In this ambitious volume Professor Cho, one of Japan's most knowledgeable scholars of comparative cultures, takes up the timeless topic of female beauty from the perspectives of China, Japan, and the West. At ease with a rich variety of literary and visual materials from all eras of Chinese and Japanese history, the author offers learned insights into classic tropes of East Asian female beauty and their encounter with Western aesthetics in modern times. Readers in many fields will find much to engage their imaginations here.

Thomas R. H. Havens, Northeastern University; author of Radicals and Realists in the Japanese Nonverbal Arts

The study of comparative literature has been characterized by the interdisciplinary approach combining literature and art, and this book is an outstanding example of the practice. . . . The author’s comparative study of Chinese and Japanese depictions of beauty from ancient times through Medieval and early modern to modern times is superb. . . . Another great contribution this book makes is clarification of cultural backgrounds based on similarities and differences observed in iconographic expressions of feminine beauty.
(Praise for the Japanese Edition)

Journal of Comparative Literature

[The author], who was lured by the eternal enigma called the beautiful woman into authoring this great opus, is at once a scholar and a poet at heart. . . . The question inspired him to carefully range through literary history, art history, and the history of everyday life in both countries.
(Praise for the Japanese Edition)

Mainichi

“The Search for the Beautiful Woman” is a scholarly, enjoyable historical exploration of the beautiful woman in two neighboring Asian cultures. Kyoko Selden, recently deceased, must be commended for clarifying layered references in Chinese, Japanese, English and other languages in her translation

Japan Times

In his "search for the beautiful woman," Cho (comparative culture and literature, Meiji Univ., Japan) demonstrates an extensive knowledge of East Asian literature and aesthetics. Concentrating on the Warring States, Song, late Ming, Heian, Kamakura, and Edo periods, he delves into rarely discussed topics: how "good looks changed in Chinese history" and how "ethnic cultures influenced women's aesthetic sense." The comparison of Chinese with Heian era literature in chapter 5 best explains the argument of distinctly national ideas of what constitutes beauty: the author's use of Michizume's manipulating Chinese literature to reflect a Japanese aesthetic clearly upholds Cho's own conclusion. Summing Up: Recommended. All readers.

Choice Reviews