Buds of Peace

            The U.S and Japan have had rocky relations in the past.  They were cordial until Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Then the U.S decided to respond by dropping two atomic bombs in Nagasaki and Hiroshima. People standing  at ground zero felt the full force of the bomb and were obliterated. The harsh chemicals seeped into the soil, affecting crops and generations of people who would till  those grounds. Overall, World War II made relations between both countries tense. At that moment, they were no longer friends, but enemies. Movies like..

Hotaru no Haka (Grave of the Fireflies), coined as an anti-war film by some, depicts World War II  from the eyes of two Japanese siblings Seita and Setsuko. They pass on due to starvation, and their spirits tell their story in a series of flashbacks.

                                                       

Unbroken takes an American perspective on relations between Japan and the U.S during World War II. It tells the story of  Italian-American Louis Zamperini a former Olympian who is held in a Japanese P.O.W (Prisoner of War) camp. While there, he is brutally tortured, and treated as an "enemy of Japan". At this point, the United States and Japan were on opposing sides of the war. 

Even with the historical tensions between the countries, peace was  eventually restored and their symbol of friendship (3,000 cherry blossom trees given to the U.S by Japan in 1912), remains  transient but beautiful. 

                                                                

                  In fact, the cherry blossom trees on campus are blooming quite nicely.

                                               

 This post was done in light of the annual cherry blossom festival..