Jane Birkin's legacy in Japan
Japanese people who once connected with British-French actor, model and singer Jane Birkin say they continue to rely on the strength and compassion she offered in the aftermath of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake.
Birkin toured some of the affected areas as they were being rebuilt, forging deep connections with locals with whom she maintained contact until she passed away in 2023, aged 76.
At a cafe in Japan's northeast, her impact lingers.
Proprietor Chiba Shinichi opened the business in his hometown of Matsushima, Miyagi Prefecture, in 2007. It enjoys ocean views and is designed to delight tourists and locals. Chiba Shinichi's cafe in Matsushima, Miyagi
But in March 2011, the cafe was damaged when a massive earthquake and aftershocks devastated the Tohoku region and left more than 20,000 people dead or missing. Chiba was left with emotional wounds. Chiba's cafe after the Great East Japan Earthquake
"Honestly, I couldn't consider creating a beautiful space again under the circumstances," he recalls. That was before Birkin came along.
In March 2013, Birkin visited Matsushima on a tour of impacted areas and performed a concert attended by Chiba and his family.
Chiba's wife Ayako recalls Birkin's visit: "She reminded us to look further ahead into the future, and to laugh. Until that moment, I couldn't smile much. People had been telling us that we had to overcome the situation and work hard. But Jane brought her own smile and warm spirit." Chiba Shinichi (left), Jane Birkin, Chiba Ayako and the Chibas' son Yonosuke in 2013
Two years later, Chiba reopened his cafe. Every spring, it looks over a magnificent view of cherry blossoms. Cherry blossoms as seen from Chiba's cafe in April 2024
"The view of the ocean through the cherry blossoms is a rare sight, but when Jane visited, the flowers were yet to open. I always wanted to show her this view," Chiba reflects.
"Every year, I'm happy to see that the blossoms are back, and more than the cherry blossoms themselves, I enjoy watching the people who come to see them." Chiba Shinichi Jane Birkin's influence remains strong inside Chiba's cafe.
Chiba says Birkin inspired him to support local artists. Dancer Onuma Aika, age 26, has worked at his confectionery shop for more than six years when she is not performing. She also teaches dance to local children. Onuma Aika (right) has worked at Chiba's confectionery shop for more than six years.
"I want the children to shine so that they can live happily, just like me," she says. "Matsushima is where I've always been, so it's a natural, relaxing and comfortable place where I don't have to be on guard.
"People are quiet at night, the moon is beautiful, and only the sound of the sea can be heard. It's a place where I feel at ease."
Sano Misato, a 38-year-old sculptor, also has a job at Chiba's shop.
"Chiba has always observed my artistic endeavors and been a supportive presence, watching my growth. I feel that working at his shop, while experiencing the seasons and nature in Matsushima, is exactly what suits me now, which is why I continue doing it," Sano explains. Sano Misato
Japanese people living overseas also cherish Birkin's memory. Until her passing, Birkin lived in Paris, where hairstylist Nishimura Shuhei worked for the style icon for about three years.
"When I first came to work at a beauty salon back in 2011, on my very first day, Jane Birkin came in. I thought, 'Wow, this is amazing!'" recalls Nishimura. Nishimura Shuhei and Jane Birkin
He remembers Birkin's concern for his native country as aftershocks and other quakes continued in the wake of the 2011 disaster. "Every time there was an earthquake in Japan, Jane would ask if my family was okay and whether everyone was doing well," he says. Nishimura Shuhei
"I treasure the time I spent with her. She truly cared about Japan, and I feel that she was a special person to us, as Japanese." Nishimura Shuhei
In May 2024, NHK World JAPAN aired a documentary that depicted the emotional exchange between Jane Birkin and the people affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake.
