Reddit mentions of In Praise of Shadows

In Praise of Shadows, "An essay on aesthetics by the Japanese novelist, this book explores architecture, jade, food, and even toilets, combining an acute sense of the use of space in buildings. The book also includes descriptions of laquerware under candlelight and women in the darkness of the house of pleasure."

Very much so! From the blackened teeth to Noh plays, he describes the ideas of hiding the flaws in the dark and blackness to highlight the beauty and art. In short, the essay/book details and reminisces about a time before electricity when all the Japanese arts were perhaps more elegant and pure (in his reasoning). Ranging from architecture to the performing arts, he even details the lacquer-ware in candlelit restaurants which were all created to fill a low-light shadow filled world which the gold flecks would create subtle flickers of beauty, only to be later ruined in a light soaked world of the light bulb. It is an incredibly fascinating read and highlights artistic choices across all Japanese culture that were influenced by the world of shadow.

I highly recommend reading the full In Praise of Shadows essay which is here in pdf form or you can purchase it on Amazon here.

Best happy ending yet. I'm a huge proponent of the comparison of architecture, it's writing and theory, and graphic/web design. Christopher Alexander is fantastic. I recommend going back to his earlier work before the three you mentioned called "Notes on the Synthesis of Form."

A few other great architecture books to consider:

• In Praise of Shadows by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki —
  Learning from Las Vegas by Robert Venturi —
  The Eyes of the Skin: Architecture and the Senses by Juhani Pallasmaa

The Architecture of Happiness by Alain de Botton

In Praise of Shadows by Junichiro Tanizaki

The Poetics of Space by Gaston Bachelard

Design school is going to cost way more than 10 Grand, I guess you're going to have to start by teaching yourself. I recommend starting here for a modest investment of ten dollars.

You might be interested in https://www.amazon.com/Praise-Shadows-Junichiro-Tanizaki/dp/0918172020?ie=UTF8&ref_=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top