Bicycle Ride, Eldridge Street, Chinatown Manhattan
July 23rd, 2012 Permalink
July, 2012 Archives
I took this photo less than two weeks before the earthquake/tsunami in March 2011. I wasn’t sure what was going on other than a protest of some sort. I knew it was uncommon to see organized demonstrations in Japan, at least compared to America. In Japan, people tend to be reserved and, as a result, do not routinely protest or publicly express discontent. So this protester caught my eye and I immediately needed to capture the moment.
Sure, this photograph had nothing to do with nuclear power or radiation. However, I look at it now and cannot help but see it as foreshadowing for what was to come. From what I read daily in the Japan Times, organized protests are now more common; just recently, nearly 200,000 people gathered in Yoyogi Park to protest against the reopening of a nuclear power plant in Japan. It’s clear to me that, in a post 3/11 Japan, people – many for the first time – are publicly expressing their opinions and actively trying to influence public policy.
No matter how long one has lived in New York or from what viewpoint one chooses to view the bridge, it’s beauty and symbol of the City’s willpower and innovation never gets old.
