Page:A Grammar of Japanese Ornament and Design (1880).djvu/11



N this work, which I have ventured to call ‘A Grammar of Japanese Ornament and Design,’ my aim has been to present a carefully selected series of characteristic examples of the natural and conventional ornament of the Japanese which shall furnish a general and comprehensive view of the leading features of their Decorative work.

The absence of any such work, and my own ardent admiration for the Decorative Arts of Japan, resulting from eighteen years’ pleasant study, led me to undertake this, which I hope will be of value to the Decorative Artist in whatever field he may be working, and of some interest to the Art-loving public. The subjects are all faithfully copied from the originals, and produced by the process most calculated to retain their spirit, all reductions having been made by photography.

In the introductory pages I have given a brief sketch of the History of the Japanese people, and of their industrial Arts, some knowledge of which is necessary to the proper appreciation and understanding of their Decorative work, which is strictly national in character. This is followed by a short examination of the chief elements and characteristics of their ornament, which, although conscious of its imperfections, I trust may be of some service in the effort to discover the spirit in which their work is conceived, and the method of its execution; a subject of much interest to all lovers of their productions, and one which is yet far from being well understood.