black, brown, or red finish, a color created by the accumulation of multiple layers of darkness, seemingly born out of the surrounding darkness. Gold-lacquered lacquerware is beautiful, with various parts faintly shining from the bottom in the candlelight. Lacquerware soup bowls are light and soft to the touch, and make little noise to the ear. The liquid at the bottom of the deep, dark bowl, barely different in color from the vessel itself, offers a premonition of flavors imperceptible to the naked eye, creating a mystical, Zen-like quality.
Next, Tanizaki states that while it is often said that Japanese cuisine is not something to be eaten but something to be seen, it is even more than that: something to be meditated upon.
Summary:
The effect is a silent musical ensemble of candlelight flickering in the darkness and lacquerware. Natsume Soseki (夏目漱石, 1867-1916) once praised the color of yokan in his novel “Kusa Makura (草枕, 1906),” but placing it in a lacquered confectionery dish and immersing it in darkness would create an even more meditative atmosphere. Red miso soup would also show off its deep color in a black lacquer bowl, like those found in dimly lit homes of the past. The glossy broth of tamari is rich in shadows and harmonizes with the darkness. Even white-skinned ingredients look more beautiful and stimulate the appetite when placed in a black dish in a dark setting. Japanese cuisine has always been based on shadows and is inextricably linked to darkness.
In other words, while Western culture embraces light and rejects darkness, the essence of Japanese aesthetic sense lies in the harmony of light and darkness, and in the acceptance and coexistence of shadow and darkness, which leads to a sense of oneness with nature, peace of mind, tranquility, and a sense of security.
In fact, modern society’s aesthetic trend, which pursues superficial appearances and easy comprehension, may look striking, but it tends to have a fleeting quality that doesn’t stay in the mind forever. True beauty is something that transcends time and never gets old, evoking a variety of emotions, and traditional Japanese life, amidst the interwoven shadows of light and darkness, is filled with depth, emotion, and space that stimulates the imagination.
In addition to lacquerware and the dining table, Tanizaki cites various scenes from everyday life and explains how shadows create aesthetic effects, so here is a brief summary of some of them.
Note: In Praise of Shadows has been translated into various languages, and Tanizaki’s delicate prose offers a better insight into the subtleties of his aesthetic sensibility.
· Traditional Architecture:
* Traditional Japanese architecture features deep, umbrella-shaped eaves and wide overhangs to block direct sunlight, keep out rain, and keep the interior cool and comfortable. This creates shadows inside the house, making it dim even during the day. The faint light streaming in through the windows and the reflection of the greenery of the garden create a tranquil space perfect for meditation.
* The shoji screens separating rooms and hallways diffuse natural light as if filtered, creating a faint white glow. The contrast with the eerie darkness of the alcove, a recessed space in the corner of the room, evokes a mysterious charm, a sense of the value of light, and something beyond human understanding. The unique shadows of the Japanese-style room give depth to the faint natural light from outside, and one can sense the wisdom of a life based on a sense of reverence, of savoring the subtleties of light while making the most of it.
* The wooden toilets in traditional Japanese homes are most elegant, tucked away in the shade of shrubbery away from the main house. In this mysterious space, floating in the darkness amid the shadows, one with nature, one feels a kind of refreshment and even spiritual peace as one relieves oneself in the morning, taking in the changing scenery of the seasons. Our Japanese ancestors used their rich sensibilities to transform even such filthy places into elegant spaces.
· Women’s Beauty and Makeup:
Tanizaki says that women in the past also existed in shadows. Middle-class and above women in particular spent their time indoors in dim light, as if blending into the shadows, covering their torsos with kimonos and leaving only their necks and limbs exposed, and lived in silence, holding their breath.
For these women, rather than their bodies buried in the darkness of the shadows, it was their faces, faintly emerging from the shadows, that were an essential part of aesthetic expression.
* In the darkness where light is scarce, married women painted their skin white (白塗り, shironuri) to make their faces stand out, and dyed their teeth black (お歯黒, ohaguro) to make them blend in with the darkness. In this way, the individual’s face was erased, and a miraculous aesthetic beauty that transcended this world emerged in the darkness.
* In the traditional performing art of kabuki, performances in the past relied on the shadows of faint light such as candles, but the lines of the onnagata (female roles) played by men were blurred, highlighting their beauty. In other words, the faint, indistinct appearance in dim lighting stimulates the viewer’s imagination and enhances aesthetic emotion. Beauty lies not in the object itself, but in the interplay of light and shadow created by one object and another. It is from the subtle variations in light and shadow and their natural patterns that aesthetic sensations arise.
