無常

• Reading: むじょう
• Romaji: mujo
• Kanji breakdown: 無 (mu) — without, nothingness | 常 (jo) — constancy, permanence
• Pronunciation: /mɯ.dʑo.ɯ/

Meaning

Impermanence; the Buddhist principle that all phenomena are transient and subject to change.

One of the three marks of existence in Buddhism (三法印), 無常 (Sanskrit: anicca) is a foundational concept in Japanese aesthetics and literature, deeply informing the concept of もののあわれ (pathos of things). It permeates works such as the Heike Monogatari (祇園精舎の鐘の声、諸行無常の響きあり) and Kamo no Chomei's Hojoki. In everyday speech it expresses the melancholy of life's fleeting nature — the beauty found in transience.

Examples

1. 平家物語の冒頭は、この世の諸行無常を鐘の音に例えて語り始める。 The opening of the Tale of the Heike uses the sound of a bell to speak of the impermanence of all things in this world.
2. 長年勤めた会社が突然倒産し、世の無常をしみじみと感じた。 The company I had worked at for many years suddenly went bankrupt, and I felt deeply the impermanence of the world.
3. 花は散るから美しい。無常の中にこそ、日本の美意識の原点がある。 Flowers are beautiful because they fall. It is within impermanence that the origin of Japanese aesthetics lies.

Usage Guide

Context: Buddhism, literature, philosophy, daily reflection

Tone: reflective

Origin & History

From Sanskrit anicca (impermanence), translated into Chinese as 無常 — 無 meaning 'without' and 常 meaning 'constancy, permanence'. The term entered Japanese through Buddhist scriptures from the 6th century and became central to Japanese literary sensibility.

Cultural Context

Era: Heian–Present

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal