Tales from the Apocalypse

About two days ago, an 8.9 earthquake struck 80 miles off the coast of Japan, causing a tsunami to strike the northeast coast.  Gifu is very far away from this event, and as yet has seen none of the suffering.  There of course is concern over the nuclear power plants and their possible meltdown; if this comes to pass Matt and I might be faced with the daunting task of leaving.  So far, people are calm and going about their daily lives.  Stores are stocked, there are no shortages of food, water, essentials, or gas.  Our water, electricity, and gas are fully functioning.  I imagine this country will do a good job responding to the tragedy and that response will contain the suffering to those directly affected. 

Matt and I are, of course, keeping ourselves tuned to all news we can get.  At the earliest warning signal, we are prepared to do whatever is necessary.  Otherwise, we will continue to live just like everyone else.  One exception: we will look for the opportunity to travel to the hard-hit areas and participate in volunteer work, possibly to help rebuild houses and other buildings, like is still being done in the States over Katrina.

To illustrate exactly how normal our lives have been in the past two days, this post is almost exclusively devoted to images taken yesterday on a walk though Bairin Koen (plum forest park).  Last week we went to the plum blossom festival, but the buds were too small to photograph.  The first image shows the three distinct colors of blossom that are appearing: red, pink, and white.  The image to the right is a close-up shot I took, showing the various stages of bloom the trees are in right now.  It has been very cold (and seems like it will continue to be that way), so most of the trees are still just covered in buds.  Even so, walking through a glen of such trees is a very lovely sight. 

The photograph to the left is, in terms of composition, my favorite shot from the park.  In the foreground is a white plum tree.  The plum trees are actually sculpted by tying branches in certain ways and adding supports for a time until the tree assumes the desired shape.  It is time-consuming to say the least, but the resultant sculptures are quite breathtaking.  I do not know if this plum tree was sculpted, but it looks appropriately gnarled anyway.  In the background, at the top of the hill, is a monument with he name Shinode Yuusuke.  He owned the land that is now the park, and in 1872 turned it into a park that he tended for the community.  In 1948 he signed the land over to the city.  This is a wonderful, uniquely Japanese story.  I know it can happen, but most people wouldn't turn their expanse of land into a public park that they then tend until they get too old, choosing then to sign it over to the city.  The article on the subject doesn't say if he got money for the land or not, but I wouldn't be surprised if he just gave it away. 

To leave you with something entertaining, here's a picture from our shopping trip this afternoon.  There's a liquor store not two blocks from our home, a giant orange atrocity named Bacchus (get it?).  Inside it is one-half insanely cheap liquor, imports included, and one-half 100-yen store.  In one place, I found replacement fuzzy socks (mine have several holes), tennis balls (for laundry, of all things), an audio cable (would you believe my school doesn't have one audio cable) and a water filter to attach to our sink.  Grand total: 420 yen.