It can be said that by deeply savoring the lingering emotions that arise from the invisible parts of the shadows that coexisted in everyday life in the past, but which do not exist in today’s artificially bright light, a more enhanced aesthetic emotion emerges.
Adelbert von Chamisso’s (1781-1838) “Peter Schlemihl’s Wundersame Geschichte” (1814) is a story about loss and rediscovery, demonstrating that material wealth does not necessarily bring happiness and portraying the shadow not merely as a physical phenomenon but as a symbol of essential elements for an individual’s belonging to society, such as proof of existence, identity, and homeland.
The protagonist, Peter Schlemihl, sells his shadow to the Devil, a man in gray, in exchange for a lucky bag that produces an infinite number of gold coins. This bargain grants Schlemihl immense wealth, but without a shadow, he is alienated and humiliated by civil society, his relationship with his lover suffers, and he falls into loneliness and spiritual misery. A year later, the devil appears again, offering to return his shadow in exchange for his soul. However, he refuses the temptation and throws away the bag of money, the source of his wealth. By doing so, he is freed from materialistic bondage and regains peace of mind. With the help of a pair of seven-mile boots that he happens to acquire, he becomes a natural scientist who travels the world, and rediscovers his own value and purpose in a way that is separate from social approval.
Having given up his shadow, an important part of himself, in pursuit of immediate gain, Schlemiel was faced with unconscious self-sacrifice, suppressing and betraying his own feelings in an attempt to meet the expectations of those around him, as well as a sense of inner emptiness and isolation.
In other words, despite intuitively sensing the dissonance between his contradictory beliefs and actions—desiring wealth against the loss of something precious—he justified his actions to reduce his inner discomfort. (Ref., cognitive dissonance theory) However, although Schlemiel himself suffered no physical pain, he was rejected by society and forced to isolate himself in his room, deepening his suffering. Furthermore, by hiding his true self and wearing a mask of being the perfect partner (ref., Jung’s persona theory) while interacting with his lover Mina, the gap between his persona and his true self widens, leading to unbearable pain accompanied by feelings of guilt.
However, Schlemil sought to regain his autonomy, rejected the devil’s deal, and made the decision to prioritize his inner value of protecting his soul over demonic control or societal expectations and rewards, which allowed him to move closer to becoming a truly free self. And with the magic shoes in hand, Schlemil embarked on a journey of self-realization, exploring new possibilities as an independent botanist.
Andersen’s (1805-1875) fairy tale “The Shadow” (1847) tells the story of a scholar who studies truth, goodness, and beauty.
Let me summarize the story.
—–
The scholar notices that his long shadow is reaching the house across the street. He sees a beautiful young woman on the balcony and orders his shadow to go inside and check what is happening. The next morning, the scholar realizes that his shadow is gone. It had gone into the house and never returned. However, a week later, a new shadow grows from the scholar’s foot.
One night, some time later, his previous shadow, dressed in fine black clothing, visits the scholar and tells him that the house across the street is home to the most beautiful thing of all: poetry.
Several years later, the shadow visits the scholar again. Seeing that the scholar has not attracted any attention from the public and is not making any progress, the shadow invites the scholar to accompany him on his journey as his shadow. The scholar declines the offer, but becomes emaciated and eventually falls ill. The shadow reappears and invites him to a hot spring resort. At this point, the old master-servant relationship has been reversed, with the shadow now the master.
At the hot spring resort, the two meet a princess from a certain country. The shadow skillfully manipulates the scholar into answering difficult questions posed by the princess. The shadow then gains the princess’s trust and promises to marry her. Meanwhile, fearing that the truth will be revealed, the shadow has the scholar thrown into prison. That night, the city is illuminated with dazzling lights and celebratory gunfire resounds as a magnificent wedding between the shadow and the princess takes place, but the scholar has already been killed and is unaware of the celebratory events.
—–
Schlemiel recaptures his shadow as an inherent aspect of himself, harmonizes it with his true self, and lives a fulfilling life by pursuing his newly discovered values, but in Andersen’s story, the scholar, the essential subject, disappears and is replaced by his shadow, which exists relative to the subject and is adorned by poetry, the highest beauty.
