Your current location:HOME >opinions >VOX POPULI: The power of old photos and a deficit 正文
TIME:2024-05-21 14:44:52 Source: Internet compilationEdit:opinions
A photograph can bring the past back to life.Even if it’s black and white, the picture is in vivid c
A photograph can bring the past back to life.
Even if it’s black and white, the picture is in vivid color in the viewer’s mind, where the image becomes animated, so to speak, as if enkindled.
Has anyone experienced this strange power of photos?
The Yodo Line of the JR Shikoku Railway runs in the mountains of Ehime and Kochi prefectures.
I got off the train at Chikanaga station and took a narrow street in front of me. I soon arrived at a photo shop on a small shopping street.
Chikanaga Camera, as the shop is called, had many old pictures on display at the shopfront. All of them had been brought by neighborhood residents.
“Every one of these pictures tells an old story, and I am delighted to hear it from my neighbors,” said Tsugiko Kagajo, 64, the owner.
One photo showed a young man carrying a “mikoshi” portable shrine. In another, parents wore big smiles as they rooted for their children at a school baseball match.
And there was a picture of a bare-footed little girl, sitting on a pile of straw, her face all wrinkled from a huge grin that seems to be rippling throughout her body. What could have amused her so much?
The neighborhood used to be filled with people. But Kagajo observed, “A big road was built and life became more convenient, but that changed the fabric of our community.”
The Yodo Line on March 1 marked the 50th anniversary of the opening of the entire line.
Unfortunately, however, this is one of the nation’s numerous deficit-ridden railway lines.
A revenue of 100 yen requires an expenditure of 1,718 yen. But the locals are pushing for its continuation.
Local towns are shrinking inexorably. Shinkansen lines may keep expanding, but there is no stopping local trains from going obsolete, one after another.
Somewhere along the way, we must have made a mistake and started going in the wrong direction.
Looking at pictures of smiling faces, I became lost for a while in glum, silent contemplation.
--The Asahi Shimbun, March 2
* *
*Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.
Ben Whishaw lights up the Croisette as he joins his co2024-05-21 14:08
Australian town of Marble Bar clocks 26 consecutive days over 43 degrees Celsius2024-05-21 14:08
What we're watching: The Great2024-05-21 14:03
Australian town of Marble Bar clocks 26 consecutive days over 43 degrees Celsius2024-05-21 13:15
Young Boys seals 6th Swiss soccer league title in 7 years after rallying from firing coach Wicky2024-05-21 13:03
Swedish alarm after defence chiefs' war warning2024-05-21 12:57
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters to resume 'Pacific reset' plan again2024-05-21 12:55
Stranded livestock land in Australia after Red Sea turn2024-05-21 12:35
Devout Christian doctor, 68, who punched dementia2024-05-21 12:34
Baby Ru: Police contact whānau after three months of silence2024-05-21 12:11
The unstoppable duo of Emma Stone and Yorgos Lanthimos2024-05-21 14:43
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters praises US engagement in the Pacific2024-05-21 14:21
Millions of donkeys killed each year to make medicine2024-05-21 14:12
Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan gets 102024-05-21 14:01
Analysis: Larson enters conversation with Verstappen as best drivers in the world2024-05-21 13:53
NASA's historic Mars helicopter Ingenuity grounded for good after 72 flights2024-05-21 13:34
Nine apologises for using digitally altered image of Animal Justice Party MP Georgie Purcell2024-05-21 13:22
Tāngarākau campground murder: Justice Williamson2024-05-21 13:03
Sweden beats France, Britain relegated after losing to Norway at hockey worlds2024-05-21 12:27
Waitangi 2024: Thousands stand in unity to challenge government on Treaty principles2024-05-21 12:11