Listen Closely And You Will Hear Nothing

No matter how discouraging times there are 

I'll never show any tears 

I'll hurry and set myself free 

In order to get rid of my memories

~ Country Roads, Whisper of the Heart’s Ending Song

When the movie Mimi o Sumaseba (耳をすませば)  came out in 1995, the Japanese public was somewhat confused about the title. It literally translates to “If you carefully listen…,” but that is not quite what Studio Ghibli wanted to convey. However, it made sense when the English translation, Whisper of the Heart, was revealed. The reason for this confusion is because of its implicitness. What the image of the “ear” or mimi (耳) evokes to a non-Japanese is probably an external part of the body. You can physically touch your ears. They take in external information for you. You process the world from what you hear. In other words, the word evokes outsideness. But the English title readjusts the meaning. What the characters hear is not from outside themselves; rather, it comes from the inside. 

Why the English translation is so valuable to the Japanese is because of another word: okuyukashisa (奥ゆかしさ). If you look up the word in the dictionary, you would get something like elegance or beauty or modesty. But the dictionary seems to be missing a connotation. The beauty evoked by the word okuyukashisa is not something you see explicitly. It is under the surface. Let me try to illustrate it to you through a Japanese ink wash painting:

Source

In Japanese aesthetics, white space or the blankness of a painting does not subtract away the beauty of the painting, it adds to it. Something is there, but you can’t see it. The purpose of white spaces is to get the audience to fill the black spaces themselves – to create something out of nothingness. Simplicity turns into complexity, and nothingness turns into form – just like your emotions.

How does this ink wash painting relate to the movie’s title? The Japanese would say the title has okuyukashisa: an elegance that cannot be seen. The movie reflects this as well. The two teenage characters sometimes act against what their feelings tell them. They feel a strong connection with each other, yet they do not show it. Reality hides under the surface of their everyday lives. As the outside world moves on quickly, they find it hard to adapt to the changing circumstances. At the same time, it is also hard to listen to their own feelings. But if they listen closely to their hearts, they might hear something like a whisper. Nothing of real substance, but a glimpse of truth, perhaps.