ntle sadness about this state being the reality of life.

Contents
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1Origins
2Etymology
3In contemporary culture
4See also
5References
6External links

Origins[edit]
The term was coined in the 18th century by the Edo period Japanese cultural scholar Motoori
Norinaga and was originally a concept used in his literary criticism of The Tale of Genji, later applied
to other seminal Japanese works including the Man'ysh. It became central to his philosophy of
literature and eventually to Japanese cultural tradition.

Etymology[edit]
The phrase is derived from the Japanese word mono ( ), which means "thing", and aware ( ),
which was a Heian period expression of measured surprise (similar to "ah" or "oh"), translating
roughly as "pathos", "poignancy", "deep feeling", "sensitivity", or "awareness". 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 Motoori noted that mono no aware is the crucial emotion
that moves readers. Its scope was not limited to Japanese literature, and became associated with
Japanese cultural tradition (see also sakura).[1]
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In contemporary culture[edit]
Notable manga artists who use mono no awarestyle storytelling include Hitoshi Ashinano, Kozue
Amano, and Kaoru Mori. In anime, both Only Yesterday by Isao Takahata and Mai Mai
Miracle by Sunao Katabuchi emphasize the passing of time in gentle notes and by presenting the
main plot against a parallel one from the past. In addition, the Japanese director Yasujir Ozu was
well known for creating a sense of mono no aware, frequently climaxing with a character very
understatedly saying "Ii tenki desu ne?" ( , "Fine weather, isn't it?"), after a familial
and societal paradigm shift, such as a daughter being married off, against the backdrop of a swiftly
changing Japan.
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In his book about courtly life in ancient Japan, The World of the Shining Prince, Ivan
Morris compares mono no aware to Virgil's term lacrimae rerum, Latin for "tears of things".[2]
Science fiction author Ken Liu's short story, "Mono no Aware", won the 2013 Hugo Award for Best
Short Story.[3] Inspired by works like the science fiction manga Yokohama Kaidashi Kik, Liu sought
to evoke an "aesthetic primarily oriented towards creating in the reader an empathy towards the
inevitable passing of all things", and to acknowledge "the importance of memory and continuity with
the past".[4]
British novelist Kazuo Ishiguro (author of 1989's The Remains of the Day, which was awarded
the Booker Prize for Fiction) ends many of his novels without any sense of resolution. The issues his

characters confront are buried in the past and remain unresolved. Thus Ishiguro ends many of his
novels on a note of melancholic resignation. His characters accept their past and who they have
become, typically discovering that this realization brings comfort and an ending to mental anguish.
This can be seen as a literary reflection of the Japanese idea of mono no aware.