A rubber-soled, cheap canvas shoe that anyone living in Japan immediately recognizes as the type children use as indoor footwear while at school. The red-rubber tip indicates that its missing owner was a girl. The style and size tell us it was probably worn by a very young child, attending kindergarten or early elementary school. The child most likely came from a rural area where old basics like this are more readily available than trendier styles printed with popular anime characters.
The shoe is soaked with sea water. It was the only thing the tsunami left behind when it took the child. The words translate roughly to: What the tsunami left behind.
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Oh my God. The illustration is beautiful but the words utterly heartbreaking. How devastating.
ReplyDeleteGosh, what starts out as an ordinary item becomes almost sacred once its meaning is absorbed. Beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time.
ReplyDeletePoignant and evocative as always.
ReplyDelete:((
ReplyDeleteBeautiful and sad illustration - it made me think about how much wreckage and sadness is left behind while the world moves onto the next disaster story.
ReplyDeleteÉs eljutott Japánban (Nippon) a darum!!!!
ReplyDeleteKaptam egy köszönő levelet, valamint egy fekete fehér fotót is dátummal feltüntetve arról a pillanatról amikor darumat kitették!!
And arrived in Japan (Nippon) the crane!!
I received a letter of thanks, a black and white photos to date indicating that the moment when they were exposed to my crane! (google translater)
How sad... Such horrible devastation in Japan.
ReplyDeleteI love that you can identify who would have worn the shoe by the color on the toe.
A thought provoking piece that makes you share some of the sense of loss for those who are gone.
ReplyDeleteOh how beautiful and sad.
ReplyDeleteSo beautifully poignant and heart breaking, thanks Debbie.
ReplyDeleteNe pas oublier.....jamais..........
ReplyDelete