This link (http://mdn.mainichi.jp/photojournal/graph/photojournal/11.html) shows young volunteers painting a barber shop in Ofunato. My friend was one of the many who donated time to create a colorful little house on a hill.
The barber shop is surrounded by fields still containing debris from the tsunami, almost six months ago now. Nearby is a kindergarten. One of the things the shop owner wanted to do was to show the kids who see and play near these fields of bent metal and carcasses of houses that there *is* hope. It *is* okay to dream.
Enter the phoenix painted on the building. Spotlight clouds, flowers symbolizing rebirth and hope. This is the new Japan.
Further south from Ofunato in Tokyo, there is a new prime minister. Here, I sigh. Will he be any better? Do we dare hope? How long will he last? Japan's musical chairs of leadership is tiresome and depressing. Will yet another change in leadership really make any difference?
I put my money on the barber shops of Japan, the ones painted brightly on purpose in bold pink, blue and purple. These symbolize what Japan is capable of. I'll eat my words if this new prime minister lasts longer than a year and leads Japan into economic recovery and tangible reconstruction in the areas devastated by the tsunami and earthquake. It saddens me that I don't think I'll be eating my words. In the interim, more pink houses please!
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/photojournal/graph/photojournal/11.html
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