The princess in “The Shadow” could be a symbol of social authority, vanity, and decadence, while the shadow could be a symbol of falsehood, evil, and ugliness, in the sense that it is opposed to the subject – the scholar who studies truth, goodness, and beauty.
In fact, in the story, the words and value of the scholar, who seeks the essence of truth, goodness, and beauty, are ignored by popular society, and the scholar is socially ostracized. Meanwhile, the shadow cunningly exploits the scholar, enveloping him in vanity to solidify his social presence. The princess takes a liking to this thin, superficial shadow, indulging in ballroom dancing and becoming engaged to him.
Truth, goodness, and beauty are elements of the spiritual activities and codes of conduct that shape the ideal way of life and social values for humans; the quest for truth, moral perfection, and aesthetic ideals are all essential universal values that humans should pursue, so this story can be seen as a satirical metaphor for the tendency in modern society to disregard these values.
Let’s look back at the past and add a few more things about truth, goodness, and beauty.
1. Platonic Truth, Goodness, and Beauty:
Truth, goodness, and beauty originate from the ancient Greek philosopher Plato’s theory of ideas, which refers to the perfect and eternal structures and concepts that exist behind the material world, and that the material world perceived by our senses is actually nothing more than an imperfect mimic of these ideas.
In other words, ideas are eternal beings that are not bound by time or space, possessing a perfection that differs from the imperfection of the material world, and possessing a universality that exists behind all material things. Therefore, the pursuit of these values was seen as promoting spiritual growth and leading to the achievement of an ideal state.
2. Kantian Truth, Goodness, and Beauty:
In the 18th century, Kant (1724-1804) comprehensively explored the concepts of truth in his Critique of Pure Reason, goodness in his Critique of Practical Reason, and beauty in his Critique of Judgment.
* Critique of Pure Reason – What Can Be Known (Truth):
He presented the perspective that the object of cognition depends on human cognitive ability, and that because reason operates within the framework of empirical cognition, it cannot reach things-in-themselves. However, he argued that truth can be guided and directed by something transcendental (transcendental ideals) through the action of human nature, and explored reason’s involvement with true existence (things-in-themselves) that transcends experience.
* Critique of Practical Reason – What ought to be done (Goodness):
He argued that reason can generate laws that govern itself from within, and that the will and actions that maintain the dignity and freedom of the human person that we take for granted are inherently inherent in human beings, and that human goodness is itself practical and is based on universal laws (moral laws) that are not influenced by experience.
* Critique of Judgment – What Can We Desire (Beauty):
Aesthetic judgment is subjective, based on individual sensibility, but has universal validity, and human judgment can define what is beautiful and sublime. Aesthetic experiences have the potential to enhance human reason and moral sensibility, and beauty arouses the pursuit of goodness and helps to find higher purposes. Furthermore, aesthetic experiences are linked to moral values, and beauty goes beyond mere sensory pleasure to play a role in enhancing ethical awareness and reason. Through aesthetic experiences, humans are inspired to pursue higher purposes and develop their moral judgment.
This means that by deeply exploring the interrelationships between nature and art, subjectivity and universality, sensory experience and moral value through aesthetic experiences, one’s sensibilities may be refined, leading to a richer spiritual life.
In Eastern thought, it is not seen as a universal, abstract concept, but as a state that can be reached through concrete, daily practice; deep insight into the truth, accumulating good deeds, and cultivating inner purity is the ultimate path to a life of self-discovery.
3. Taoist Truth, Goodness, and Beauty:
In Taoism (道教), tao (道) is the origin of the universe.
* Truth is consistent with tao; all things are constantly changing and cyclical, with no fixed substance. They are not grasped through reason or knowledge, but are mastered by surrendering oneself to tao through intuition and experience.
* Goodness is living in accordance with tao, not going against the flow of tao. In tao, which nurtures all things, one does not monopolize blessings or become attached to results, but values harmony as part of a whole where diverse things coexist, and values a way of life that selflessly contributes to others and nature.
* Beauty is the embodiment of tao, the essential beauty that resides in the natural state of being as it is. It is the beauty that arises from a sense of unity with the whole, with opposing elements such as yin and yang, stillness and movement, arranged in a balanced manner, maintaining harmony as a whole amid imperfection and asymmetry.
4. Confucian Truth, Goodness, and Beauty:
In Confucianism (儒教), Truth, Goodness, and Beauty are realized in an integrated manner through inner human cultivation and social practice.
