Past, Present, Future

Can I tell you about... present day Kyoto. Walking through the streets and observing the throngs of people going about their daily lives is something I love to do wherever I am. You catch glimpses of vignettes and form little stories in your mind. Who are they, where are they going to and what their life is like. Japan, for all its modern technology and avant-guard fashion is also a country clinging on to their past.

A pachinko parlor is situated right beside a kimono store, an electronics store right beside a traditional pastry shop. The young hipsters hanging out by the banks of Sanjo bridge drinking Kirin beer seems such a far cry to the grandmothers I saw taking the subway on their way to tea.

I saw this man crossing the street in traditional yukata, wearing a Borsalino, holding a straw market basket and walking in getas(wooden clog shoes). I took a quick photo and I'm glad I did. He looked so debonair walking in those shoes so effortlessly. I saw countless of examples of how as a culture, they've managed to mix their past, present and future... seamlessly and successfully.

Growing up in the Philippines, a country so heavily influenced by the Spanish, the Chinese and the Americans it's hard to say exactly what is originally Filipino but when I wear the Barong Tagalog on special occassions, it fills me with an immense sense of pride for my culture and how as a people we've managed to combine past, present and future just as successfully as the Japanese.