Mono No Aware, a hard to translate Japanese term which literally means the pathos of things is about the awareness of impermanence. Being aware that everything will change and nothing is permanent. While the concept seems really simple, it is one of the toughest things for the conscious mind to consider on a usual basis.
A sadness and melancholy that persists in you when you know that things will not last forever. A sadness that can also bring out the beauty in the current moment and make life more meaningful. Extreme beauty that can only be sensed on top of a deeply sad foundation. The best symbolic representation for the pathos of things is Sakura, cherry blossoms, that are very precious and beautiful while they last, and they last for a very short time.
I have been thinking about this concept a lot lately, very much looking into including it in our latest project, Tale of Ronin, as we have been researching Zen concepts very much and mono no aware has deep roots in Zen concepts and is about the human side of the Samurai which the game is all about.
My current plans are to study various literature and media related to this very important feeling. This is very much intuitive for me since I feel myself very much in a mono no aware state lately. A strange feeling that opens your eyes to the aesthetics of things you know will not be there soon.
I might be consciously thinking about it lately but I think the concept has been dancing around in my subconscious for quite some time. This post called Finally Alive from 2008, which is probably my most favorite post here, was exactly all about mono no aware!
A sadness and melancholy that persists in you when you know that things will not last forever. A sadness that can also bring out the beauty in the current moment and make life more meaningful. Extreme beauty that can only be sensed on top of a deeply sad foundation. The best symbolic representation for the pathos of things is Sakura, cherry blossoms, that are very precious and beautiful while they last, and they last for a very short time.
I have been thinking about this concept a lot lately, very much looking into including it in our latest project, Tale of Ronin, as we have been researching Zen concepts very much and mono no aware has deep roots in Zen concepts and is about the human side of the Samurai which the game is all about.
My current plans are to study various literature and media related to this very important feeling. This is very much intuitive for me since I feel myself very much in a mono no aware state lately. A strange feeling that opens your eyes to the aesthetics of things you know will not be there soon.
I might be consciously thinking about it lately but I think the concept has been dancing around in my subconscious for quite some time. This post called Finally Alive from 2008, which is probably my most favorite post here, was exactly all about mono no aware!
