Aesthetic emotional reactions and their verbal expression in a corpus of Japanese travellers’ online reviews

Abstract

Using Conceptual Metaphor Theory, I propose a study of aesthetic emotional expressions in Japanese. With this aim, I have created a medium-sized corpus (c100,000 running words) of travellers’ reviews in Japanese published on TripAdvisor between 2012 and 2022. The corpus consists of 1,100 reviews, grouped into three subsections, corresponding to three of the most visited landmarks in Japan (namely, Mount Fuji, Fushimi Inari-Taisha Shrine, and the Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Dome). The reviews chosen for this research include at least one reference, either literal or figurative, to the users’ aesthetic evaluation of their visit. My list of aesthetic emotions consists of four large categories: emotions of pleasure (e.g., attraction, fluency), emotions of contemplation (e.g., interest, intrigue), emotions of amazement (e.g., awe, wonder), and emotions of respect (e.g., admiration, adoration). For each aesthetic emotion, I have identified a series of source domains, which I analyse in detail in my discussion. As my data shows, many of our aesthetic expressions are rooted in the psychological and behavioural changes triggered by these emotions and, therefore, should be considered embodied. More importantly, through the analysis of the conceptual mappings involved in these linguistic expressions, it can be affirmed that aesthetic reactions are sensitive to cultural influences and, thus, they are not necessarily universal.

1. Aims and scope

The study of the linguistic expression of emotions has become one of the fastest growing fields of linguistic research. Thanks to the pioneering work of some of the leading representatives of Cognitive Linguistics (such as, among many others, Lakoff & Johnson, 1980; Lakoff & Kövecses, 1987; Kövecses, 2000, 2005; Geeraerts & Gevaert, 2008), we now have a very large number of studies on the role played by literal and figurative language in the development of our emotional expressions. Broadly speaking, these studies demonstrate that our emotional experiences are shaped by our own linguistic conventions, which contribute to our understanding and conceptualisation of the emotions that we experience in our everyday life. Furthermore, many of these studies show that the study of the linguistic expressions that we use to verbally express our emotions can help us identify and analyse a wide amount of information, not only about how we feel and think about these emotional experiences, but also about the different roles played by culture in the shaping of our conceptual metaphors (Ibarretxe-Antuñano, 2013). However, as pointed out by Gibbs (2006, p. 18), despite the enormous interest sparked among emotion researchers, much remains to be done in terms of the study of the mechanisms through which folk beliefs shape our understanding, our embodied experiences, and the expressions that we use to evoke these experiences. Since our emotional expressions show clear patterns of cultural variation, more research is needed about the role played by social and cultural factors in the development of our mental conceptualisation of emotions.

Interest in emotional expressions has traditionally focused on the category of emotions known as utilitarian, i.e., those that facilitate our adaptation to events that have important consequences for our survival and well-being (such as fear, happiness, or shame; Scherer, 2005). There is no doubt that the study of utilitarian emotions offers numerous advantages over the study of less basic types of emotions. First, utilitarian emotions exist and are conceptualised in relatively similar ways in numerous cultures around the world, both current and past. ¹ Second, it is often claimed that, unlike other emotional categories, utilitarian emotions exhibit characteristic embodiment patterns, i.e., somatic behaviours specific to each of them, which can be facial and body movements, vocal signals, gestures, postures, and so forth. Given the close relationship between embodiment and metaphor, the study of non-utilitarian emotions and their verbal and non-verbal expression has often been relegated to a second place, as emotions without specific embodiment patterns have been thought to be rarely expressed figuratively. Finally, it is well known that all languages have extensive lexical repertoires that speakers can draw upon when expressing various utilitarian emotions. These repertoires, as already indicated, consist of both literal and figurative expressions. A very different situation is found in other categories of emotions, such as aesthetic emotions, which are the focus of the present work.

Aesthetic emotions are understood here as those emotions that are triggered by “the appreciation of the intrinsic qualities of the beauty of nature, or the qualities of a work of art or an artistic performance” (Scherer, 2005, p. 706). Included in this group are such emotions as absorption, awe, and admiration, among others. In contrast with the utilitarian emotions mentioned above, aesthetic emotions are far from following universal patterns of conceptualisation, insofar as the concept of beauty itself is subject to enormous differences between cultures and between historical periods. Moreover, aesthetic emotions have often been described as lacking specific patterns of embodiment, which explains why numerous philosophers and psychologists throughout history have sought to see these emotions as dissociated from bodily responses and, consequently, lacking specific conceptualisations, insofar as most of the figurative expressions we use are based on our bodily experience in the world (Kövecses, 2000). Finally, unlike utilitarian emotions, many aesthetic emotions lack even a common denomination to refer to them. Such nouns as sublimation, absorption, or fluidity, by which we usually name some of the main aesthetic emotions defined in the literature on the subject, are not part of most speakers’ everyday lexicon, which explains, at least partially, the difficulties behind the recognition of the emotional concepts behind these denominators and the differences between them. ² Differently put, our languages have not prioritised the development of complex groups of words and expressions to refer to aesthetic emotions, so that, rewording Scherer (2005, pp. 707–708), it would be tempting to assume that these concepts have not been considered relevant for communication.

