is a Japanese concept of negative space, and a Japanese reading of the Sino-Japanese character Chinese: 間.[1] [2] [3] [4]
In modern interpretations of traditional Japanese arts and culture, is an artistic interpretation of an empty space, often holding as much importance as the rest of an artwork and focusing the viewer on the intention of negative space in an art piece. The concept of space as a positive entity is opposed to the absence of such a principle in a correlated "Japanese" notion of space.
Though commonly used to refer to literal, visible negative space, may also refer to the perception of a space, gap or interval, without necessarily requiring a physical compositional element. This results in the concept of being less reliant on the existence of a gap, and more closely related to the perception of a gap.[5] The existence of in an artwork has been interpreted as "an emptiness full of possibilities, like a promise yet to be fulfilled", and has been described as "the silence between the notes which make the music".[6]
The alcove in a traditional Japanese room is a space or a stage used to display important objects, such as a painting scroll, an important art object, or a flower arrangement. The concept is also associated with or the Japanese spatial concept of "inwardness".[7]
In, the space around the flowers is considered to be equally as important as the flowers and plants themselves, with harmony and balance between the two considered the ideal.[8] [9]
In karate, refers to the distance between two fighters. Knowing the safe distance between oneself and an opponent based on their reach is considered "understanding ".
Among English loanwords of Japanese origin, both (interval, space) and (unit of architectural measurement) are written with the Chinese character Chinese: 間 derived from the character Chinese: [[wikt:門|門]] ("door") and Chinese: [[wikt:日|日]] ("sun").
Originally, the character Chinese: 間 was written with the radical for "moon" (Chinese: [[wikt:月|月]]) instead of the character for "sun" (Chinese: 日), and, in this form (Chinese: [[wikt:閒|閒]],), depicted, according to Bernhard Karlgren, "A door through the crevice of which the moonshine peeps in".[10]
The character can be read differently when emphasis is put on the connection between things, the distance between things, or the distance between people .[11]
In his 2001 book, The Art of Looking Sideways, graphic designer Alan Fletcher discussed the importance that perceived negative space could hold in art:
Derrick de Kerckhove described as "the complex network of relationships between people and objects".[12]