* Truth refers to the inner human condition, including sincerity, authenticity, and honesty. Using wisdom, one of the Five Virtues (benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness), one is expected to not simply cram knowledge, but to thoroughly understand principles, correctly judge matters, discern the truth, and always strive to be honest in one’s actions.
* Goodness refers to the inner virtue of the individual and social harmony, and goodness is pursued by accumulating benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness in everyday life. The following are encouraged as things to be practically realized in society:
· Benevolence: Considering things from the other person’s perspective.
· Righteousness: Doing what needs to be done without being driven by self-interest.
· Propriety: Learning and understanding the norms and etiquette that maintain social order.
· Wisdom: Cultivating wisdom that discerns reason.
· Faith: Keeping promises and being honest.
* Beauty is the dignity that emanates from within a person who is in ethical harmony. Beauty arises as a spiritual height through personal cultivation, becoming one with nature and achieving harmony with all things. In other words, beauty combines high morality, refined etiquette, and spiritual richness, and is the outward expression of inner truth and goodness in behavior, and it resides in a state of good social order.
It can be said that traditional Japanese culture has nurtured a sensibility that respects nature and appreciates the changing seasons, an aesthetic sense of inaction and nature, and a spirit that values compassion and social harmony.
The concepts of truth, goodness, and beauty that underlie the Taoist concept of oneness with things as they are and the harmony brought about by Confucian practice and cultivation have traditionally been nurtured as part of Japanese culture, including an aesthetic sense that accepts all things in the universe as they are, a sensibility that respects nature and appreciates the changing seasons, and a spirit that values compassion, tolerance, and social harmony.
5. Buddhist Philosophy’s Truth, Goodness, and Beauty:
* Truth is attained by deeply insighting into impermanence, non-self, suffering, emptiness, and other such things, and by understanding their true nature. By awakening to the concepts of nothingness and emptiness through the fact that all things are constantly changing (impermanence), things do not always go as desired (suffering), and there is no inherent substance (non-self), one can reach a state of true freedom and peace, liberated from attachment and self-centered thinking.
* Goodness is attained through good deeds and merit, and leads to purification of the mind and liberation from worldly desires and suffering. The Eightfold Path, consisting of right view, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration, is a guide to how to live. (Ref., Find the Right Path to Break Free from the Malevolent Spell of the Rulers)
* Beauty is achieved by maintaining inner harmony and spiritual beauty. A sense of oneness with nature, freedom from worldly desires, freedom from attachment, a deep understanding of dependent origination and selflessness, and a compassionate heart purify the inner self and lead to peace of mind, revealing the sublime beauty of the Pure Land, the ultimate state of truth.
In any case, truth, goodness, and beauty are timeless concepts that represent universal values, ideals and guidelines for life and society, and it can be seen that they are connected to the intellect, emotion, and will, which form the basic framework of human spiritual activity.
* Truth and knowledge (reason and recognition):
Intelligence is essential to exploring the truth and deepening understanding.
* Goodness (morality) and will (will and action):
The will is essential to practicing good as moral action.
* Beauty (aesthetic value) and emotion (sensibility and feelings):
Developing sensitivity is essential to gain deeper aesthetic appreciation for art and nature.
Therefore, the fact that the scholar in Andersen’s “The Shadow” is neglected and alienated may reflect a social trend in which truth, goodness, and beauty are not respected or are disregarded.
Back to the topic of shadows.
A little after Chamisso and Andersen, the shadow was studied in psychology by Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) and Carl Jung (1875-1961).
In Jungian psychology, the shadow is a collection of qualities, inferior functions, repressed desires, rejected traits and emotions that the conscious self does not accept.
In other words, the shadow is not synonymous with evil, and moral evil is not necessarily the only shadow. This is because the shadow can be an unconscious aspect of one’s personality that deviates from the framework of an individual’s social norms and ego ideal, such as parts of the self that one does not want to acknowledge, undeveloped potential, or ignored possibilities.
* The shadow as a negative aspect:
The parts of oneself that an individual dislikes, such as aggression, jealousy, laziness, and selfishness.
* Shadow as a positive aspect:
Talents, power, creativity, strong leadership, passion, high sensitivity, etc. that individuals fear and suppress because they believe they are too much for them or would stand out if they were to show them.
