Mono no aware is the Japanese idea of the awareness of the transience of beauty and the ultimate sadness of life. After watching Tokyo Story can you better understand this concept? What were your emotional feelings at the end of the film? What were you thinking when you saw the final image: the old man alone in the house fanning himself? Are there other moments when you felt the sadness and the beauty of life?
From my perspective, Tokyo Story introduces another angle to the idea of life’s impermanence – fragility. It insists human existence is, in addition to fleeting and transient, breakable. The world being one of boundless possibility and life outcome is truly a curse, as it means any mere occurrence could end the uncertain span of time remaining in one’s life and complete the deathly promise of mono no aware. The most direct example of this philosophy is the entire process of Tomi’s death, initiated from an illness she contracted on the train from Tokyo to Osaka, an illness which spanned multiple days before finally killing her. Something as simple and unassuming as a transition, physical movement from one location to another, the spaces in-between life happening, spelled a harrowing reminder of impermanence’s inevitability.
ReplyDeleteAn earlier scene between Tomi and Shukichi foreshadows Tokyo Story’s portrayal of life within its delicacy, being a brief interaction of the two on a ledge of a seawall overlooking the ocean. As Tomi begins walking precariously along said ledge, her movements provide a visual blueprint to the film’s thematic core. Life is a thin, miniscule line on which we must balance ourselves. One is to maintain this impossible balancing act through every waking hour and every day in which they are alive, stomaching the terror of such a task all the while. Mono no aware, in this context, is painted as waiting for a mishap. Expecting an eventual error of physical or psychological judgement that brings fatal consequences.
The film ends with the aftermath of such a metaphor, with Shukichi left to live alone, much to Kyoko’s concern. It portrays a haunting yet universal scenario – you witness a fall from the seawall/tightrope/balancing act of life, yet you are left alive because the tragedy resulted in someone else’s death, not yours. The final moments, portraying Shukichi’s solitude, instilled in me curiosity. How does one’s interpretation of life and the importance of preserving life in the wake of its fragility change upon witnessing yet surviving an instance of death? Does it further instill in you a motivation to continue onwards, or does it break your will to resist (and therefore prolong) the implications of mono no aware? The film introduces this fascinating question but never decides an answer, as this answer is so broad and variable in interpretation that it can only be provided by an audience member.
After watching "Tokyo Story," I found a profound resonance with the Japanese concept of "Mono no aware," which encapsulates the bittersweet awareness of the transience of beauty and the inherent sadness in the passage of life. The film portrays this concept through its subtle storytelling and poignant character development. As the narrative unfolds, we witness the elderly couple's journey to Tokyo to visit their grown children, only to be met with indifference and a sense of estrangement. It gently reminds us of the fleeting nature of family bonds and human relationships, emphasizing how they can evolve over time, ultimately leading to a sense of melancholy.
ReplyDeleteOne such scene is where the characters visited Atami, a seaside town. The serene beauty of the ocean and the fleeting joy of the family's time together were juxtaposed with the underlying awareness of how ephemeral such moments can be. As they overlook the sea, Grandma’s death is alluded to with a sudden lightheadedness. As an audience member, we see how the couple appreciates the present moment, making it a poignant reflection on the concept of "Mono no aware.” The final image of the Dad fanning himself also reminisces on this concept. The image stays static as the rest as the daughter leaves him alone. In moments prior, he encourages her to restart her life and get a husband ASAP and communicates his newly felt appreciation for life’s brevity. This image encapsulated the essence of "Mono no aware" – the beauty of life's moments, even in their transience, and the sadness of growing old and being left to reminisce about the past.
Tokyo Story is a beautiful adaptation of the concept of Mono No Aware. While some people may think the “normal” day-to-day life the story is about is boring, I do not agree. The story is quite simple, two grandparents come to Tokyo to visit their children and grandchildren. This is a story many people can relate to (and many more if you take out the Tokyo part). Most people can remember their grandparents or parents coming down for a visit. Their coming down was not for a special event nor a cultural celebration but just for the purpose of seeing their kids and grandkids. It’s a short visit that probably happened before and the characters probably would assume it would happen again. It’s a plot that is very real and very relatable. For me, it was easy to connect to which made me enjoy the movie even if it felt like not much was happening. This is further expanded upon by the shot length in the movie. The shots are much longer than Hollywood movies but more importantly, they linger on after the action has stopped. This works to both slow down the pace and make it feel like real life. There is one point in the movie where the pace picks up and it feels like things are happening. This is the point where the grandmother passes away. This is also the point where the story gives us its message on Mono No Aware. The story tells us to cherish our loved ones while they are still here because they won't be here forever. I can personally relate to this because only one of my grandparents is still here and I wish I could have spent more time with the ones that aren’t here. Tokyo story gives us an insight into an ordinary family and their very relatable life while telling us to cherish our loved ones while they are still here.
