Photographs from a small group of islands
On one of Japan’s thankfully not too uncommon national holidays, going to a temple and quietly praying for happiness and good health is always an option, although if it’s attempted at one of Tokyo’s more popular places of worship, merriment at least may well come from simply being a member of the melee.
Praying?
Begging?
Or both?
The far more famous Kamakura Daibutsu (big Buddha) may well have more history, character and aesthetic merit, but when it comes to sheer and surely insurmountable size, the Ushiku Daibutsu in Ibaraki Prefecture is patently unparalleled.
As, not only is it big.
It’s absolutely bloody enormous.
An almost unbelievable 120 metres including its base big in fact.
A behemoth that was built during the heady days of the bubble, meaning its like will probably never be seen again — or at least not in the near future. Which, in many ways is a pity, as the way it towers over nearby fields,
farms,
and little old ladies who once worked in those fields and farms,
is utterly fascinating.
(As an added bonus of sorts, here are a couple of pictures of the colossus while under construction. This one showing the the structure’s gradual completion, and my personal favourite, an almost Dali-esque piecing together of its head.)
Temperatures in Tokyo, particularly throughout September, could easily have led one to believe that summer would simply sizzle on for quite some time to come, but now, somewhat sadly, it’s fairly obvious that fall has finally arrived in full.
Despite Japan being notorious for fast to appear and equally fast to fade fads, the so-called Japanese pet boom, which has amazingly been ‘booming’ for years now, stills shows no signs of abating — at least as far as decidedly diminutive dogs are concerned. And as such, the likes of fancy pet foodstuffs, fashion and constant cries of kawaii! are unfortunately far from uncommon.
In fact, it’s a trend that some suggest is possibly being driven by a considerable number of these pets being seen as child substitutes, which, given their often over-the-top treatment and Japan’s low birth rate, could well be true. Plus there are benefits of course, as boozing on a Sunday afternoon at least is considerably easier and more carefree with a canine than it is with a kid.
The trouble is, it’s not all fun and games, and after years of depicting these dogs as cute and cuddly little accessories, one TV channel at least has bravely opted to air the dark side of the dog boom. A video that I should warn is undoubtedly distressing (at least from the 5 minute mark) as it shows how a large number of unwanted and unable to be cared for canines end up — quite literally. And viewing is made even more uncomfortable by the knowledge that it’s a practice that apparently is performed practically everyday.
There are no subtitles I’m afraid, but the last part at least needs little in the way of explanation. But once again, I should reiterate that it is far from easy viewing.
