"Strange and mysterious things, though, aren't they - earthquakes? We take it for granted that the earth beneath our feet is solid and stationary... But suddenly one day we see that it isn't true." after the quake: Thailand - Haruki Murakami
In the aftermath of the tragedy that struck Japan recently, I remembered this colletion of shorts Haruki Murakami wrote in reference to a similar event that happened to the country in 1995. This is an aerial shot of a Tokyo intersection from my Murakami journal.
I have a fascination with Japanese culture. Blame it to a childhood heavily influenced by Japanese media and whatnot. So, the news of the tsunami struck a bit of a fierce chord. Seeing the video of the water running across a field carrying houses and boats with it brought several thoughts to mind. One, the earth is bigger than us, and it's beautiful and violent at the same time. Two, water is life. Water, also, can take life. The third thought is probably the most fascinating one. This did not even come to mind until I have read the outpour of comments from various channels in the last few days. There is solidarity in adversity, and the Japanese people could not have epitomized it better.
Despite the despair and the pain of loss, there seems to be no hatred. This is a country who is trained on how to react to these tragedies. They could have all gone amok after and be justified. If given that they've lost lives and property, they could have, but they didn't. Instead, they find ways to make it easier for each other. No one looted. Drivers gave way to each other. They shared their food. Even gave strangers what they had. When you're on a crossroad where you're made to choose between your own security against that of others, it's so much easier to make a selfish choice. An entire nation, though, has managed to show that it isn't too difficult to give away. It makes me wonder how selfless I could be if faced with the same consequences.
I pray for the people of Japan. I pray for the country itself. I have learned more from you within the last few days than I have in the years of exploring your culture.
I also pray for the people of Japan. I commend them for their solidarity. I was teary eyed reading all the tweets you posted!
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I love the song you used. That's the one and only Japanese song I memorized by heart.
Being an avid fan of Japanese Arts and Culture, i was deeply saddened watching Japan in turmoil. The hardest part of every tragedy is to have that courage to get up and move on. But I'm sure malalampasan nila to eventually. Weird lang dahil habang pinapanood ko sa news yung tsunami last saturday via cnn, iniisip ko "Sana lumabas na si Ultraman at tulungan sila"
ReplyDelete@Dianne: Corny na kung corny, pero naiiyak talaga ko nung binabasa ko yung tweets na yun. Sabi ko sa friend ko, this is too good not to share. And, I love Utada Hikaru. That's one of my favorite songs from her. :)
ReplyDelete@John: Natawa naman ako kay Ultraman. :D With how they're dealing with it, malalampasan nga nila yan. Sasabihan pa naman kita na nagpa-plano kong pumunta dun next year in time for spring. Pero, mukhang di muna siya matutuloy. :(
Sis naiyak din ako kahapon when I read those tweets kahapon. Nakakabilib talaga ang Japanese people. I was truly amazed. I know malalagpasan din nila to. Let's all pray for them.
ReplyDeleteSis Faith, no, I don't its corny at all. Ako nga nalungkot ng sobra sobra. Di ako makapag-isip. Di nga ko naka-aral kasi kahit nandito ako sa Phils eh affected ako sa nangyari sa kanila.
ReplyDelete@Joanne: Yes, sis. Ibang klase, no? Mabibilib ka talaga sa kanila. Go Japan!
ReplyDelete@Dianne: Sa totoo lang, I haven't bothered with the news until I heard about the earthquake. You should read after the quake, sis. Tungkol siya sa ma tao outside of Japan who were spectators of the Kobe earthquake. Ngayon siguro, nakaka-relate ako sa characters dun.
I have also read those tweets and they're all so heartwarming. Naiiyak ako nung binabasa ko yun eh nasa office pa naman ako. We can learn so much from them.
ReplyDelete@Pink: I read them, and I had to share it. Parang sayang kapag hindi mo na-share. I was a good cry, though.
ReplyDeleteVery nice afterthoughts sis... I, too feel so saddened by this tragedy that befell in Japan. Even before, I admire them of their ingenuity, cultures, their definition for quality & their attitude. Now, with what happened, I admire them so much more. They earned the respect of all... I know they will rise again from this nightmare and will continue with the advocacy that they have started. If only we can try to follow & learn from them...
ReplyDelete@clicknthoughts: Thanks, sis. Hopefully, they get past this without more trauma. I fear for the nuclear scare they have right now, but I believe in their ability to persist.
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