ReplyDeleteMono no aware, a Japanese concept, teaches us to recognize the fleeting nature of beauty and the inherent sadness in life. Watching the film "Tokyo Story" by Yasujirō Ozu allows us to better understand this idea. The film tells the story of an elderly couple, Shukichi and Tomi, who visit their adult children in Tokyo. However, they find themselves neglected and distant from their family. This situation highlights the impermanence of family bonds and reflects the concept of mono no aware. The last scene, showing the old man, Shukichi, alone in his house, fanning himself, is a powerful symbol. It reminds us that as we age, we may become lonely and isolated. It's a sad moment that makes us think about the fleeting nature of happiness and the inevitability of solitude in old age. Throughout the film, there are moments that combine the beauty and sadness of life. When Shukichi and Tomi meet old friends, reminiscing about their youth, it brings a sense of nostalgia and longing. Scenes featuring cherry blossoms in bloom, passing trains, and simple yet heartfelt conversations all emphasize how life is temporary. These moments resonate with viewers and connect us to the idea of mono no aware. "Tokyo Story" isn't just about one family; it's a reflection of life's universal aspects. It shows us that beauty and sadness are part of life's fabric. It encourages us to appreciate the present because it doesn't last, and to value our relationships because they are fragile. "Tokyo Story" beautifully captures the essence of mono no aware. It reminds us to acknowledge life's impermanence through the elderly couple's journey and the simple moments in their lives. The film leaves us with a deep sense of melancholy and a heightened awareness of life's fleeting nature, making mono no aware a concept that everyone can relate to.
ReplyDeleteI think Tokyo Story helps me understand mono no aware better because it shows the difference in the value of the mother’s time, before the family knows how much time she has left and after when they know time is limited. It is a bit different from the famous example of mono no aware; cherry blossoms because the family never thought about the time with their mother being temporary until it was close to the end. This helped me understand that it can be easy to forget about the temporariness of something, especially if it lives for a long time. When we first were told about mono no aware, the passage talked about the summer cicada. I think, along with the cherry blossoms, we see those in a different light because we already know when their time is. The cicada dies after summer, and the cherry blossoms only live for two weeks from the end of March to the beginning of April. We show more appreciation because we know exactly how long they are here for. It’s different with people because they are not temporary in the same way. You never know how or when someone will go. When I saw the final scene, my first thought was that the old man was already thinking about his wife, most likely the memories of her. Compared to the first scene, when she probably wasn’t the first thing on his mind because she was there with him. I think what makes life sad is the fact that when something is gone, you can’t help but miss it because all you do is think about the times before it was gone.
ReplyDeleteMono no aware is a concept of Japanese aesthetic that alludes to how the beauty of life is in its impermanence. In the seemingly mundane film Tokyo Story, this same idea can be found underlying the plot and imagery of the movie, as it guides the audience to uncover the aesthetic, the appreciation of the uncertainty of life, and the little moments that life brings. The movie follows an elderly couple visiting their now adult children in the bustling city of Tokyo. And much like how big cities never seem to stop, the couple’s children are also hustling from one responsibility to another. They and their spouses are deeply involved with their work life, too busy to spend time with their parents and throwing the responsibilities of accompanying them from one sibling to another. Of course with this hurried and modern lifestyle, the Tokyoites exude little appreciation much less on the simple fleeting moments of life. However, despite the atmosphere of the city, the film made sure to show that mono no aware could still be found when people learned to slow down and seek out those ephemeral moments. An example of this is when the son of the elders abandoned their travel plans and went back to the hospital to take care of his patient, leaving the whole family disappointed. However, despite all this, the grandma and the youngest grandson went on a walk by the hillside. The camera then takes a shot from far away through a window sill, framing the scenic view of the hill with the silhouette of the grandma and the grandson like a painting. It depicts how even amongst the hurries of life, the moments in which the grandma and the grandson were able to bond with each other are momentary beauties, like a painting, capturing these temporary moments in life as art. And though there is some sadness embedded within the context of the situation, how the grandma has barely interacted with her grandson before, how she doesn’t really know how to connect with him, the beauty of being able to spend time with her is clearly displayed. And as the story drew to a close. This same sense of beauty shown through the framing of the film can be seen in the scene of the grandma and grandpa sitting by the seaside in Osaka. As they reminisce about their journey in Tokyo, they talk of how their sons and daughters seemed to have grown apart from them, yet the time they spent in Tokyo with them, though short, and temporary, was something worth remembering and appreciating. And once again, the scene was framed in a way that I believed was painting-like and very artistic. The very last scene of the grandfather alone made me really empathetic about the situation. In the end, life is temporary, and as his children leave one by one, they seem to forget that they are leaving behind their opportunities to appreciate the presence of their father.