Based on the above discussion, in this paper, I present a study of some of the linguistic expressions used by Japanese speakers to evoke and suggest emotions triggered in the context of an aesthetic experience, as well as of the different ways in which the physical and the conceptual structure of the aesthetic stimulus may influence the speakers’ use of a specific emotion expression. My starting point will be the classification and characterisation of aesthetic emotions recently proposed by Fingerhut and Prinz (2020), the main lines of which are presented in the second section. Based on this characterisation and classification of each aesthetic emotion, I will propose an exhaustive study of the expressions identified in a corpus created adhoc for this research, which consists of 1,100 user reviews from a well-known travel social network. My main objective is to determine which literal and figurative expressions Japanese travellers use in their descriptions of three different environments, on the basis of which I will propose an identification of the aesthetic emotions evoked in these reviews. I will use the information available about the different somatic profiles, bodily responses, and evaluations that define each of the aesthetic emotions targeted by this study. In this way, I want to determine which expressions Japanese speakers tend to use when talking about aesthetic experiences. Furthermore, I am also interested in describing some possible ways in which our previously knowledge about a specific physical environment and about the conceptual structures that reside there shape the emotions undergone by visitors and the linguistic expressions used to evoke these emotions. In doing so, I also intend to determine the role of emotional embodiment in these linguistic expressions.

2. Conceptualising aesthetic emotions

Fingerhut and Prinz (2020) propose four major subfamilies of aesthetic emotions: emotions of pleasure, emotions of contemplation, emotions of awe, and emotions of respect. Thereafter, they present a detailed description of three different positive aesthetic emotions within each family, which includes information on their main somatic profiles, bodily reactions, appraisals, and the most relevant triggers attributed to each aesthetic emotion by various authors. Based on Fingerhut and Prinz (2020) and Díaz-Vera (2021), Table 1 presents some of the most relevant aspects of these emotions, paying special attention to the embodiment patterns described in previous studies for each of these aesthetic emotions.

Table 1. Classification and main features of aesthetic emotions

^a Following Reber (2012), I will assume here that when individuals encounter stimuli that are processed more fluently (i.e., easily and without cognitive effort), they tend to experience greater aesthetic pleasure.

As can be seen from Table 1, all the aesthetic emotions described here have well-defined somatic profiles, bodily reactions, appraisals, and triggers. Much more important for this research is the application of these principles to the study of how we name, describe, or evoke our aesthetic experiences in different languages and cultures. As affirmed in Díaz-Vera (2021), the way in which speakers from different cultures conceptualise and express their aesthetic emotions is often determined by the somatic profiles and bodily reactions that are most characteristic of each culture, giving rise to specific linguistic expressions for these emotions. Thus, the same artistic object may trigger different emotional reactions in travellers from different cultural backgrounds: for example, what for Western travellers usually produces a feeling of intrigue, for Eastern travellers may trigger a feeling of awe accompanied by fear and respect. Given the existence of these patterns of variation, it is also possible to state that the same aesthetic emotion can be conceptualised in different ways in different cultures, so that speakers highlight, through their lexical choices, culturally specific aspects of the same emotional experience. Thus, the resulting patterns of conceptual variation will reflect the different cultural models (for concepts such as beauty, memory, or religion) existing in each culture.

3. Corpus development and data selection

As indicated in the previous sections, in this research, I will propose a detailed description of the linguistic expressions used to suggest some of the aesthetic emotions described in Table 1. These expressions illustrate many of the ways in which speakers of Japanese express these emotions. The corpus developed to carry out this research consists of 1,100 travellers’ reviews published on TripAdvisor between 2015 and 2023. ³ For this research, I have developed a medium-size (c100,000 words) corpus of reviews on three popular environments in Japan, namely: Mount Fuji (300 reviews; c31,500 words), Fushimi Inari-Taisha Shrine (400 reviews; c32,500 words), and Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Dome (400 reviews; 37,000 words). The reviews chosen for this research include at least one reference, either literal or figurative, to the users’ aesthetic experience triggered by the object of their visit. All the reviews illustrate a grammatically correct use of Japanese, and their length varies (between 200 and 1,000 words per review). In spite of the relatively small size of the corpus, I consider it to be sufficiently representative to be able to answer the research questions posed in this paper. In this sense, I agree with Ross (2018), who affirms that the study of linguistic phenomena that could be considered low-frequency in everyday language is more fruitful using corpora of limited size but composed of highly representative texts.

4. Identifying expressions for aesthetic emotions in the corpus

In the first stage of this study, I have singled out all the linguistic expressions used in this corpus to suggest any kind of aesthetic emotion triggered in travellers by the sight of each of the three environments listed above. I have thus created a list of themes, which I have grouped according to different conceptual themes. Following Geeraerts and Gevaert (2008), I will use the label ‘theme’ to refer to the different motifs that shape the linguistic expressions of aesthetic emotions used in this corpus of reviews. Such themes can be either literal or figurative (in the case of metaphors and metonymies, source domains).

In order to identify these conceptual themes, I have analysed the patterns of polysemy that relate the different senses or uses of individual words, expressions, or ideograms (to which I shall refer here as kanji characters). For example, the expression 楽しい ‘happy’ is used by many travellers to evoke an aesthetic appreciation of a monument or of a landscape, implying a conceptual connection between the emotion happiness and aesthetics (Dreon, 2015), which can be formulated as a resultative metonymy happiness for aesthetic experience. Similarly, the use of the expression 価値 ‘worth, value’ in reference to a touristy site suggests the metaphor aesthetic experience is a valuable commodity. Finally, the use of words that include the kanji character 壮 ‘robust, manhood’ by authors of aesthetic narratives implies that the aesthetic experience is a natural force. ⁴

I will now present and analyse the data obtained for each individual tourist site: (1) Mount Fuji (section 4.1); (ii) Fushimi Inari-Taisha Shrine (Section 4.2); and Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Dome (Section 4.3). Thereafter (Section 5), I will discuss the main differences between the aesthetic emotions suggested by the authors of the reviews of these three environments, which I will relate to the completely different nature of the aesthetic stimuli received by visitors to each site.

