Tuesday, March 29, 2005
春
Spring is in the air. Each day gets a little longer, a little warmer. I’m surprised to notice the birds singing in the mornings as I enter the school. The passage of seasons is remarkable in Japan. Not only is it a way to measure my time here, but a way to understand the cycles of life in different parts of the world—even home. I tend to ignore this subtle miracle in America because I have experienced it since birth; but in Japan I am like a child again, experiencing each season for the first time, yet seeing it through adult eyes. It is beautiful, and I find myself wanting to hold on to each moment a little longer, until I remember—it will be back again next year.
Spring may become my favorite season in Japan because spring means cherry blossoms. As a child I had a book called “The Faithful Elephants” that I read with great solemnity. The first lines read, “The cherry blossoms are in full bloom at the Ueno Zoo. Their petals are falling in the soft breeze and sparkling in the sun. Beneath the cherry trees, crowds of people are pushing to enter the zoo on such a beautiful day.1” Each page is painted in watercolor and the soft pink blossoms frame the opening pages.
It is, in fact, a tragic story about how Ueno Zoo trainers were forced to poison the large and dangerous animals when the United States was dropping bombs on Tokyo. The elephants were particularly hard to kill because of their intelligence and human affection. The trainers eventually had to watch them starve to death over the course of several weeks. Simple but tender language and striking watercolors illustrate the power of the message. Although heartbreaking, the story reminds me of my childhood and my fascination with Japan. The last few lines never fail to bring tears. “Above them, in the bright blue sky, the angry roar of enemy planes returned. Bombs began to drop on Tokyo once more. Still clinging to the elephants, the zoo keepers raised their fists to the sky and implored. ‘Stop the war! Stop the war! Stop all wars!’ … [The trainer] was still patting the tombstone tenderly as the cherry blossoms fell on the grave, like snowflakes.” It is the bittersweet foundation of my association of cherry blossoms with Japan. Although a children’s book, I recommend it to everyone who acknowledges the tragedy of war.
This year I will experience my first spring in Japan. My mom will be coming for a visit in April and I plan to spend time going through some of the parks and temples in Fukuoka to see the cherry blossoms. In a way, I am afraid I might have unrealistically high expectations for this time of the year, but if I have learned anything so far, it’s that Japan’s appreciation for nature and her cycles will not be a disappointment.
1 Tsuchiya, Yukio. “The Faithful Elephants: A True Story of Animals, People and War.” Translated by Tomoko Tsuchya Kykes. Illustrated by Ted Lewin. The Trumpet Club Press. 1998.
Spring may become my favorite season in Japan because spring means cherry blossoms. As a child I had a book called “The Faithful Elephants” that I read with great solemnity. The first lines read, “The cherry blossoms are in full bloom at the Ueno Zoo. Their petals are falling in the soft breeze and sparkling in the sun. Beneath the cherry trees, crowds of people are pushing to enter the zoo on such a beautiful day.1” Each page is painted in watercolor and the soft pink blossoms frame the opening pages.
It is, in fact, a tragic story about how Ueno Zoo trainers were forced to poison the large and dangerous animals when the United States was dropping bombs on Tokyo. The elephants were particularly hard to kill because of their intelligence and human affection. The trainers eventually had to watch them starve to death over the course of several weeks. Simple but tender language and striking watercolors illustrate the power of the message. Although heartbreaking, the story reminds me of my childhood and my fascination with Japan. The last few lines never fail to bring tears. “Above them, in the bright blue sky, the angry roar of enemy planes returned. Bombs began to drop on Tokyo once more. Still clinging to the elephants, the zoo keepers raised their fists to the sky and implored. ‘Stop the war! Stop the war! Stop all wars!’ … [The trainer] was still patting the tombstone tenderly as the cherry blossoms fell on the grave, like snowflakes.” It is the bittersweet foundation of my association of cherry blossoms with Japan. Although a children’s book, I recommend it to everyone who acknowledges the tragedy of war.
This year I will experience my first spring in Japan. My mom will be coming for a visit in April and I plan to spend time going through some of the parks and temples in Fukuoka to see the cherry blossoms. In a way, I am afraid I might have unrealistically high expectations for this time of the year, but if I have learned anything so far, it’s that Japan’s appreciation for nature and her cycles will not be a disappointment.
1 Tsuchiya, Yukio. “The Faithful Elephants: A True Story of Animals, People and War.” Translated by Tomoko Tsuchya Kykes. Illustrated by Ted Lewin. The Trumpet Club Press. 1998.
