Mono No Aware
Studies on Asia
Wabi-Sabi, Mono no Aware, and Ma:
Tracing Traditional Japanese Aesthetics
Through Japanese History
Lauren Prusinski
Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, Indiana
Introduction
Japanese cultural standards and definitions of beauty have been nurtured over many generations. Starting in the Heian era, Japan revitalized its focus on the natural world, embracing its unpredictable fluctuations and adopting a sensitivity to and appreciation for nature.
The Japanese developed a distinct sense of aesthetics, including wabi sabi, mono no aware, and ma, to guide their feelings in regard to nature and its influence in their art and culture. Each of these aesthetics depicts a different kind of beauty, often describing beauty found in unexpected forms. Wabi sabi represents rustic and desolate beauty; mono no aware, a fleeting, varying beauty; ma, an empty or formless beauty.1 By defining beauty through these aesthetics, Japan has generated an awareness of the beauty of nature not typically found in other societies, especially in sprawling urban settings. Japan has always been a nation focused on beauty in all realms of culture: in arts like poetry and calligraphy; through ritualssuch as the ancient tea ceremony; and in contemporary Japan urban life, consumer goods and architecture.
With a keen eye for their surroundings, the Japanese have effectively melded ancient aesthetics with modern advancement, deferring to their natural roots by highlighting rather than diminishing their eternal presence in society. For example, the Kyoto
1
Roger J. Davies and Osamu Ikeno, “Bigaku” in The Japanese Mind: Understanding
Contemporary Japanese Culture (Boston: Tuttle, 2002), 37-8, 223-24.
25
Series IV, Volume 2, No. 1, March 2012
Station is a central feature of Kyoto’s cityscape, the hub of Kyoto’s downtown area, and its modern architecture displays features that characterize urban Japan. While the Kyoto Station exhibits modern innovation in its synthetic grandeur, it still
Wabi-Sabi, Mono no Aware, and Ma:
Tracing Traditional Japanese Aesthetics
Through Japanese History
Lauren Prusinski
Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, Indiana
Introduction
Japanese cultural standards and definitions of beauty have been nurtured over many generations. Starting in the Heian era, Japan revitalized its focus on the natural world, embracing its unpredictable fluctuations and adopting a sensitivity to and appreciation for nature.
The Japanese developed a distinct sense of aesthetics, including wabi sabi, mono no aware, and ma, to guide their feelings in regard to nature and its influence in their art and culture. Each of these aesthetics depicts a different kind of beauty, often describing beauty found in unexpected forms. Wabi sabi represents rustic and desolate beauty; mono no aware, a fleeting, varying beauty; ma, an empty or formless beauty.1 By defining beauty through these aesthetics, Japan has generated an awareness of the beauty of nature not typically found in other societies, especially in sprawling urban settings. Japan has always been a nation focused on beauty in all realms of culture: in arts like poetry and calligraphy; through ritualssuch as the ancient tea ceremony; and in contemporary Japan urban life, consumer goods and architecture.
With a keen eye for their surroundings, the Japanese have effectively melded ancient aesthetics with modern advancement, deferring to their natural roots by highlighting rather than diminishing their eternal presence in society. For example, the Kyoto
1
Roger J. Davies and Osamu Ikeno, “Bigaku” in The Japanese Mind: Understanding
Contemporary Japanese Culture (Boston: Tuttle, 2002), 37-8, 223-24.
25
Series IV, Volume 2, No. 1, March 2012
Station is a central feature of Kyoto’s cityscape, the hub of Kyoto’s downtown area, and its modern architecture displays features that characterize urban Japan. While the Kyoto Station exhibits modern innovation in its synthetic grandeur, it still