4.1. Aesthetic emotions triggered by Mount Fuji

As can be seen in Table 2, the analysis of 300 visitor reviews for Mount Fuji has yielded a total of 285 expressions evoking aesthetic emotions. The linguistic indicators of aesthetic experiences identified in the corpus have been further classified into 17 different themes, which I have ordered as follows:

Table 2. Expressions used by reviewers to evoke aesthetic emotions (Mount Fuji)

As can be seen in Table 2, there exists a very strong preference (87 occurrences, out of 285) to construe the positive aesthetic appreciation of the vision of Mount Fuji through the use of adjectives for beauty. Some of these expressions include the kanji character 麗 ‘beauty’: this is the case of 綺麗 (and its spelling variants きれい and キレイ) ‘beautiful’ and 秀麗な ‘graceful’, both of which constitute literal denominators for aesthetic approval. The same meaning is conveyed by 美 ‘beauty, elegance’, which appears in the adjective 美しい ‘beautiful’. Similarly, while beauty is evoked by the kanji 晴 ‘fineness, brightness’ in the adjective 素晴らしい ‘amazing’ and by 立 ‘proper’ in the adjective 立派 ‘splendid’. The last expression in this group is the adjective すごい ‘amazing’. Originally derived from an adjective meaning ‘dreadful, horrifying’ (as recorded in numerous literary works from the Heian period 794–1185; Horii, 2003: 139), ⁵ this expression illustrates the conceptual connection between fear and beauty that is frequent in Japanese aesthetic narratives (Díaz-Vera, 2021).

The preference for literal denominations of beauty in this corpus section can be linked to the consideration of Mount Fuji as a national symbol of beauty (Takashina, 2018). The attractiveness of this landscape largely relies on the nearly perfect symmetry of the cone of the stratovolcano (see Fig. 1), a shape frequently found in volcanoes around the world, many of which have been converted by the surrounding population into powerful religious symbols, places of ancient tales, and objects of inspiration for visual artist (Oguchi & Oguchi, 2009).

Figure 1. Photograph of Mount Fuji (taken by the author of this paper; 21^st April 2019).

The aesthetic stimulus can also be construed by travellers as an extraordinary experience, as illustrated by the expressions that highlight the feelings of uniqueness (61 occurrences). Within this group, the expressions 最高 ‘highest, best’ is rooted in the basic orientational metaphor good is up, describing Mount Fuji as superior to any other landscape. Dictionaries frequently translate 絶景 as ‘awe-inspiring view’, highlighting the emotional reaction to vastness. ⁶ uniqueness is evoked by the expression 象徴 ‘large representation, symbol’, which includes the kanji 象 ‘elephant’ to represent this idea, combined with 徴 ‘sign, indicator.’ The presence of the motif uniqueness in this corpus section is further illustrated by these expressions:

• - 珍しい ‘unique, rare’, where uniqueness is highlighted by the elements 王‘king’ or 玉 ‘jewel’ in the radical 珍.

• - 格別 ‘extraordinary’, which conveys the idea that something surpasses the usual or average.

• - 一番 ‘number one’, which describes Mount Fuji as the best in its context.

• - 一生に一度 ‘once in a lifetime’, which construes the vision of Mount Fuji as a unique experience.

• - The English borrowing シンボル ‘symbol’.

The third group of expressions includes nouns and adjectives for specific positive basic emotions, which reviewers use metonymically to evoke their aesthetic evaluation of Mount Fuji (as corresponds to emotion for aesthetic emotion, where the metonymic interpretation derives from the envisaging of the categories involved from an extensional perspective). As these expressions indicate, the aesthetic experience resulting from the vision of Mount Fuji can be construed on the basis of four different positive emotion concepts, namely joy/happiness, sensorial pleasure, love, and surprise.

joy/happiness, to start with, is represented by the expression 楽しい ‘happy’, which is used to denominate the pleasurable feelings triggered by the vision of Mount Fuji. ⁷ Similarly, the verb 好き ‘to like’ is rendered by Japanese dictionaries with the meanings ‘being fond of, to one’s liking’, highlighting the aesthetic attraction triggered by the beauty of the landscape and the subsequent sensation of sensorial pleasure. As the two elements of the kanji 好 ‘liking’ indicate, sensorial pleasure is construed as emotional attachment between a woman (represented by the radical 女 ‘woman’) and her child (represented by 子 ‘child’). Aesthetic experiences can also be construed as love, as in the case of the verb 惚れぼれ ‘to be infatuated’. Derived from the verb 惚れる horeru ‘to fall in love’, the reduplication of the verbal root adds emphasis and intensifies the emotional experience. A last basic emotion included in this group is represented by the kanji 驚, which conveys the idea of sudden reaction to an unexpected event. This kanji appears in the verb 驚く’to be surprised’, which is used 3 times in the corpus in reference to the aesthetic reaction to the vision of Mount Fuji. This expression denotes a mixture of surprise and reverential fear towards a transcendent entity, adding a negative flavour to this aesthetic experience (Nakayama et al., 2020; Nakayama & Uchida, 2020).

Directly related to these expressions for specific positive emotions, the fourth group of denominators consists of hyperonyms expressing strong emotion, which are used by travellers to metonymically evoke an aesthetic experience. This is the case of the noun 感じ ‘emotion, strong feeling’, derived from 感 ‘emotion, feeling, sensation’ (which is composed of the elements 心 ‘heart’ and 咸 ‘salt’ > ‘sensitivity’). The same root can be found in the expression 感動 ‘deeply moved’, where the kanji 動 ‘movement’ is added to convey the notion of emotional stirring triggered by the vision of Mount Fuji. In a similar fashion, the noun 感激 has a second formant 激 ‘intense, violent’ that highlights the intensity of the emotional experience. ⁸

Whereas the four groups of expressions described above are illustrated by 210 corpus occurrences (out of 285), the remaining 13 themes show much lower numbers of occurrences in reviews of Mount Fuji. The motif cognitive challenge, to start with, implies an understanding of aesthetic experiences as triggers of confusion and mental paralysis, which can be considered a consequence of the need to mentally accommodate to the vision of the aesthetic stimulus (Keltner & Haidt, 2003). To travellers, Mount Fuji is hard to consider mentally, as illustrated by the adjective 不思議 ‘unbelievable, mysterious’. Three different components can be distinguished in this expression, namely 不 ‘un-’, 思 ‘thought’ and 議 ‘deliberation, consideration.’ Through the combination of these three elements, the mystery triggered by the vision of Mount Fuji is construed as difficulty to understand through ordinary reasoning or logic. Similarly, the expression 想像をはるかに ‘far beyond one’s imagination’ is used to suggest the impossibility to visualise the image of Mount Fuji in the reviewer’s mind: as indicated by the two components of the noun 想像 ‘imagination’, namely 想 ‘thought’ and 像 ‘image’, the traveller feels unable to mentally process the visual stimulus, triggering a sensation of impotence. In a similar fashion, reviewers can highlight their lack of vocabulary to describe the emotion triggered by the vision of Mount Fuji. In this case, two different expressions have been identified in this corpus section, namely 言葉では表せません ‘there are no words’ and 何とも言えませんね ‘I cannot say anything’. As indicated in Díaz-Vera (2021), this motif associates aesthetic awe with the appraisal of need for accommodation, which is, together with vastness, one of the two core components of awe (Keltner & Haidt, 2003; Shiota et al., 2007).

Mount Fuji is undoubtedly a mighty natural power spot. The force schema is represented in the corpus by the conceptual mapping emotions are forces. For example, several reviewers describe Mount Fuji as a powerful source of energy, as can be seen from the uses of the noun パワー ‘power’ in reference to the vision of the mountain, as in the following example:

In other reviews included in this corpus section, the power perceived by the reviewers is lexicalised as a natural force that overwhelms travellers, as corresponds to the well-known conceptual mapping emotion is a natural force (Kövecses, 2000, p. 33). This is the case of the two figurative expressions that include the kanji character 圧 ‘to overwhelm, push’ (consisting of the elements 厂 ‘roof, weight’ and 土 ‘earth’): 圧巻 ‘stunning’ (2 occurrences) and 圧倒的 ‘overwhelming’ (1 occurrence). The adjective 圧巻 ‘stunning’, to start with, captures the imagery of something awe-inspiring that leaves a deep impression on the observer. It conveys the notion of being engulfed or swept away by the intensity or magnificence triggered by the emotion stimulus. As for the adjective 圧倒的 ‘overwhelming’, it conveys the sensation of feeling impressed by a stimulus that is superior in impact or in magnitude.

The conceptual mapping emotions are forces is further illustrated by a series of expressions that construe the aesthetic experience as impact on the individual. For example, the use of the expression 心打たれる ‘to be stricken in the heart’ suggests that the reviewer’s mind was violently or suddenly impacted by the vision of Mount Fuji. The passive verb 打たれる ‘to be hit’ includes the kanji 打 ‘to hit, strike’, which is rooted in the ideogramic representation of a hand holding a hammer. Also, the adjective 印象深い ‘impressive’ (3 occurrences) combines the elements 印象 ‘image that is imprinted on one’s mind’ and 深い ‘deep’ or “profound,’ indicating something deeply felt. Finally, two different English borrowing are also used in this corpus section to construe the emotional experience as a force: インパクト ‘impact’ (1 occurrence) and テンション ‘tension’.

Another instantiation of the force schema is found in the conceptual metaphor emotion is a social superior. ⁹ In this corpus section, this source domain is illustrated by three different expressions, all of which share the element 大 ‘big’ in common. The most frequently used expression within this group is the adjectival noun 雄大 ‘majestic, great’, which combines the kanji characters 雄 ‘male, superiority, strength’ and 大 ‘big’, is used to describe Mount Fuji as a majestic being. Similarly, the element 大 ‘big’ is combined with 偉 ‘admirable (person)’ in the expression 偉大 and with 壮 ‘powerful, robust’ in 壮大, both of which construe this aesthetic experience as evoking a sense of insignificance in front of an overwhelming superior entity. The element 壮 ‘powerful, robust’ is also found in the expression 壮観 ‘robust/magnificent view’, which is grounded in the second core components of awe: the appraisal of vastness (Keltner & Haidt, 2003; Shiota et al., 2007).

