Sunday was another blue sky day here on Easter weekend, and I felt compelled to get out of the house on Sunday afternoon. I walked down to the Japanese Garden and the Arboretum to check out the blossoms on the trees.
Mono no aware is a Japanese phrase associated with cherry blossoms. It literally means ‘the pathos of things’, or could also be translated as ‘an empathy toward things’ or ‘a sensitivity to ephemera’ (source: Wikipedia). So it is a term for the awareness of the impermanance or the transience of things, and a gentle sadness or wistfulness at their passing.
*Since 1989 he has been the reigning Emperor of Japan.
