Abstract

This paper intends to propose an original reflection on the relationship between Nietzsche’s style and some specific aspects of the so-called Sino-Japanese «way of art» (geidō). Firstly, I proposed a survey of oriental bibliographical sources that Nietzsche personally consulted. What emerges from this reconnaissance is Nietzsche’s partial and sometimes naive knowledge of Indian sources and an almost total absence of direct knowledge of Chinese and Japanese culture. I then proceeded by way of resonances and comparisons to highlight certain affinities between Nietzschean language and the notions of Tao (道) and «way» (dō 道). The affinity between the asystematic and non-denotative style of Nietzsche’s language with the fluid and a-dogmatic character of the Taoist style has legitimised a comparison between the aphorism and the Japanese short forms of kōan and haiku. In the final part of the contribution, it was intended to show how the aphorism does not represent for Nietzsche a stylistic form of immediate intuition, but rather has to do with the aesthetic concept of «grace». This concept has been related to the Japanese concept of «form» (kata 型 or 形).