Directly related to the source domain social superior, the corpus has yielded various expressions that suggest a construal of Mount Fuji as a deity. The sacred character of Mount Fuji has been widely discussed by researchers from different fields of study. ¹⁰ In terms of the verbal expressions used by travellers, I have identified in this corpus section five different conceptual mappings that construe Mount Fuji as a divine being. The most frequently used expression is the adjective 神々しい ‘divine’, derived from the kanji character 神 ‘deity’ a term especially used in relation to deities worshipped in the aboriginal Shinto religion; Bocking, 2004), reduplicated by the symbol 々 (which denotes a repetition of the preceding character in Contemporary Japanese). The kanji character 神 ‘god, deity’ is also used in another expression used by travellers in the context of this aesthetic experience, namely 神秘的. Derived from the combination of 神 with the kanji character 秘 ‘secret’ and the adjectival suffix 的, the adjective 神秘的 is used by travellers in the context of their vision of Mount Fuji, thus highlighting its divine nature. In a similar fashion, the expression 霊峰 ‘sacred mountain’ uses the kanji 霊 ‘spirit, soul’ to construe Mount Fuji and other sacred mountains as a mountain peak of spiritual significance. The supernatural character of this mount is also highlighted by the frequent use of the verb 浮かぶ `to float, to be suspended’ in reference to the visual effect caused on travellers by the vision of the peak of Mount Fuji surrounded by clouds. Finally, one of the travellers construes the shadow projected by Mount Fuji as the first rays of the sun break over the horizon as 仏 ‘Buddha’:

As this example illustrates, the contrast between light and darkness and the aesthetic appreciation of shadows is one of the most characteristic features of Japanese aesthetics (Kawasaki, 1994; Tanizaki, 1933). Based on the use of expressions meaning ‘shadow’ and, more specifically, of the kanji character 影 ‘shadow’, ¹¹ the conceptual metaphor beauty is shadow and the metonymy Mount Fuji’s shadow for mount fuji can be proposed. The kanji character 影 ‘shadow’ is also used in descriptions of the Brocken spectre, which happens when the observer’s shadow is projected horizontally onto an opposing bank of fog or cloud, a visual effect that can create a striking and awe-inspiring visual experience. ¹²

The next conceptual mapping identified in this research is the vision of Mount Fuji is a valuable commodity, as illustrated by the expressions 得 ‘gain, earn’ and 価値 ‘worth, value’. Whereas 得 construes the emotional experience as a benefit derived from a particular situation, the expression 価値 conveys the idea of monetary value.

The metaphorical pattern emotion is a substance in a container is illustrated in the Japanese sub-corpus by the adjectival noun 満足 ‘satisfied’, consisting of the kanji characters 満 ‘fullness’ and 足 ‘sufficient’. Differently to other well-known emotion metaphors, where the emotion is represented as a substance that causes pressure and discomfort within the person’s body, this conceptual mapping indicates that the substance that fills the body/container is not producing internal pressure but, rather, a pleasurable sensation of fullness. In this sense, the use of 満足 to express an aesthetic reaction can be interpreted as a denominator for the feeling of sensual satisfaction triggered by aesthetic pleasure, which is frequently accompanied by mental and physical relaxation (Reber, 2012).

Table 2 also includes a series of expressions for somatic reactions to the aesthetic emotional stimulus. Broadly speaking, the three expressions included in this groups imply loss of control as a consequence of the vision of Mount Fuji. For example, the verb 震わせる ‘to tremble’ is derived from the kanji 震 ‘to shake, tremble’, which includes the radical 雨‘rain’ and the element 又 ‘hand’ with the element 厂 ‘roof, weight’ above it, symbolising the idea of uncontrollable trembling of one’s hand as a reaction to an imminent danger or peril. Other psychosomatic reactions to the aesthetic experience yielded by this corpus section include 涙する ‘to weep’ and 拍手する ‘to clap one’s hands, applaud’.

In contrast with the relatively high number of references to the aesthetic appreciation of the shadow projected by Mount Fuji, one single traveller describes this experience using expressions from source domain of light. More exactly, the vision of Mount Fuji illuminates, with its light, the observer’s feelings, which become 晴れやか ‘clear’. The reviewer construes the positive emotion triggered by the vision of Mount Fuji as light, which could be considered a cultural specification of the well-known metaphor joy/happiness is light (Kövecses, 2000):

Finally, one traveller describes the effects of the visit to Mount Fuji as ‘healing’ (Japanese 元気に ‘in health, healthy’), creating a conceptual connection between this visit and the healing properties of the mountain (which can be considered a variation of the conceptual mapping emotions are forces described above).

4.2. Aesthetic emotions triggered by Fushimi Inari-Taisha Shrine

In the second subsection, I will present and analyse the expressions yielded by the corpus of 400 reviews of a religious monument, the Fushimi Inari-Taisha Shrine. The shrine includes circa 10,000 torii gates, which straddle a network of tunnels behind the main building (see Fig. 2), leading towards the sacred Mount Inari.

Figure 2. Photograph of Senbon Torii path, Fushimi Inari-Taisha Shrine (taken by the author of this paper; 25^th July 2017).

Using this corpus or reviews, I have identified a total of 194 expressions that evoke aesthetic emotional reactions triggered by the visit to the shrine. These expressions have been classified into 11 different themes (see Table 3).

Table 3. Expressions used by reviewers to evoke aesthetic emotions (Fushimi Inari-Taisha Shrine)

As can be seen here, there is a relatively strong preference to construe the emotional effects of the visit as forces. More specifically, the expression 圧巻 ‘pressure; highlight, best part’ includes the kanji character 圧 ‘to overwhelm, push’, which indicates the idea of something being pressed down or compressed forcibly. The second component of this expression is the kanji character 巻 ‘a scroll, a volume’, which depicts a rolled-up piece of paper or parchment. When combined, the resulting expression evokes the sense of aesthetic impact caused by the vision of the unrolling of a grand scroll and the revelation of its extraordinary contents.

In this sense, the preference for the expression 圧巻 ‘pressure; highlight, best part’ in travellers’ reviews can be justified by the shape of the pilgrimage path: in the same way as our eyes follow the unrolling of a scroll trying to unfold its secret contents, pilgrims walk within the tunnels created by the torii gates, which contain inscriptions engraved by the donors, thus unfolding the path towards the holy mountain.

