Mono(Japanese for "thing")

"Mono can be written in the Japanese character 物&sbquo hiragana もの or katakana モノ. The Japanese character 物 was derived from 勿. 勿 is a character that symbolizes flags of various colors fluttering in the wind&sbquo expresses the subtlety of the situation in which the view is not clear due to various colors blending&sbquo and hence gained the meaning of "things" with various colors and forms. It can be distinguished that 物 suggests an existence of a concrete form&sbquo モノ indicates an artifact&sbquo and the expression もの is used to represent them in general. Moreover&sbquo もの has become a conceptual word that not only includes concrete objects but also facts and existences as subjects of thoughts&sbquo that is&sbquo こと (koto) or "events". Especially in association with such words as soul&sbquo spirit&sbquo devil and specter&sbquo there are such expressions as mononoke (ghost)&sbquo monomonoshii (stately)&sbquo monosugoi (terrific) and monoganashii (somewhat sad)&sbquo and the Japanese language has a sense of awe towards the Japanese character 物.In the Western world too&sbquo the concept of a "thing" has extremely many meanings and diversity. From inorganic things that exist in nature to tools created and used commonly by the human being&sbquo "things" is linked with the concept of "all existence". Things that include factual existences and essential existences have been inherited from the Middle Ages and modern ages to today as a single worldview.A designed 物 is an existence as モノ and at the same time a symbol&sbquo composed in a higher dimension&sbquo for spiritual or cognitive intention&sbquo volition and vitality. In other words&sbquo design dose not merely structuralize specific forms and colors&sbquo but also creates もの as a stimulant device for putting thoughts into action. This means that it is an act of creating a symbol to induce an event through a thing&sbquo and shows that it is possible to define this as design."

Copyright © 2009 Kazuo KAWASAKI All rights reserved.