The remit of the current project is to apply the Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM) approach (Goddard & Wierzbicka, 2014; Gladkova, 2021; Gladkova & Romero-Trillo, 2014; Peeters, 2006, 2015, 2016) to analyse how the concept of aesthetics is expressed in the Japanese lexicon. In particular, to explicate the meaning of the Japanese phrase mono no aware (literal translation ‘pathos of things’). Mono no aware is an ideal subject for an analysis of Japanese conceptions of aesthetics because it evokes questions about everyday life such as artistic taste and beauty, but it also interrogates more deeply culturally embedded philosophical issues such as impermanence and the transiency of existence. The aim of the analysis is to propose a definition which is not reliant on Anglo-centric perspectives or words. The article commences with a review of literature on Japanese understanding and application of aesthetics, followed by an analysis of mono no aware. The corpus for the study comprises examples extracted mainly from classical Japanese written sources. The procedures and outcomes of an NSM analysis are described, leading to an explication of the meaning of mono no aware. The article concludes with recommendations for further research into the notion of aesthetics in non-Western cultures and the application of the NSM approach.