The source domain force is followed by the domains positive emotion (50 occurrences) and strong emotion (36 occurrences). As in the case of Mount Fuji, these two themes suggest that the aesthetic emotion triggered by the visual stimulus is experienced by the travellers to Fushimi Inari-Taisha Shrine either as a utilitarian positive emotion (and, more specifically, as joy/happiness, sensory pleasure, interest, or surprise), or as an unspecified emotion that moves the experiencer.

Literal references to the physical beauty of the shrine and the torii gates occupy a lower position in this part of the corpus. Within this group, the adjectives 綺麗/きれい ‘beautiful’, 美しい ‘beautiful’, and 素晴らしい ‘amazing’ are especially frequent. Very interestingly, the adjective すごい ‘amazing’, which illustrates the conceptual link between fear and beauty, is absent from descriptions of Fushimi Inari-Taisha Shrine: in fact, the small size of the torii gates, combined with the strong sensation of seclusion triggered on pilgrims and visitors, favour the use of adjectives highlighting the elegance of the site (as in 立派 ‘splendid’) or its qualities as a photographic subject (as in フォトジェニック ‘photogenic’).

A few travellers construe the aesthetic stimulus as an extraordinary experience, as evoked by the use of expressions derived from the source domain of uniqueness. This is the case of the expressions 一番 ‘number one’, 最高 ‘highest, best’, 象徴 ‘large representation, symbol’, and 珍しい ‘unique, rare’, all of which have been discussed in the preceding section.

The religious nature of this site is highlighted by the source domains deity (as in 神秘的 ‘mystical, transcendent’), cognitive challenge (as in 不思議 ‘mysterious’), and light (as in 雰囲気 ‘aura’). Finally, just like in the case of Mount Fuji, a small number of travellers describe the aesthetic stimulus either as a valuable commodity (as in 価値 ‘value, worth’), or as a substance in a container (as in 満足 ‘fullness, satisfaction’). In clear contrast with this, the source domains social superior and somatic response are completely absent from this part of the corpus.

Finally, some travellers describe this landmark negatively as a place where one can get lost easily. The intricateness of the labyrinth-like paths created by the thousands of torii gates, combined with the lack of information, create a sensation of dismay in some travellers, who describe the visit to the Fushimi Inari-Taisha Shrine as physically and mentally demanding.

4.3. Aesthetic emotions triggered by Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Dome

The third corpus subsection consists of 400 reviews of the Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Dome (also known as Hiroshima Peace Memorial). Originally used as the Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall, this building is the only structure that remained standing in the area after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima at the end of World War II. The dome is permanently kept in a state of preserved ruin, as a reminder of the destructive effects of the nuclear bomb (Okuda, 2011). Using 400 reviews of this site written by Japanese travellers, I have identified a total of 142 expressions evoking aesthetic experiences triggered during this visit. These expressions have been further classified into 11 different themes (see Table 4).

Table 4. Expressions used by reviewers to evoke aesthetic emotions (Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Dome)

Differently to Mount Fuji and the Fushimi Inari-Taisha Shrine, both of which represent either natural or handmade beauty, the Hiroshima Peace Memorial, where the Atomic Bomb Dome is included, has been conceived of as a silent witness of the atrocities of the atomic bombing, as well as a venue where people can gather, relax, and discuss peacefully (see Fig. 3). ¹³ In fact, as suggested by this description of the site, the number of references to the physical beauty of the place is very limited (10 occurrences); interestingly, most of these uses of denominations of beauty in descriptions of the Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Dome are in the context of evening visits, where travellers highlight the illumination of the memorial site and the calmness triggered by the visit.

Figure 3. Photograph of Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Dome (taken by the author of this paper; 23^rd June 2016).

Other positive feelings triggered during the visit include happiness/joy (1 occurrence, where one of the travellers recommends future visitors to enjoy the view of the Atomic Bomb Dome from different angles, using the above-mentioned adjective 楽しい ‘happy’), surprise (1 occurrence of the verb 驚く’to be surprised’), and, especially, interest and calmness. For example, the expression 関心が高い ‘high interest’, which reflects the individual’s strong desire to be informed, engaged, and connected to their object of interest. In this sense, the combination of the kanji characters 関 ‘connection’ and 心 ‘heart’ highlights the need to establish a personal connection with the Atomic Bomb Dome and what it represents. As for calmness, several travellers describe the atmosphere created around the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park as 静か shizuka ‘relaxing’, an adjective derived from the kanji character 静 ‘calm’, which combines such meanings as green/blue and tranquillity. Further, one traveller describes this sensation of relaxation as heart-softening (和む ‘to soften’), a physical sensation of emotional relief caused by the vision of thousands of paper cranes placed around the memorial site by Japanese school children visiting the park.

