Naniwa miyage

Naniwa miyage is a text by Confucian scholar Hozumi Ikan, published in 1738.

In the Preface to the book, he relates a conversation he had with Chikamatsu Monzaemon. This passage contains the oft-cited quote by Chikamatsu, that "art is something that lies in the slender margin between the real and the unreal."[1]

References

  1. 「芸というものは実と虚との皮膜の間にあるもの也。」 Full preface transcribed at: "難波土産," ArtWiki, Ritsumeikan University.
    Translation: R. Tsunoda, et al (eds.) Sources of Japanese Tradition, Columbia University Press (1958), 447-448.