Mono no aware

Mono no aware (物の哀れ), lit. 'the pathos of things', also translated as 'an empathy toward things', or 'a sensitivity to ephemera', is a Japanese idiom for the aesthetic appreciation of impermanence (無常, mujō), or transience of things, and both a transient gentle sadness (or wistfulness) at their passing as well as a longer, deeper gentle sadness about this state being the reality of life.

Origins and analysis

The idiom mono no aware comes from Heian period literature, but was picked up and used by 18th century Edo period Japanese cultural scholar Motoori Norinaga in his literary criticism of The Tale of Genji, and later to other germinal Japanese works including the Man'yōshū. It became central to his philosophy of literature; he saw it as the main theme of The Tale of Genji. His articulation was the result of well-established poetic readings of The Tale of Genji and the concept became central to his own; Genji was "instrumental" in the term's establishment. According to Norinaga, to "know" mono no aware is to have a shrewd understanding and consideration of reality and the assortment of occurrences present; to be affected by and appreciate the beauty of cherry blossoms was an example of this knowledge provided by Norinaga.

Japanese cultural scholar Kazumitsu Kato wrote that understanding mono no aware in the Heian period was "almost a necessity for a learned man in aristocratic society", a time when it was a prominent concept. Donald Richie wrote that the term has "a near-Buddhistic insistence upon recognition of the eternal flux of life upon this earth. This is the authentic Japanese attitude toward death and disaster". Various other scholars have discussed the term.

Etymology

The phrase is derived from the Japanese word mono (物), which means 'thing', the particle no, which means 'of', and the word aware (哀れ), which was a Heian period expression of measured surprise (similar to 'ah' or 'oh'), translating roughly as 'pathos', 'poignancy', 'deep feeling', 'sensitivity', or 'awareness'.