Mono no aware
Encyclopedia
, literally "the pathos of things", also translated as "an empathy toward things", or "a sensitivity to ephemera", is a Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...

 term used to describe the awareness of , or the transience of things, and a gentle sadness (or wistfulness) at their passing.

Origins

The term was coined in the 18th century by the Edo period
Edo period
The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....

 Japanese cultural scholar Motoori Norinaga
Motoori Norinaga
was a Japanese scholar of Kokugaku active during the Edo period. He is probably the best known and most prominent of all scholars in this tradition.-Life:...

, and was originally a concept used in his literary criticism of The Tale of Genji
The Tale of Genji
is a classic work of Japanese literature attributed to the Japanese noblewoman Murasaki Shikibu in the early 11th century, around the peak of the Heian period. It is sometimes called the world's first novel, the first modern novel, the first psychological novel or the first novel still to be...

,
and later applied to other seminal Japanese works including the Man'yōshū. It became central to his philosophy of literature, and eventually to Japanese cultural tradition
Culture of Japan
The culture of Japan has evolved greatly over the millennia, from the country's prehistoric Jōmon period to its contemporary hybrid culture, which combines influences from Asia, Europe and North America...

.

Etymology

The word is derived from the Japanese word mono, which means "things", and aware, which was a Heian period
Heian period
The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. The period is named after the capital city of Heian-kyō, or modern Kyōto. It is the period in Japanese history when Buddhism, Taoism and other Chinese influences were at their height...

 expression of measured surprise (similar to "ah" or "oh"), translating roughly as "pathos", "poignancy", "deep feeling", or "sensitivity". Thus, mono no aware has frequently been translated as "the 'ahh-ness' of things", life, and love. Awareness of the transience of all things heightens appreciation of their beauty, and evokes a gentle sadness at their passing. In his criticism of The Tale of Genji
The Tale of Genji
is a classic work of Japanese literature attributed to the Japanese noblewoman Murasaki Shikibu in the early 11th century, around the peak of the Heian period. It is sometimes called the world's first novel, the first modern novel, the first psychological novel or the first novel still to be...

Motoori noted that mono no aware is the crucial emotion that moves readers. Its scope was not limited to Japanese literature
Japanese literature
Early works of Japanese literature were heavily influenced by cultural contact with China and Chinese literature, often written in Classical Chinese. Indian literature also had an influence through the diffusion of Buddhism in Japan...

, and became associated with Japanese cultural tradition (see also sakura
Sakura
A cherry blossom is the flower of any of several trees of genus Prunus, particularly the Japanese Cherry, Prunus serrulata, which is sometimes called sakura after the Japanese . Many of the varieties that have been cultivated for ornamental use do not produce fruit...

).

In contemporary culture

Notable manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...

 artists who use mono no aware–style storytelling include Hitoshi Ashinano
Hitoshi Ashinano
is a Japanese manga artist. He is most noted for Yokohama Kaidashi Kikō, for which he won Afternoon magazine's Four Seasons Award for debut works and the 2007 Seiun Award for Best Science Fiction Manga. Another notable work is PositioN. He has also been known to create dōjinshi under the name "suke"...

, Kozue Amano
Kozue Amano
is a female Japanese manga artist. She is widely known as the creator of Aria, which proved to be a best-selling hit, and was adapted into an anime television series consisting of 3 seasons and an OVA....

, and Kaoru Mori
Kaoru Mori
is a Japanese manga artist from Tokyo. She is the creator of popular manga such as Shirley and Emma. Many of her works are set in Britain, centering on characters who are maids...

. In anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

, both Isao Takahata
Isao Takahata
is a Japanese anime filmmaker that have earned critical international acclaim for his work as a director. Takahata is co-founder of Studio Ghibli with long-time collaborative partner Hayao Miyazaki. He has directed films such as the war-themed Grave of the Fireflies, the romantic-drama Only...

, with his Only Yesterday, and Sunao Katabuchi, with Mai Mai Miracle
Mai Mai Miracle
is a Japanese animated film based on Nobuko Takagi's novelization of her autobiography, Maimai Shinko. It was produced by the animation studio Madhouse, distributed by Shochiku, and directed by Sunao Katabuchi....

, emphasize the passing of time in gentle notes, both films presenting the main storyline against a parallel story from the past. The Japanese director Yasujiro Ozu
Yasujiro Ozu
was a prominent Japanese film director and script writer. He is known for his distinctive technical style, developed during the silent era. Marriage and family, especially the relationships between the generations, are among the most persistent themes in his body of work...

 was well-known for creating a sense of mono no aware, frequently climaxing with a character saying a very understated , after a familial and societal paradigm shift, such as a daughter being married off, against the backdrop of a swiftly changing Japan.

Ivan Morris
Ivan Morris
Ivan Ira Esme Morris was a British author and teacher in the field of Japanese Studies.Ivan Morris was born in London, of mixed American and Swedish parentage, to Ira Victor Morris and Edita Morris. He studied at Gordonstoun, before graduating from Phillips Academy...

 in his book, The World of the Shining Prince about courtly life in ancient Japan, compared it to Virgil
Virgil
Publius Vergilius Maro, usually called Virgil or Vergil in English , was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He is known for three major works of Latin literature, the Eclogues , the Georgics, and the epic Aeneid...

's term lacrimae rerum
Lacrimae rerum
Lacrimae rerum is the Latin for "tears of things." The words themselves are from "lacrima, -ae," a first declension noun meaning "tear" and from "res, rei" a fifth declension noun meaning "thing" .The term comes from line 462 of Book I of The Aeneid, an epic poem written in Latin by Virgil, one...

, Latin for "tears of things".

The phrase is the basis for the song 'The Sadness of Things' by Momus.

External links

  • Definition from the Japan Glossary by Richard Hooker of Washington State University
    Washington State University
    Washington State University is a public research university based in Pullman, Washington, in the Palouse region of the Pacific Northwest. Founded in 1890, WSU is the state's original and largest land-grant university...

  • Lecture notes from a Japanese culture class at Ohio State University
    Ohio State University
    The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...

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