Two Principles of Japanese Aesthetics (KV)

 



Mono no aware has been one of the main principles of Japanese aesthetics for about a thousand years. It means literally "the ah-ness of things," the poignancy of everything, and conveys sad acceptance of the inevitable -- not just death, but the fact that things change, people change, relationships change, nothing stays the same and everything is eventually lost even as other things are gained. The concept is closely intertwined  with a sense of the impermanence of everything: "If man were never to fade away like the dews of Adashino, never to vanish like the smoke over Toribeyama, how things would lose their power to move us!’ (Kenko, 13th century) Mono no aware involves a deep sensitivity to the revealing little things of life. Ozu is considered the modern master. 

   Another aesthetic principle relevant to Ozu is yugen (幽玄), translated as "dark, dim, subtle, profound, mysterious" -- even "mysterious grace," accessible to those of refined sensibility. Yugen is a minimalist aesthetic in which feelings are barely expressed, hinted at, not obvious at all, like in the stylized music and motions of Noh drama. Motoyiko Zeami (15th century) these examples of yūgen: “To watch the sun sink behind a flower-clad hill. To wander on in a huge forest without thought of return. To stand upon the shore and gaze after a boat that disappears behind distant islands. To contemplate the flight of wild geese seen and lost among the clouds.” 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Noriko and Neglect by Sylas Davidson

Image
     Noriko is highlighted throughout the film and by its viewers for her kindness, her compassion.  She is the only person to take a genuine interest in Tomi and Shūkichi, seemingly outside  of obligation and without patronization.  However, she also seems to rely on tradition to guide her behaviour, taking guidelines as strict rules, to the point of possibly sacrificing her personal happiness. This is most obvious with her continued devotion to her husband, Shōji, and his photo. It’s a little hard to see, but Shōji’s photo appears to be on the top of a simple cabinet or wardrobe with a candle to one side. There doesn’t seem to be anything else, at least not anything easily identifiable, that would  make this a family altar. This appears to be a shrine to Shōji, instead of an altar for worship. Noriko  might not be particularly religious, but she still appears to havecreated an altar, and instead of it being  a place for ...
Read more

The editing skills in Chungking Express

 Editing Tempo: The editing of the film is strange. Wang’s camera looks like time-lapse photography, which creates a weird tempo of the film. The camera moves really fast when the blonde woman and the first cop are running. The fast running, neon light, and time-lapse effect create a dizzy feeling. The opening shot closely follows the blonde woman. After the fast shot, it is a still shot of some chimneys. Only clouds are moving. Then, we have a fast shot of the first cop, 233 runs. He bumped into a man that carries a fake blonde woman. 233 starts to pay attention to the blond fake man. Suddenly, he starts to chase a man whose head is covered by a paper bag. The camera moves to the opposite street and the audience can only see 233 running but the side walkers are all blended into a time-lapsed blurry background. When the camera follows the running 233, it moves very quickly; when the shot is taken across the street, it moves very slowly. These two points of view are alternating...
Read more

Why Watch Movies Anyway? An illustrated double feature. Lozuaway McComsey

Image
Why do we even watch movies? Shouldn’t we be reading, or making something, making love, eating or, best of all, sleeping? What is it about movies that keeps me awake? Literally, why do I lose sleep to watch them (and also, to be fair, the occasional novel)? There is something magical, and more encompassing, than say, looking at a painting or photograph or, yes, reading. And which is the nearest thing to a movie? Pictures, paintings or photos, as a movie is made of a bunch of them (and yes, there is a movie that is entirely painted frames—it’s about van Gogh.) Or novels with their stories? Or is it a soundtrack?  Because the first thing is, movies have audio, which of course, music also has. But I’m not one for listening to music. It’s background noise. I'd rather nap or let my mind wander for 90 seconds before starting something. Ozu, generally, uses music like the 90s food pyramid said to use fats and sugar: sparingly. It’s awesome. Sometimes it adds to the...
Read more