Summer has finally come to an end, and the air of autumn begins to permeate the mornings and evenings. As the proverb goes, "Heat and cold last until the equinox," the autumn wind blows through the fields, and the sky above is infinitely blue. Reflecting on the past summer and the changing seasons, one feels "mono no aware" (the pathos of things). This phrase was left by Motoori Norinaga, a great figure from my hometown of Matsusaka.
Norinaga, who passed away at the age of 71 in the early 19th century, dedicated his life to decoding the KOJIKI and played a significant role in the study of Shinto. He expressed the feelings of being moved or empathizing with the "transience of things" and "the changing nature of the world" as "mono no aware." This concept has influenced the aesthetics and values of Japanese culture, and various scholarly interpretations continue to emerge today.
His former residence, Suzunoya, is located at the site of Matsusaka Castle. In my teenage years, I was used to roam around the castle ruins during summer vacation with a bug cage. I caught bees with a large butterfly net and injected them with a needle from a specimen set. After wrestling with the bees in the rarely visited castle ruins, I would look up with a sense of triumph to see Suzunoya still in the forest, bathed in summer sunlight.
This is merely a childhood memory, but I recall reading somewhere that Norinaga, who was a doctor by profession, would lead young women to the second floor for examinations and then have his disciples remove the stairs. I am not sure whether I read this in Suzunoya or in some other magazine, but my understanding of him stopped there.
(Unfortunately only Japanese)
Originally, Matsusaka itself was a fortress. All the townhouses along the roads were built in a zigzag pattern to make it easier to shoot arrows or guns at invading enemies. Because of this, transportation, such as buses, struggled for a long time after the war. However, Matsusaka Castle originally did not have a castle tower and had no history of being involved in battles. For over 400 years, it has been a truly peaceful town.
Matsusaka is located in a plain spreading from the foothills of Mt. Hossaka-san, with scattered small forests called "Yoi hono mori." A castle was built on one end of this area, surrounded by townhouses. The castle used the Sakanai River, which flows on the north side, as a moat, and the townhouses were divided into sections by trades, such as Tono-machi (The town of his lordship), Uo-machi (Fisher's town), and Oshiroi-machi (The town of white powder) . The Ise Road ran through the town, making it a key point connecting Kumano, Iga, Kyoto, and Nara.
Reading "Motoori Norinaga" by Akinaka Sensaki from Shincho Select Books, it becomes clear that Norinaga changed his positions as a samurai, merchant, and doctor while visiting Ise, Edo, and Kyoto. Although I tried to read through his numerous accomplishments, they were extremely difficult for an amateur to understand. It is no wonder that there are no novels or movies with him as the protagonist. The great figure from my hometown is indeed too great.
However, as someone from the same hometown, I can imagine the landscapes he saw during his travels. The foothills of Mt. Hossaka-san like a draped celestial robe, the clear water of the Sakanai River, the forests surrounding villages and shrines, and the endlessly spreading fields. It's a truly peaceful scenery. When he back to the Suzuka Pass and found the sky over the Ise Se after travelling through Kyoto and Nara, I am sure that he probably envisioned the same scenery.
Every time I head to Matsusaka on the Kintetsu train, I think so feeling "Mono No Aware" too.
K. Mikami