“If you realise that all things change, there is nothing you will try to hold on to.”
— Lao Tzu
Mono no Aware (物の哀れ) — literally meaning ‘the pathos of all things’, is a Japanese term that is often considered to be hard to explain, with some translating it as ‘the beauty of all things passing’, or ‘a sensitivity to epherma.’ On the whole, it refers to the feeling one gets when autumn leaves are falling — it falls somewhere between sorrow and serenity — similar but not quite the same as nostalgia. So, to feel mono no aware is to experience the inevitability of change, time passing, and the impermanence of life — often all of these things at once.
As Kyle Chayka writes in The Longing for Less:
Mono no aware is the beauty of transience, the way of a falling leaf or sunlight gliding the edge of a rock at the end of the day can incite a sudden gut-punch awareness that life is evanescent.
As such, mono no aware internalises the reality that everything must pass one day, and although it suggests melancholy and sorrow, it also implies peace, serenity, and lightness.
Mono no aware has been a core concept of Japanese culture and identity for centuries, finding itself in many texts and anime as well. According to scholar Motoori Norinaga:
To know mono no aware is to discern the power and essence, not just of the moon and the cherry blossoms, but of every single thing existing in this world, and to be stirred by each of them.
Some shows that exemplify this include:
Your Name
Mushishi
Kino’s Journey
5 Centimeters per Second
…and the list goes on.
The concept is also closely linked to the art movement of minimalism. Japanese minimalism (a la Marie Kondo) focuses on keeping life as simple, clean and uncluttered as possible, by only living with the bare essentials. Inspired by traditional Zen Buddhism, it speaks to the beauty of simplicity and strongly emphasises balance, mindfulness, and nature. You can also find minimalism being applied to interior design, architecture, and art.
As Grace Lee from What’s So Great About That says in their fantastic video essay:
That “the performance of the self has become more important than the reality,” and that these decluttered spaces “…functions as projections of [our] best selves: organised, attractive, authentic. Unattainable.”
In this week’s painting, I chose to use a white background to highlight the minimalism that comes with mono no aware. The figure in the picture is also shown letting something go, similar to how flower petals disperse and scatter when they inevitably wilt.
In fact, Sakura petals (or Cherry blossoms) are Japan’s national flower — and the country even celebrates hanami (flower viewing) to view and simply experience the beauty and transient nature of the flowers.
Ultimately, mono no aware fits well the concept of memento mori. As Stephan Joppich writes in his blog:
Mono no aware is the realisation — the feeling — that you never really had control over most things in life anyway. Wine bottles break, political crises erupt, friends die — these events enter life without warning, no matter the tidiness of your bedroom. But it’s this fragility that makes life infinitely precious.
And isn’t that all we have?
Now, onto the N week!.
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