ReplyDeleteTokyo Story does a great job of representing Mono No Aware by showing how humans react to life and death. The movie starts off with a very slow pace, as most people’s lives do. It slowly goes through each person's daily routines, the train rides, and introducing us to the family. The slow pace helps the watcher become more immersed in the world, as if they are part of the family, living a normal, boring life. It shows how many people aren’t happy with their current situations. The parents realize that their children aren’t as well off as the originally thought. Their son, who they thought worked in a hospital, really goes door to door. Everyone seems a bit sad and seems as if they aren’t truly experiencing life.
ReplyDeleteThe slow pace changes when the mother falls ill. During this time, all of the children are rushing to come to see their mother one last time, but the mother and father themselves seem to accept it more. Throughout their journey in Tokyo, they seem to appreciate life itself more and more as they get a glimpse into other people's lives. When the mother is finally passing away, they seem to accept it and accept that she has already lived her life. In contrast, the kids were still living in the same way. One son couldn’t even make time to visit the mother before she passed. As soon as she passed, one started asking for her kimono and other personal belongings. The children want to continue living their lives, leaving no time to reflect or appreciate the beauty of the present. The difference in reaction to the mother’s illness between the parents and the children shows how they embodied mono no aware and used it to live their life to the fullest.
At the end of Tokyo Story, we are shown the final shot of the old man fanning himself after the death of his wife, remarking how his life would become lonely now that not only his wife is not keeping him company, but after he had pushed his daughter-in-law/caretaker to marry and have a life of her own beyond taking care of the in-laws of her dead husband. Tokyo Story is a film that showcases how the beautiful can be found in the slow, mundane pace of life, and how we can appreciate the world before death. Mono No Aware tells how every moment of life is as precious as it is fleeting, how in order to enjoy life we need to slow down to properly notice we are truly living. Many of the characters in Tokyo Story we are shown are wrapped up in their own work and lives, being too busy to truly enjoy the greatest pleasures given to them by simply living. Another scene in which we are allowed to slow down and see the sadness and beauty provided by living is when the family attends the grandmother’s funeral. There is a certain sense of profoundness as we witness the family wonder, for what could be the first time in the film, if they should have spent more time with the grandmother, yet even after the funeral, they return to the mindset, asking for things from the now dead grandmother under the label of “keepsakes”, going back to a lack of appreciation for what is around them and what had appreciated them. Despite this, the old man fanning himself at the end shows a sense of finality, the feeling of the end as he is now all alone. In itself, the finality is as sad as it is beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThe film Tokyo story is a good way to portray the idea of mono no aware. Mono no aware is a Japanese idea in which it is to live life to the fullest. Act like everyday is the last and make due with what you have. In the film Tokyo Story there is a connection in which an older couple goes and visits their children in Tokyo. Throughout the film we see clips in which the father is alone and pandering his thoughts. To the viewer this portrays the sense of loneliness and the lack of fulfillment. Specifically, after the couple is in Tokyo for a short time, they say, we have seen Tokyo, let's go home. This all ties back together with the thought of rushing everything in life. They went to Tokyo to see their children and they left shortly after they arrived. As the couple grew old together, time flew by in their eyes. Near the end in which the father said a powerful quote that stuck as a viewer, he says, “life is so short isn't it”. This quote holds so much though its not entirely true, this is how most people view life. Which is the opposite of what the movie was trying to portray. Most people look forward to growing up and growing old which is why time moves by so fast. No one is living in the moment.This film does an outstanding job allowing the viewer to have a stronger grasp on the concept of mono no aware and the importance of not rushing everything in life before it gets too late.
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ReplyDeleteAfter watching “Tokyo Story,” my understanding of the Japanese concept of “Mono No Aware” has deeply increased. A concept that paints life’s importance by focusing on its impermanence and infinitely changing nature. Using these details, the film does a perfect job of narrating this through its precise storytelling and careful symbolism. As the film begins, the audience views an elderly couple’s vacation to Tokyo, to visit family and friends, where instead of a warm welcome, they are met with a sort of disaffection and annoyance from their grandchildren and some family members. With, the children upset at them for taking some of their room space, to their son saying it was a burden to spend time and take care of them. From these scenes, “Tokyo Story” does a very good job of describing the inevitable growing apart that happens between families, allowing the audience to be grateful for the time they spend with them now, then when they don’t have the privilege to anymore. Furthermore, the film also portrays “Mono No Aware” through the many scenes with symbolism in them. Using cherry blossoms, passing trains, and waves from the ocean to deepen the idea. Each of these objects only lasts for a brief while, serving the audience a poignant reminder of life’s impermanence, creating more reasons to appreciate life because of the fleeting nature of it.