Table 4 also indicates that most travellers use general words for strong emotions and, especially, the noun 感じ ‘emotion, strong feeling’ and the verb 感じる ‘to feel’ (8 occurrences). For example, the vision of the Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Dome triggers a feeling of history on visitors, which is highly congruent with the function of the Peace Memorial:

In other cases, the perception of history is expressed synaesthetically by travellers. More specifically, the vision of the Atomic Bomb Dome can evoke olfactory imagery of flames, fire, and smell, as can be seen in the following example:

However, as can be seen in Table 4, most travellers use denominators for negative emotions in order to describe their experience. In fact, the vision of the Atomic Bomb Dome evokes such emotions as fear/terror (19 occurrences) and sadness/depression (16 occurrences). In the first case, there is a clear preference for the expression 恐ろしい ‘horror’, derived from the kanji character 恐 ‘fear’, which combines the elements 人 ‘person’ and 心 ‘heart’. Less frequently, travellers opt for the kanji character 凄さい to highlight the terror triggered by the vision of this landmark. As for sadness/depression, the corpus indicates a preference for the use of the kanji character 悲 ‘sad’, which combines the elements 心 ‘heart’ and 卑 ‘negative’. Furthermore, the metaphor sadness is down is illustrated by the verb 落ち込む ‘to feel down’, derived from the kanji character 落ち ‘to fall down’. All in all, this combination of denominations for positive emotions (such as happiness, surprise, interest and calmness) and negative emotions (such as fear and sadness) used in the reviews indicates the travellers’ fascination for the destruction caused by the atomic bomb, illustrating aspects of what Berleant (2009) calls the negative sublime.

Emotional reactions to the vision of the Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Dome can also be construed as forces. Frequent denominators for emotions as forces used in this corpus section are the noun インパクト ‘impact’ and the adjectives 印象深い ‘striking’ and 圧倒的 ‘overwhelmed’ (all of which have been discussed in the analysis of emotion expressions used in reviews of Mount Fuji). Furthermore, the noun 衝撃 ‘impact, shock’ is also used in reviews of the Atomic Bomb Dome in reference to the shock triggered by the vision of the destruction caused by the bomb:

The source domain forces is further illustrated by a series of verbs with words meaning ‘heart’ as their subject. For example, in three of the reviews, the authors use the verb 締め付ける ‘to squeeze, constrict’ in order to describe the sensation of cardiac pressure produced during the visit. Also, the onomatopoeic expression ズシンとくる ‘impacting’ highlights the feeling of cardiac pain triggered by the visit. Finally, the English borrowing ヘビー ‘heavy’ appears once to evoke the idea of discomfort caused by the vision of the Atomic Bomb Dome.

The uniqueness of this memorial site is highlighted by several travellers, who define it as a symbol, not only of the horrors of war, but also of world peace. Interestingly, whereas 9 occurrences (out of 10) of the noun 象徴 ‘symbol’ are in reference to war, destruction, and human evil, and only 1 occurrence is to describe the Atomic Bomb Dome as a symbol of peace; in contrast with this, this corpus section seems to suggest a relative preference for the use of the English borrowing シンボル ‘symbol’ (3 occurrences out of 4) in collocations with words for peace.

As for the less recurrent themes identified in this section, cognitive challenge (7 occurrences) and valuable commodity (5 occurrences), all the expressions that evoke these themes have been discussed in my analysis of reviews of Mount Fuji and the Fushimi Inari-Taisha Shrine. Finally, the list of themes that evoke psychosomatic reactions to the aesthetic experience triggered by this visit include 涙する ‘to weep’, 痛み ‘pain (around one’s chest)’, and 苦しい ‘painful (chest)’, all of which conceptualise emotional suffering as physical pain.

Finally, the motif easy is used twice in the corpus to indicate the pleasurable emotion triggered by easiness to understand the history of this landmark and to differentiate the devastating effects of the bombing from the serene atmospheres created around the ruins of the dome.

5. Discussion

Based on the above analysis, it can be affirmed that the three sections in which this corpus is divided illustrate some of the different ways travellers highlight diverse aspects of their aesthetic experience, especially in what regards the emotional pleasure experienced during the visit. For example, a tendency to emphasise the aesthetic pleasure triggered by the beauty of these three environments has been identified in most reviews; however, whereas this preference is much stronger in the case of Mount Fuji, considered a national symbol of beauty, it diminishes in reviews of the Fushimi Inari-Taisha Shrine and, especially, in reviews of the Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Dome, where travellers use beauty denominations to describe the atmosphere created by the evening illumination of the park. Other pleasurable emotional reactions triggered by these landmarks include feelings of joy/happiness, sensory pleasure, surprise, and love, all of which suggest an attraction towards the object of interest. In the case of the Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Dome, emotions of pleasure include not only attraction, but also fluency, as represented by the easiness to understand the destruction caused by the atomic bomb by simply observing the contrast between the remnants of the building of the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall and the peace and serenity that reign in the Memorial Park (see example [9] above). The abundance of occurrence of expressions evoking calmness in reviews to the Memorial Park is a further example of the relevance of this aesthetic emotion among people visiting this site. This is in clear contrast with the difficulties to move around the Fushimi Inari-Taisha Shrine referred to in several reviews in that corpus section.

Several experiences of contemplation are described by the reviewers. For example, travellers often describe their interest in visiting the Fushimi Inari-Taisha Shrine and the Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Dome, which they consider important tools to understand the events around both landmarks. In the case of Mount Fuji, the motif memorable suggests a need to preserve the image of this mountain in the travellers’ minds; combined with the frequent use of expressions indicating their desire to visit the place again soon, these reviews evoke the aesthetic emotion known as engrossment or absorption.

Different emotions of amazement are also evoked in the corpus. The corpus section where wonder denominations are more predominant corresponds to the Fushimi Inari-Taisha Shrine, where travellers often resort to the noun 圧巻 ‘pressure; highlight, best part’ to construe this landmark as a force that pushes pilgrims towards the main shrine. The conceptual mapping aesthetic emotions are forces is also found in the other two corpus sections; however, whereas in reviews of Mount Fuji these expressions are used to highlight the energy emitted by the mountain, travellers to the Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Dome describe the vision of this landmark as a force that impacts their eyes or their heart (in the same way as the bomb impacted the city). More evenly distributed in the three corpus sections, the motif cognitive challenge also construes wonder as the travellers’ need to accommodate their senses to the extraordinary character of these landmarks.

