In Praise of Shadows

“In Praise of Shadows,” written in 1933, emerged toward the start of an important and dynamic decade for Japan. The country entered a period of economic prosperity and industrialization in the wake of the global financial crisis of the late 1920s. This included a significant growth in modernized mass media infrastructures, such as radio, television, and film, and transportation systems, such as planes and trains. Tokyo assumed its role as a “modern urban metropolis” during this decade as the city continued to respond to the many changes of Western globalization (Sneider, David. “1930s Japan: A Time of Turmoil and Transformation.”Wrightwood 659). Tanizaki directly responds to such changes in this essay by critiquing modernization and defending traditionalism.

However, the decade is also characterized as the country’s “dark valley” (Sneider), given that the 1930s saw Japan move from a political system based on party representation to an autocracy that was ruled by the military and antagonistic toward other countries in the region. For instance, in 1931 the hostilities that would later lead to the Pacific War began via the Japanese invasion of the provinces formerly known as Manchuria. These tensions worsened by the end of the decade, leading into the start of World War II in 1939.