Onomichi Townscape

Bye Onomichi for a while. Bye bye to the kitschy mock samurai castle. See you next time.

Abandoned in Onomichi

Seika Ryo (Holy Flower Dormitory): an abandoned dormitory for nurses

Onomichi is a small seaside town in southeast Hiroshima. Yasujiro Ozu shoot ending scenes of Tokyo Story in Onomichi. I want to introduce this fascinating, quaint town with a web of narrow, steep, winding paths to you. I've been this town countless times, and each time I find new aspects that I didn't see from the previous visit.

This is the 4th of Onomichi series.* I've been explaining how charming Onomichi is, but today I'll tackle some of the challenges modern Onomichi is facing.      

Onomichi does have lots of abandoned houses. Like any other mid to small sized towns in Japan, the increasing senior population is a big challenge of the town.The hilly residential landscape is very charming for visitors but for the aging population, the terrain could be a huge barrier to conduct their everyday life.

*For the past series, see: The Landscape of Yasujiro Ozu, Onomichi Landscape: Local Belifes, and Onomichi Landscape: Commercial Space

Vending machine, Mukaishima Island

Onomichi Landscape: Commercial Space

Plumber shop

Onomichi is a small seaside town in southeast Hiroshima. Yasujiro Ozu shoot ending scenes of Tokyo Story in Onomichi. I want to introduce this fascinating, quaint town with a web of narrow, steep, winding paths to you. I've been this town countless times, and each time I find new aspects that I didn't see from the previous visit.

Interested? Please take a look at my post: The Landscape of Yasujiro Ozu.

Today, I'll show you some commercial spaces in Onomichi. All those photos evokes nostalgic sense to Japanese folks even he/ she didn't grow up in the mid 20th century. While the space represents our shared sense of the past, this is not a Potemkin facade like some amusement parks!

 Toy store display window

Onomichi Landscape: Local Beliefs

Do you recognize the archaic smile this Ksitigarbha fellow has?

Onomichi is a small seaside town in southeast Hiroshima. Yasujiro Ozu shoot ending scenes of Tokyo Story in Onomichi. I want to introduce this fascinating, quaint town with a web of narrow, steep, winding paths to you.  I've been this town countless times, and each time I find new aspects that I didn't see from the previous visit.

Interested? Please take a look at my post: The Landscape of Yasujiro Ozu.

Today, I'll show you some of the local beliefs welded into the everyday community landscape. I'm no expert in cultural anthropology, so I'm just gonna introduce them from an aspect of an ordinary Japanese person.

 A cat deity in a community Shinto alter

The Landscape of Yasujiro Ozu: Onomichi, Hiroshima

Just for a week, I went back to my home in Hiroshima. It's been for five years? since last time I went back. Well, I don't like an airplane trip. Wish I could afford a business class or something. Twelve hours in a sardine tine is asking too much for me. What could I do if I wanna get out and breath some outside air? No, obviously.

Enough gripe. I know, I know.

Onomichi cats are slim and have big eyes and ears!

Judi Chamberlin's Political Button Collection -- A Story of a Shrink Resistant Woman

No, anger is not "nice," but it's real, it comes from the gut, and not to be angry at being shit upon is being dead -- which is exactly what shrinks and their kind want us all to become...

But anger is exhausting, and being put down for our anger is destructive. What we need is to be able to turn to one another for strength, for support, and for understanding.

-- From Judi Chamberlain's correspondence, July 19, 1975

Judi Chamberlin at Conference on Human Rights and Psychiatric oppression
Toronto, 1982

You might ask, who's "Judy Chamberlain?" No, you got it wrong, she's Judi. Chamberlin, without an "a." Judi Chamberlain in Somerville removed her name from a phone book because she'd been mistaken over and over again as other Somerville woman named Judi Chamberlin, I mean our Judi.

So why did she collect such quirky pin badges? Shrink resistant, stop shock, what do they mean? Ok, let me tell about her life story.

Shrink Resistant