In a Labyrinth of Western Desire: Kuki Shuzo and the Discovery of Japanese Being

Abstract

After nearly a decade in Europe, Kuki Shuzo, scholar of Western philosophy, returned to Japan in 1929, soon to publish the work for which he became best known, "lki" no kozo (The structure of Edo aesthetic style).1 An elusive sense of style and deportment, iki circulated in the erotically charged atmosphere of the Edo pleasure quarters, the Kabuki theaters, and the popular arts of the late Tokugawa period (1600-1867).2 The adepts of