1/4/2023 0 Comments Mono no awareBased largely upon classical Greek ideals, beauty in the West is sought in the ultimate perfection of an external object: a sublime painting, perfect sculpture or intricate musical composition a beauty that could be said to be only skin deep. Mono no aware states that beauty is a subjective rather than objective experience, a state of being ultimately internal rather than external. The subject of a thousand poems and a national icon, the cherry blossom tree embodies beauty as a transient experience. The sakura or cherry blossom tree is the epitome of this conception of beauty the flowers of the most famous variety, somei yoshino, nearly pure white tinged with a subtle pale pink, bloom and then fall within a single week. The fleeting nature of beauty described by mono no aware derives from the three states of existence in Buddhist philosophy: unsatisfactoriness, impersonality, and most importantly in this context, impermanence.Īccording to mono no aware, a falling or wilting autumn flower is more beautiful than one in full bloom a fading sound more beautiful than one clearly heard the moon partially clouded more appealing than full. Mono no aware gave name to an aesthetic that already existed in Japanese art, music and poetry, the source of which can be traced directly to the introduction of Zen Buddhism in the twelfth century, a spiritual philosophy and practise which profoundly influenced all aspects of Japanese culture, but especially art and religion. It can also be translated as the “ah-ness” of things, of life, and love. The phrase is derived from the word *aware*, which in Heian Japan meant sensitivity or sadness, and the word mono, meaning things, and describes beauty as an awareness of the transience of all things, and a gentle sadness at their passing. Meaning literally “a sensitivity to things,” mono no aware is a concept describing the essence of Japanese culture, invented by the Japanese literary and linguistic scholar scholar Motoori Norinaga in the eighteenth century, and remains the central artistic imperative in Japan to this day.
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