Emotions of amazement can also be construed metonymically as psychosomatic reactions to the aesthetic stimulus. For example, while the bodily response clapping hands (found in reviews of Mount Fuji) seems to indicate the loss of control that frequently accompanies such emotions as awe and wonder, other physical reactions seem to highlight the sense of fear and threat that tinges the feeling of the sublime (Pelowski et al., 2021), as in the case of physical agitation (which also corresponds to one review of Mount Fuji). Furthermore, as has been seen above, the element fear is highlighted by the adjective すごい sugoi ‘amazing, dreadful’, especially when it is written in kanji characters (i.e., 凄さい), a form that is exclusively used in reviews of the Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Dome. This landmark is especially interesting in what regards the mixture of positive and negative emotions triggered by the visit, which has been interpreted as an indicator of negative sublimity.

Finally, emotions of respect are frequent in reviews of Mount Fuji. Considered a deity in Japan’s two major religions, Shinto and Buddhism, this corpus section has yielded numerous expressions that construe this site as a deity, thus suggesting the aesthetic emotion adoration. Very similarly, the motif social superior evokes the feelings of smallness triggered by the vision of this mountain. To these, the bodily response crying can be added as a further indicator of adoration. Admiration is evoked by the themes uniqueness and valuable commodity, both of which are evenly distributed in the three corpus sections.

In this research, I have also identified a series of bodily reactions to each one of these landmarks. For example, the vision of Mount Fuji can trigger such bodily responses as physical agitation, crying, and clapping one’s hands. In the case of the Hiroshima Atomic Bomb, several travellers describe feelings of mental and physical calmness (which I have interpreted as a cue to fluency); however, episodes of crying and pain in the chest have also been yielded by this corpus section. Embodied expressions are less frequently found in reviews of the Fushimi Inari-Taisha Shrine, where only three travellers (out of 400) describe their emotional satisfaction resorting to the well-known conceptual mapping emotion is a substance in the body/container. Finally, light and shadow seem to play a relatively important role in the enjoyment of these three environments. This is especially true of Mount Fuji, where several travellers show their aesthetic appreciation of the shadow projected by the mountain peak. Similarly, the interplay of shadows and lights created by the evening illumination of the Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Dome is a major source of positive feelings (especially calmness and relaxation, but also joy) among visitors.

All in all, this analysis shows that travellers use relatively similar, but not necessarily identical, expressions to evoke specific aesthetic emotions. For example, the metaphor emotions are forces is frequently lexicalised using words that contain the kanji character 圧 ‘to overwhelm, push’ to construe the feeling of overwhelmedness triggered by an environment. Only in the case of the Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Dome, there is a strong preference for words meaning ‘impact’, which clearly highlights the intensity of the force as it collides with the visitor’s mind. Furthermore, as has been seen above, the emotions evoked in each corpus section show different frequency rates. For example, there is a very strong preference to highlight the beauty of Mount Fuji, as well as its uniqueness and the feelings of physical and mental pleasure triggered by its vision. The height and the vastness of the mountain, combined with the symmetry of its cone and its status as deity in the two national religions, foster a particular kind of aesthetic experience among visitors familiar with the symbolism of this environment, characterised by feelings of aesthetic pleasure and emotional well-being. In the case of the Fushimi Inari-Taisha Shrine, travellers prefer to describe their emotional reaction to this visit as wonder. More exactly, moving forwards under the tunnels created by the torii is construed as a force that unrolls a grand scroll, pushing pilgrims towards the main shrine. Whereas the ‘unrolling’ of the path triggers positive feelings in travellers, a few reviews describe this environment as confusing and difficult to visit. Finally, as expected, reviews of the Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Dome show a preference for negative emotion denominators and, especially, for words meaning fear and sadness. Not necessarily aesthetic in nature, these two negative emotions strongly contribute to the realisation of the feelings of sublimity triggered by this visit (Mastandrea, 2015: 515).

These three environments, in sum, illustrate the interplay between landscape and the mind: as has been seen above, the physical form of these three landmarks (which shows important connections with such basic metaphors as good/power is up and important is big) has the power of shaping the knowledgeable visitor’s emotional experience and narrative construction, creating a bridge between the physical environment and conceptual structure laid on top of it (Stec & Sweetser, 2013).

6. Concluding remarks

In the above pages, I have presented a study of some of the different ways Japanese travellers construe their emotional reactions to three environments: a natural landscape (Mount Fuji), a built environment (the Fushimi Inari-Taisha Shrine), and a semi-destroyed structure (the Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Dome). Through the fine-grained analysis of the expressions used in these reviews, I have made a complete list of the themes illustrated by these expressions, which I have ordered on the basis of their total frequency in each corpus section. Finally, I have proposed a list of aesthetic emotions evoked by each one of these themes.

In looking at the aesthetic emotions potentially triggered by these three environments, it is interesting to note that the travellers’ lexical and conceptual choices are fostered not only by the physical structure of these landmarks, but also by the visitors’ previous knowledge of the conceptual structures laid over them. In this sense, it would be interesting to compare the reviews written by Japanese speakers with reviews submitted by visitors from other cultural and linguistic areas. From this perspective, the study of the emotions evoked in the visitors with a different knowledge and narrative of these environments (as could be the case of American tourists visiting Hiroshima) or, simply, without a familiarisation with the knowledge anchored to these environments (as in the case of non-Buddhists visiting a Japanese shrine) is fundamental for our understanding of the mechanisms through which folk beliefs shape our understanding, our embodied experiences, and the expressions that we use to describe our aesthetic experiences.