Imperialist Japan, through violence and wars forced its way into the cultural sphere of other nations in an effort to compete with other great powers, sacrificing numerous lives along the way. In 1945, at the end of WWII, Japan became the first nation to suffer an attack from atomic weaponry.
Historically, wars are repeated without an end, repetitive waves caused by the echoes of violence arrive on our shores incessantly. During my childhood, the cold war was in full swing; the West and the East were separated by different ideologies and socio-economic structures. After the Berlin Wall was demolished in 1989 the Soviet Union disintegrated and many former Soviet-controlled countries gained independence resulting in various conflicts that took place in order to draw new borders.
Europe achieved a sense of jubilation as the solidarity among democratised countries expanded which conversely caused many conflicts and an eventual crisis where there were never-ending battles, terrorist attacks, and other forms of extremism. As the conflict in Ukraine intensifies, more and more people are affected by continuing atrocities. Europe’s democracy is once again at stake.
It is important to face these stormy seas, creating waves of violence. Recognise the lights and hopes inside every single one of us. Exist without letting them extinguish.
2022, Tomoko YONEDA
