帰る

Aｈ spring. In the UK it brings forth Easter, showers, renewal and of course lots of chocolate. Out here some of these themes are also present. The idea of renewal and life beginning again are centered around the cherry blossoms or “桜”.

The beautiful pink blooms sprout for a mere 3 or for weeks and during this period vast swathes of people venture forth to the famous spots to relax under the flowers and have a good time. These events are known as Hanami 花見 or flower viewing and it is one of the few times in the year that restraint is dropped and Japanese people really let loose with much drinking and eating and revelry.

I’ve written about this before though so I’m going to pick up on another topic. There is another aspect to the Sakura you see. They are seen as metaphors for life. They bloom and die quickly, swept away in the wind in a snowstorm of pale pinks and whites. This brief existence is thought to reflect our own on the planet and is another reason why the events are so focused on enjoying life.

Last year I’d only just arrived so I didn’t get a real sense of this second aspect. This year however things are much different. In Japan spring sees the start of the new financial year and as such it is a time of much turbulence as many people leave their jobs and new employee’s start. As an overseas resident of this country I’m struck by my impermanence.

 

So many of my friends are leaving over the next couple of months. Great guys who I have enjoyed interacting with and hopefully I will try and keep in touch with. Living in a society that really emphasises your differences it is hard for foreigners not to group together, terrible I know but it happens. The trouble is that when we return we are so spread out. It’s a pretty sad time knowing that the likelihood of seeing some of these people again is fairly low.

This got me to thinking of the real resolve it takes as a Japanese person to befriend people like me. Friendships take a lot of time and effort to develop. Is it really worth it for something that may only last 3 years at most and more likely only one? If you enter into this community you’ve got to deal with that heartbreak of goodbye every year. That’s tough and I’ve got a lot of respect for it.

I’ve been feeling pretty rubbish about it all the past couple of days and I know I shouldn’t. This sense of impermanence has made such interactions all the more intense. You really have to wear your heart on your sleeve to get by or you will just go mad through isolation.

Anyway this is a tribute to the great guys who will soon be gone. And the great guys I’ll be leaving behind when I eventually leave in a year’s time. It sucks but it’s incentive to go out and see the world and reunite with all these wonderful people I think.

Mata kondo minna.