It's been over a month since my trip to Japan and my head is still spinning...no longer from the jet lag, but from trying to process the whole experience.
It wasn't my first time there. I actually lived there for a year and had visited numerous times, but something about this trip felt different.
Maybe it was because my husband and I went with my mom, sister and two young nieces. It was their first time ever in Japan, which probably made me experience things a little differently through their eyes.
Or possibly, it was because we packed in so many mini-trips all across the country in such a short period of time. From Tokyo, to Yugawara (about an 1 1/2 hours by train, south of Tokyo), to all the way up north to Aomori and Hokkaido island.
But it was something about the history of the places we visited that stuck with me more than anything else this time.
Of course, I love everything about Tokyo. The city never cease to fascinate me, especially at night when everything seems to just come alive.
But it was the little countryside of Goshogawara in Aomori, Japan, my husband's hometown, that really captured my attention. I had been there many times, but something about the history there clicked during this trip.
For example, it was my second time visiting this Neputa museum--an exhibit that houses these 70 feet tall floats that are brought out and paraded through the streets during the Neputa Festival held every year (you can see the scale compared to my family on the right side of the photo).
But it was my first time learning that this tradition was only rediscovered in 1993 when some local people found this old photo from the early 1900s.
Although the tradition of these structures had continued on to some degree, the size of these floats had significantly been reduced due to the introduction of electricity and electrical wiring along the streets. When they saw this photo and the original size, volunteers came together and in 1998, revived the festival and these 70 feet tall floats.
This might seem insignificant, but I found it fascinating to know that it was all because of an old photo that this tiny little town was able to revive such a rich part of their history, which is now what they are known for all over Japan.
It gave me a renewed appreciation and perspective on how much of our culture is so embedded in the arts. Yes, of course I took many art history classes in college and have known in my head the impact of art in culture (and vice versa). But it's easy to forget this sort of higher purpose in our work, in our daily grind with busy schedules, tight deadlines and budgets.
This small example gave me a fresh look at my role as a designer and visual communicator and reminded me that what we do matters. We're an active participant of informing and being informed by the culture we live in. What we create is a visual and experiential record of our lives today.
By looking at our work 90 years from now, what will people learn and say about our culture today?
