1.
past and present; then and now
The contrast or comparison between how things were in the past and how they are now. Often used to reflect on changes over time.
今昔の感がある。
I feel a sense of how things have changed.
この写真を見ると今昔の感に堪えない。
Looking at this photo, I can't help but feel how much things have changed.
東京の今昔を写真で比較する展示が人気を集めている。
An exhibition comparing photos of Tokyo then and now is drawing crowds.
A literary compound expressing the contrast between past and present. Most commonly encountered in the set phrase 今昔の感 (a feeling of how times have changed) and in the title of the famous literary work 今昔物語集.
FORMATION:
今 (now, present) + 昔 (past, old times). Note the on'yomi reading じゃく for 昔, which differs from the common kun'yomi むかし.
KEY EXPRESSIONS:
- 今昔の感: a feeling of how times have changed — the most common usage
- 今昔の感に堪えない: to be overwhelmed by the sense of change
- 今昔物語集: Konjaku Monogatari (a Heian-period collection of tales from Japan, China, and India)
RELATED TERMS:
- 昔: the past, old times — everyday word
- 往時: the past, former days — literary
- 隔世の感: a sense of being in a different era — similar nuance to 今昔の感