The shadow can be thought of as another part of ourselves that unconsciously locks away these aspects deep in our minds as not being ourselves in order to maintain the ideal self known as persona.
Continuing to suppress our shadow can lead to a waste of mental energy and problems.
1. Projection:
When we are unable to accept our own shadow, we may see those qualities in others, leading to intense dislike and criticism of them.
2. Distorted self-image:
Because energy is used up on suppression, we can suffer from the pressure to always be perfect, which can make life difficult.
3. Sudden outbursts:
A repressed shadow does not completely disappear; it can manifest as emotional outbursts or impulsive behavior during times of extreme stress or in unexpected situations.
To resolve this, integrating the shadow is essential in the individuation process, bringing repressed parts into the light of consciousness and recognizing and accepting them as part of one’s whole self.
1. Recognition – Become aware of the shadow.
* Observing strong emotions:
Pay attention to people or traits that make you overly critical of others or unjustifiably hateful.
* Dream analysis:
Dreams may feature creepy characters or your own unpleasant behavior as symbols of the shadow.
2. Dialogue: Confront the shadow.
* Acknowledge the shadow’s desires and emotions and attempt to dialogue with them.
* Identify repressed positive shadows and gradually provide them with opportunities to express them in safe ways.
3. Integration: Regaining wholeness.
* Consciously accepting the shadow and guiding one toward recognizing one’s true self as an imperfect and contradictory person.
*By integrating, even negative shadows can be harnessed as a driving force, leading to their transformation into vitality, creativity, and deep insight.
By integrating the shadow and accepting the inner light and shadow, strengths and weaknesses, it is said that empathy is heightened, mental resilience is increased, self-understanding is deepened, and the foundation is laid for living a stronger, more flexible life, one that allows one to express one’s deeper, true self.
In any case, it can be seen that Peter Schlemil of Chamisso’s story and the scholar who explores truth, goodness, and beauty in Andersen’s tale were brought about different destinies by their different approaches to integrating the shadow.
Furthermore, as In Praise of Shadow states, the pursuit of aesthetic essence and beauty in shadow is an instinctive and cultural endeavor that is directly connected to the joy of living and spiritual richness, and so it can be said that integrating one’s own shadow draws out one’s own potential, allowing one to come into contact with beauty more deeply, feeling fulfilled in the heart, and leading to a sense of happiness and vitality for life.
Incidentally, the French philosopher Michel Foucault (1926-1984) uses motifs such as light and shadow when discussing power and visibility, surveillance and the gaze, and it is said that the description of the aesthetics and optics of shadow in In Praise of Shadow was one of the sources of inspiration for his conception.
According to Foucault, the word “institution” refers to stable social structures such as law, education, healthcare, punishment, the military, corporations, and the state, but it is not simply a social framework or a fixed device; rather, it is a nexus of practices constituted by the cooperation of power and knowledge, and designed to make individuals live, behave, and be evaluated in particular ways.
Foucault presented the concepts of discipline and biopower as mechanisms by which power controls and shapes society without people realizing it, and showed that in modern society, power, like a shadow, secretly invades and functions in the realm of people’s unconscious.
* Discipline:
Discipline is a technique used in modern facilities such as prisons, schools, factories, and hospitals to create more efficient and obedient bodies by segmenting individuals, managing time, organizing space, and monitoring behavior. (Ref., Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison, 1975)
These techniques can be classified into three main elements.
1. Space Allocation:
This is a management technique that skillfully utilizes space. By dividing up space and assigning each individual to a specific location, discipline, training, and authority can efficiently manage people and increase group productivity.
2. Time Management:
This is a technique that subdivides time and controls people’s activities. Managing time is directly linked to managing human behavior itself.
3. Systematization of Activities:
This is a technique that breaks down behavior into detailed processes and systematizes them, homogenizing individual characteristics and creating bodies that all move in the same way, while at the same time prioritizing standardized movements over individual creativity and initiative.
Example:
Through disciplinary devices such as chimes, timetables, queuing, and uniformed uniforms, people are given the appearance of autonomy, but they unconsciously internalize social norms and rules and are encouraged to adopt the “normal” behavior expected by those in power.
Furthermore, those in power deploy a panopticon (an invisible surveillance system) throughout society, and each individual, as a prisoner, is forced into a situation where they have no choice but to regulate their own behavior due to the awareness that they are being watched.
