This extended essay will explore the ways in which the architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh incorporated Japanese aesthetics in his design for The Glasgow School of Art, specifically considering his awareness of the concept Ma and the representation of cultural symbols Mon and Tori-i. Why, at the turn of the twentieth century in Glasgow, was Mackintosh inspired by Japan? I will contemplate changes in trade, exhibitions, fellow artists that travelled there and the importance of his friendship with Hermann Muthesius. What was he hoping to achieve by incorporating a Japanese influence? I
will consider specific aspects of traditionai Japanese architecture and art that influenced the creation of Mackintosh's unique interiors. How was his work received? I will discuss the reception of Mackintosh's designs in both the West and Japan. To reflect upon these proposed questions and portray the ways in which Mackintosh evokes a Japanese sensibility, I will consider the views of leading Japanese architects, Kengo Kuma and Arata lozaki, and consult the following key texts: Japonisme in Britain: Whistler, Menpes, Henry, Horne/ and nineteenth-century Japan by Ayako Ono,Found In Translation: Mackintosh, Muthesius, and Japan by Neil Jackson, C. R. Mackintosh: The Poetics of Workmanship by David Brett. In conclusion, I will demonstrate why the Japanese influence found in Mackintosh's design for The Glasgow School of Art has been a vital element in contributing to the allure and success of his masterwork over a hundred years later.