The man who gains a wife that is secretly an animal and then loses his wife because he finds out her true identity is a common theme in Japanese folklore. An even more common theme is that a man disobeys a command given him by his wife, usually not to look at her while she is doing something which reveals her supernatural nature, this discovery leading to their separation. A great deal, though by no means all, of Japanese folktales end in this bittersweet sadness left in the wake of the wife's parting. This aesthetic is called "mono no aware", meaning something like "tragic beauty that comes from the bittersweet sadness of things".
The man who gains a wife that is secretly an animal and then loses his wife because he finds out her true identity is a common theme in Japanese folklore. An even more common theme is that a man disobeys a command given him by his wife, usually not to look at her while she is doing something which reveals her supernatural nature, this discovery leading to their separation. A great deal, though by no means all, of Japanese folktales end in this bittersweet sadness left in the wake of the wife's parting. This aesthetic is called "mono no aware", meaning something like "tragic beauty that comes from the bittersweet sadness of things".