A while back I came upon this article called The Japanese face and the eye of the beholder. Almost sounds like one of their movies, right?
It talks about how the perception of a particular photographer on the faces of Japan, and how the writer, a friend of this photographer, says it’s both a mix of singular and worldwide influences.
Japan was a very different place not too long ago in history. It had yet to feel the influence of anything outside its tiny island, but now with an influx of Western culture, who can deny that they, too, are looking more “western”?
The thing about such a fact is that, classic or contemporary, I still love the Japanese aesthetic. No matter how much they’ve changed in the last half-century, no matter how much of Western and worldwide culture has been introduced there, they still have a style distinctly their own, from their lifestyles to their looks. Pretty amazing what they can do, right?
(Yes, we’re fangirling an entire nation here.)
The article expresses the yearnings of a world-traveler at heart. It also makes good points about how time and technology also influence our views of the past and the present. I think it’s good to assume that certain eras are transient and can never be recaptured – but, you have to love the times you’re in. I’m thankful for the world and the Japan we have right now!
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