…and truth be told, nothing that’s been released lately has managed to do much more than lightly pique my interest. Case in point: despite being something of a fan of Shinkai Makoto’s previous works, I never bothered to watch 君の名は。 even once in the three times that I visited Japan since it was released there in August 2016. (I did go so far as to look up cinema schedules for it on a free evening in Tōkyō, but didn’t follow through.)
Ah, but this particular film might have just enough appeal to break my long drought when it enters local cinemas next month. The visual aesthetic isn’t really my cup of tea, but the theme most certainly is, especially since I’m currently blogging about a long 2016 holiday in Japan that included Hiroshima.
On the morning of 22 November 2016, I switched on the TV and allowed the morning news to play in the background whilst I got ready for another day of sightseeing. Suddenly, normal broadcasting was interrupted and warnings began to flash, with reports coming in thick and fast of a major earthquake that had just taken place off the coast of Fukushima Prefecture. Despite the fact that I was a very great distance west of where it struck – at that point in my journey I was staying in Matsuyama, on the island of Shikoku – the urgent warnings raised uncomfortable thoughts about an earlier event, far worse than the present one. What I found most chilling of all was the message delivered by the newsreaders as the tsunami warnings were broadcast: Isoide nigete kudasai.
Three words, spoken calmly yet with uncompromising firmness, over and over and over again.
Remember and pray, even as one looks to the future with hope.
Our little Daebak from the KBS show The Return of Superman has just been to Ōsaka with his family. Of course, his mum couldn’t resist posting this brief clip of the toddling celebrity trying to enunciate his present whereabouts.
Incidentally, it’s been 10 years and 10 days since I published my very first post on this blog. I say, we’ve been around for quite some time, now haven’t we?
