"As one lets that cool, silken piece melt within their mouth, it is as if the darkness of the room has gathered into a single, bittersweet drop, slowly dissolving on the tongue. Even a modest piece of yokan, not particularly refined, seems to reveal an unexpected depth of taste." (Excerpt) – Observing the fundamental contrasts with Western aesthetics, this work explores the essence of Japanese beauty within the shadows and the unlit spaces.
NB: the book has six essays: 陰翳礼讃／懶惰の説／恋愛及び色情／客ぎらい／旅のい...
This is a book collecting six of Tanizaki's non-fiction essays, starting off with the famous title essay 陰翳礼讃, which has been translated into English as "In Praise of Shadows".
Tanizaki's prose style is pretty difficult for a language learner, both in his vocabulary choices and in orthographical choices like use of kanji for "grammar" words that are more usually written in kana in more modern texts. However I felt it was rich enough to reward taking it at a slow pace, re-reading tricky sentences and thinking about the points the author was making.
Note that if you are searching for this on Aozora you will find the title essay but not the others collected in this book. In particular you will miss the excellent 厠のいろいろ where Tanizaki discusses toilets through the ages and reveals his best Japanese loo experience...