The ephemeral nature of the material realm is central to Japanese culture. Elegant palaces and serene monasteries are made of wood and paper; simple materials such as bamboo and raked pebbles are as precious as lacquer, silk and gold leaf. Every gesture of art is calculated to open the consciousness to the world in a refined relationship between interior and exterior life. From the prehistoric world, the arrival of Buddhism, through the rise of refined court culture and the warrior ethic, to the spread of Zen and the emergence of a new merchant class in the Edo period, this work displays the originality and vitality of the Japanese tradition in all the arts - painting, architecture, sculpture, gardens, theatre, and the decorative arts.