Note: The panopticon is an architectural model of a prison devised by the British philosopher Jeremy Bentham. It consists of cells arranged in a circle with a watchtower in the middle. All of the cells can be seen from the watchtower, but due to the effect of backlighting, the prisoners in the cells cannot see the guards, creating a situation where they never know when they are being watched.
* Biopower:
Biopower, unlike disciplinary training that targets individual bodies, is a technique of control that targets the entire population. It seeks to control people’s lives or vital activities, such as birth rates, death rates, life expectancy, health status, public hygiene, and disease prevention, as the object of power.
Example:
Policies to promote public health, measures to combat the declining birthrate and aging population, crime rate statistics and countermeasures, urban planning, and so on are all part of the workings of biopower, and therefore appear to be carried out for the happiness and safety of the people. However, for those in power, these policies also have an aspect of management to maintain the productivity and order of society as a whole, and through the use of beautiful rhetoric such as “should be healthy” and “should live in a safe place,” people are unconsciously adjusted to conform to the standards of “normal life” defined by those in power.
In a surveillance society, universal truths are distorted, history and social traditions are alienated, and the distinction between normal and abnormal that is convenient for those in power, as well as norms and standards that are taken for granted, permeate society through disciplinary training and biopower, steadily manipulating the actions and thoughts of individuals without them realizing it, and shaping them into behaving obediently.
In fact, this can be seen from the following:
* Surveillance in the digital society:
Smartphones, social media, surveillance cameras, AI data analysis, and more all collect and analyze vast amounts of personal information without individuals even realizing it. Furthermore, conscious of virtual eyes such as the number of likes and followers, people regulate their own behavior as if imprisoned in a panopticon, and end up playing the ideal self that society expects of them.
* Pressure for healthcare and self-management:
The pursuit of health is not an individual desire, but illness is seen as one’s own responsibility. Through mandatory health checkups, recommended vaccinations, and guidance on diet and exercise, individuals are controlled to produce the ideal body desired by those in power, forcing them to submit to the social norm of health.
* True information or fake news:
The prevalence of psychological manipulation and predictive programming through deceptive information and fake news presented as truth through the media and the internet.
Foucault’s theory of power shows that the ordinary scenes of everyday life are in fact invisible prisons, where the machinations of those in power creep up on each individual like shadows. However, understanding these systems of governance and control may lead to individual freedom and liberation.
To do this, it is essential to live more proactively, without fearing or being swept away by invisible forces in our daily lives.
1. Awareness of bodily sensations and the habit of methodical doubt:
By taking a moment to pause and think about social norms, customs, and rules, and focusing on one’s own bodily sensations and practicing methodical doubt, one can break free from the paralysis of thought and regain autonomy.
2. Explore the source of your emotions:
Explore the sources of negative emotions such as anxiety, impatience, and guilt, consciously set aside time for yourself, and regain the sovereignty to decide how to spend it.
3. Diversify your values:
Relativize rigid, absolute values, attempt to reset your internal norms, and free yourself from unconscious submission.
Ultimately, truth (concept), goodness (motive), and beauty (form) in creative activities, whether in life or in art, do not develop in stages, but are established simultaneously from the fundamental field of creation. Therefore, by consciously returning to a state of absolute nothingness where subject and object are not yet distinguished, and starting from that state, it is possible to paradoxically lead to the birth of a work of art as the deepest form of self-expression with a universal resonance. (Ref., Nishida Kitaro, An Inquiry into the Good, 1911)
In other words, by starting from a state of nothingness in one’s own existence, relationships with others, and gaze toward the world, one can find a path for the trinity of truth, goodness, and beauty to be more organically and naturally aligned.
This is neither mere technical creation nor the expression of a pure ideal, but a true creative act that both shapes the world and is shaped by the world as an integrated reality encompassing all of truth, goodness, and beauty.
Therefore, what is first needed in creative activity is not the establishment of a concept or the purification of one’s motives, but the courage to discard all presuppositions, which will enable life and art as a work to transcend intention, acquire life, and lead to the power to reveal a fresh reality to those around it.
Not only in life and artistic creation, but also to appreciate the artistry lurking in the shadows, integrate one’s own shadow, explore truth, goodness, and beauty, and achieve freedom from a surveillance society, it is essential to utilize the gap between theory and reality as a source of self-expression, rather than trying to bridge it as an insurmountable gap, escape reality, or succumbing to and appeasing authority.
Sincerely grateful for your financial support.
Sources and references:
