Okakura Kakuzo was born near Tokyo and learned English in his infancy, refining his linguistic skills at the Institute for Foreign Studies in Tokyo. Later he went on to study Oriental Arts at the Tokyo Imperial University. Okakura lived in America for several years where he served as Curator of the Department of Chinese and Japanese art at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.

He was instrumental in the acquisition of much of that museum's exemplary collection of Eastern art. Foreword to the Original Edition by: Elise Grilli lived and worked in Tokyo for many years. She was an art critic for the Japan Times and published several books on Japanese art including Golden Screen Paintings of Japan and Japanese Picture Scrolls.

New Foreword by: Andrew Juniper lives in West Sussex, England where he runs the Wabi-Sabi Art Gallery. He also works as a translator for UK and Japanese government bodies. New Introduction by: Liza Dalby is an author and anthropologist who, in the 1970s, became the first American woman to become fully trained as a geisha. Her publications include Geisha and the novel The Tale of Murasaki.