mono no aware

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Literally translated, mono no aware means “the pathos of things, an empathy towards things, a sensitivity to ephemera”. It is described as the “ahh-ness” of things, life and love. I argue that parallels can thus be drawn between the new materialist concepts of the vitality and agency of things and mono no aware. Mono no aware, like new materialism, can provide alternative ways of looking/feeling/being beyond the Western conception of the human as Man.

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Closely related to the concept of wabi sabi, mono no aware is also used to describe awareness of impermanence of things/people and a gentle sadness (or wistfulness) at their passing as well as the pervasive, deeper sadness about transience being the reality of life.