mono no aware

is a harkening back to a long lost fundamental sensitivity of original human beings whereby, before doctrine muddied human thought, every movement of the heart, whether enjoyable or sad, was recognized.

Motoori's theory of mono no aware is developed in his works on poetics and The Tale of Genji. This concept occupies an important place in his works on the Ancient Way as well, although the phrase itself does not appear in the text. For instance, in one passage of Tamakushige (Commentary on The Tale of Genji), Motoori expounded how, long ago, every movement of the heart, whether enjoyable or sad, was recognized, and that this sensitivity to feelings was a fundamental characteristic of human beings in their original form. He wrote, In ancient times when the hearts of people were naive and not yet adulterated with doctrines from other lands, there was no useless, devious thought of indiscriminately creating theories about where people go after death. When they died, people simply went to the Land of Yomi, the world of the dead, and there was nothing to do but prepare themselves for it and grieve.

is deep emotion spontaneously prompted by anything that does not follow one's desires, such as in sadness or love.

In Motoori's theory, the most profound aspect of mono no aware was the deep emotion prompted by 'anything that does not follow one's desires,' as in sadness or love, for instance. As the prototype of sadness-like mono no aware, he cited the mortal parting of the divine couple, Izanagi and Izanami in the Kojiki, stating, 'since they will without fail go to the defiled land of Yomi, there is nothing as sad as death in this world.' The grief of Yamatotakeru also signified a similar response.

Jun'ichi Isomae

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