Broken Umbrellas
Nanchan and I were out the other day, not long after some heavy wind and rains and whipped the city. So, naturally, we saw lots of bits of tree branches and various flotsam in the streets. But then we came across a place in the middle of a rather busy street where there was nearly a dozen wrecked umbrellas all next to each other.
It seemed odd in general and doubly so because Tokyo is the kind of city where typically one is amazed by how clean it is.
“What the hell- why are there all these broken umbrellas here? Did a sudden gust of wind mangle ten people’s umbrellas at the same time just at this one spot?” I asked her.
“Hmm…. Well, I think maybe it is Japanese culture,” she replied.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, maybe two people throw their umbrellas here, and then another person comes along and thinks, ‘Oh, I guess it’s OK for me to throw my broken umbrella here.’ And then another, and another.”
“Interesting. Well, I don’t think that’s only Japanese culture. I think that’s human nature.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Well I don’t know, maybe the Japanese are more prone to it. Since there’s more of a culture of doing what other people do here. But yeah, it’s human nature.”
I wonder who was the first person who chucked their broken umbrella there. Probably some gaijin. This is Roppongi, after all.
It seemed odd in general and doubly so because Tokyo is the kind of city where typically one is amazed by how clean it is.
“What the hell- why are there all these broken umbrellas here? Did a sudden gust of wind mangle ten people’s umbrellas at the same time just at this one spot?” I asked her.
“Hmm…. Well, I think maybe it is Japanese culture,” she replied.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, maybe two people throw their umbrellas here, and then another person comes along and thinks, ‘Oh, I guess it’s OK for me to throw my broken umbrella here.’ And then another, and another.”
“Interesting. Well, I don’t think that’s only Japanese culture. I think that’s human nature.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Well I don’t know, maybe the Japanese are more prone to it. Since there’s more of a culture of doing what other people do here. But yeah, it’s human nature.”
I wonder who was the first person who chucked their broken umbrella there. Probably some gaijin. This is Roppongi, after all.