Japan: The Art of Living [Paperback]

Amy Sylvester Katoh (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1999

In this best seller, available for the first time in paperback, Amy Sylvester Katoh introduces stunning interior designs that have successfully blended East and West, traditional and modern. With over 300 color photographs by Shin Kimura, this tour of exquisite homes in the Tokyo area offers new ideas for decorating the Western home. It shows how enhancing table settings, arranging space with carefully selected screens and furnishings, and inviting the season indoors with delicate flower arrangements can create a Japanese aesthetic in the most parochial of rooms. Amy Sylvester Katoh, collector and connoisseur of Japanese Craftss and textiles, includes the latest information on antique markets and hints for where to see the art of living - in galleries, textile and Crafts shops, and restaurants.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

These two visual sourcebooks are full of photographs to inspire amateur and professional decorators. Each depicts how each style has been interpreted for today's living through the use of traditional, ethnic accents. India Style concentrates on the decoration of entire rooms in contemporary India, with an emphasis on the culture and traditions that inspire the decorating. Katoh focuses on details, such as textiles, furniture, and folk art, that make up Japanese-accented interiors. She also gives an overview of contemporary decorating as practiced by native and Western-born Japanese. Each of these books provides good coverage of contemporary interpretations of ethnic decorating styles. For larger collections.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Amy Sylvester Katoh, a longtime resident of Tokyo, Japan, is well known for her work with textiles, particularly traditional blue and white fabrics, which are featured in her boutique Blue & White in Azabu Juban, Tokyo. She is dedicated to preserving Japan's Crafts tradition, traveling throughout the country in search of the finest works of both traditional and modern Craftssmen.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Tuttle Publishing (September 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 080482133X
• ISBN-13: 978-0804821339
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 8.7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #605,724 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Sourcebook for Japanese Interior Design, December 14, 2000

By 

Walter O. Koenig "Amoxtli" (San Diego, California, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Japan: The Art of Living (Paperback)

Regardless if you want to have a Japanese Tea Room, a Japanese touch, or just like looking at great photographs of Interior Design, you should buy this book.

I normally don't like books which take elements from one Style, in this case Japanese, and then adapt it for Western use, but here it works very well, thanks to superb and tasteful examples. The authors are also very up-front about it, as the sub-title which does not appear on the cover is "A Sourcebook of Japanese Style for the Western Home".

In hundreds of excellent photographs we are shown in sections with such titles as: "Light and Space", "Traditional Furniture" and "Japanese Textiles" just how easy it is to give rooms and areas of your home a Japanese touch or feel. I personally like the Style very much because it is subdued, almost austere, yet elegant, and makes much use of natural materials. The book is full of really clever examples of what one can do with space, and the best part is, that for the most part it can be done without great expense. The list of sources of where to buy materials at the end of the book is unfortunately out of date. The copy of the book I have was published in 1990, but many sources should be readily available on the Internet.

Along with the excellent book "Japanese Style" by Suzanne Slesin, et.al. (at the time of writing out of print), "Japan: The Art of Living" is all you'll need to go Japanese. And lastly before I forget, the price is right.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars very helpfull, August 18, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Japan: The Art of Living (Paperback)

As a an architecture student and in an architecture firm working guy I found this book very helpfull. I like japanese architecture and this book has taught me a way to design interiors in japanese-western way.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great blend of East and West, November 1, 2010

By 

Home Designer - See all my reviews

This review is from: Japan the Art of Living (Hardcover)

While I found a few design errors in the homes that could have been improved upon (arrangement of furniture and accessories), I love this book. It shows many, many ideas of how to incorporate the Japanese look into the western style home. The pictures are gorgeous and I got some very good inspiration from them.