Treatises on Artistic Accomplishments (芸道論)
Treatises on Artistic Accomplishments were written records spanning the Heian period (794-1185) through to around the Edo period (1603-1868) relating to the pursuit of: Japanese traditional Waka poetry, Noh drama, flower arrangement (kado), tea ceremony (sado), incense ceremony (kodo), martial arts etc. The treatises were compiled for posterity by masters of their respective arts as study tools for the benefit of successors, instructors and students.
There are occasions where treatise-based learning is reflected in speech.
The following are considered benchmark treatises:
Fushikaden' (The Flowering Spirit) by Zeami
Go Rin no Sho' (Book of Five Rings) by Musashi MIYAMOTO
Heiho Kadensho' (Swordsmanship traditions handed down through the Family) by Munenori YAGYU
Ko no Sho' (The Book of Incense)
Nanpo roku' (Nanpo Chronicle) by Sokei NANBO
Cha no hon' (The Book of Tea) by Tenshin OKAKURA
However, treatises in general were originally vehicles for expressing opinion and positions. It has been pointed out that it could possibly be a normative judgment. Furthermore, some of these writings on certain fields of the arts and pursuits that are called 'treatises' are deficient or apparently labeled incorrectly.
(Fushikaden is a discussion on Noh, Cha no hon is a discussion on the tea ceremony however, neither is a treatise as such. For example, on occasions when people have thought about introducing Fushikaden in foreign languages, it has been felt that giving the book a title of 'Treatise on Noh drama' would be unnatural and, not appropriate for it to be called a treatise on the arts.)