Japan Haiku Number 3, Harajuku and Shinjuku Station, Tokyo

 

Like poor Hachikō

Abandoned umbrellas wait

for absent masters

 

Something I’ve noticed is there’s an awful lot of abandoned umbrellas around Tokyo, left in metro stations, hanging on the backs of chairs, in umbrella stands outside of closed shops. People forget them, but then everyone is so polite, no one picks them up to use them. They just apparently stay there, waiting to be reunited with their owners, who will probably not return to collect them.

It reminded me of Hachiko, the poor dog who greeted his master, a university professor, at the station after work every day. One day, his master didn’t return, he had suddenly died that day, but the dog diligently waited for him to get off the train, turning up at the precise time every day for the rest of his life, which was nearly ten more years. After initially being shooed away every day, someone found out (through following the dog home and asking the professor’s former gardener) who the dog belonged to. He told him about the sudden death of their neighbour, and slowly, through word of mouth and then through newspaper articles, Hachiko became a revered celebrity, loved by commuters who would feed and pet him, teaching us the value of friendship and loyalty.

There is a statue of Hachiko at Shibuya station, his body is stuffed and presented in one of the Tokyo museums too. The story just breaks my heart. I’m a cat person, and love their fickle ways, but how can anyone not be moved by this tale of unconditional love.

I spent a day with a Japanese friend, who showed us around Tokyo. It was raining. We passed through one of the busiest stations in the world, Shinjuku, which at peak times servers over 3.5 million passengers per day, making it easily the world’s busiest station. There were a few abandoned umbrellas there too…

But rather than take a picture of an abandoned umbrella, which I couldn’t make look interesting, today’s pic is of people holding up their umbrellas in the cool and quirky district of Harajuku.

Japan Haiku number 2. Great Buddha, Kamakura

Sweet smoke coils and drifts

Under the unmoving gaze

Of benevolence

Fascinating visiting Kamakura, where the Great Buddha watches over the faithful and the tourists. My Japanese friends taught me about the symbolism of the faith, of the offerings of fruit and flowers and the smoke from the incense cleansing the pilgrims. Was a beautiful day.

Japan Haiku number 1. Ginza, Tokyo

Cormorant rode the

Water with a burst of wing

And was lost in light 

The return of a Haiku a day. I'm in Japan at the moment, this is my first day here. A brief sight of a cormorant sitting in the water flapping its wings, whilst I was on the train, then it was gone. The gardens I passed on the journey looked meticulous, beautiful in fact. But the city itself is really confusing for the uninitiated. You need to understand using all three dimensions. You could shoot past a place because it's not on street level ... It's either high up or in a basement!

The photo is therefore not of the elusive cormorant I saw, but rather a street in Ginza. That's the light referenced. Slightly edgy, full of cheap eats and bars.