Watch here:
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/shows/3025067/
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Japan Times
an hour ago
- Japan Times
In Elden Ring Nightreign, the FromSoftware formula goes awry
My first few runs through Elden Ring Nightreign felt familiarly masochistic: FromSoftware's patented against-all-odds boss fights still scratch the same itch that helped turn the Tokyo studio from a niche developer into the progenitor of an entire gaming genre. But where 2022's Elden Ring represented FromSoftware at the peak of its art in the single-player, action roleplaying genre, Nightreign, released on May 31, sees the studio try its hand for the first time at not only a multiplayer experience but a roguelike nonetheless (a genre in which repeated attempts by the player lead to new and varied abilities and, ideally, eventual success). The result is a game that excels when it leans on the core DNA of the FromSoftware formula — but withers when it needs to rely on much else. Your first several hours of Nightreign might feel like stepping into a boss rush mode for Elden Ring. After dropping into a map lifted largely from the 2022 game, teams of three players defeat low-level enemies for stat-boosting equipment and weapons while a damaging storm closes in from all sides. This is all preparation for the more powerful bosses that bookend each evening of Nightreign's three-day cycle (sessions that progress fully take about 40 minutes). After the second night, it's then time for a showdown with a substantially more difficult enemy where the run ends in either victory or death. Barring the exceptionally skilled (or the lethally lucky), your first runs are almost certain to end in repeated defeats — a feature, not a bug, of nearly every game FromSoftware has made going back 30-plus years. However, in games like Elden Ring, Dark Souls, Sekiro and others, these single-player experiences task the player with progressing through a fixed gauntlet. A particularly challenging boss can act as a gatekeeper, stymieing progress for hours; upgraded weapons and armor are helpful in felling powerful foes, but patience, attention to detail and measured aggression are the true determiners of success in FromSoftware's single-player games. After dozens of hours in Nightreign, however, it's hard to shake the feeling that the inverse is true. Runs that progress to the final boss nearly always fail if players don't have equipped weapons that deal damage specific to enemy weak points; getting those weapons means clearing enemy encampments earlier in the session, but what loot you receive is determined by chance. Once you figure this out, two-thirds of each run largely devolve into sprinting from location to location and defeating minor enemies until loot and stat boosts drop. Herein lies Nightreign's greatest missed opportunity: a lack of variety baked into this loop. Other games in the roguelike genre grasp this problem — in order to maintain player interest in repeatedly running a set course, the power-ups they encounter must be meaningful enough to change the way players play. A boon might erase health while making attacks exponentially stronger, so the player must become adept at avoiding attacks and choosing the right time to strike; a rare item might promise a massive upside when paired with another as-yet unobtained ability, requiring players to weigh the risks and rewards of abandoning their current plans in pursuit of an uncertain benefit. Elden Ring Nightreign is still an enjoyable experience, but it has difficulty thriving as a roguelike. | FROMSOFTWARE In Nightreign, these choices are largely nonexistent. Sessions become overly mechanical in nature, checklists of items and equipment rather than on-the-spot wagers bursting with potential. In roguelikes, no two runs are meant to feel the same, but in Nightreign, almost every run does. Can these issues be addressed to some degree in post-release patches? Possibly. Will FromSoftware learn from these mistakes if it returns to the well for a Nightreign 2? Almost assuredly. But the studio's first major foray away from its forte of single-player action roleplaying shows something we've rarely seen: a core gameplay loop lacking the veteran developer's characteristic polish.
Japan Times
6 hours ago
- Japan Times
Osaka Expo sees highest daily visitor number
The ongoing Osaka Expo attracted 162,000 general visitors on Saturday, marking a new daily record, the organizer said on Sunday. The Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition expects a total of 28.2 million people to visit the event, which is set to run until Oct. 13. To achieve the goal, the event needs to draw 150,000 visitors on average per day. Saturday's number exceeded the target for the first time. Visitor reservations grew on Saturday thanks to music and fireworks attractions, according to the association.
Japan Times
9 hours ago
- Japan Times
‘A garden is a grand teacher': The Kamakura Gardener nurtures and soothes via YouTube
'Good day from Kamakura, Japan,' a warm, soothing voice says, welcoming you into a verdant world on screen. The voice, honed by five decades in broadcast journalism, belongs to Robert Jefferson, a semiretired news writer and announcer at NHK. For the past seven years, though, he has been offering a different kind of reportage, crafting a distinctive persona as The Kamakura Gardener on YouTube. With his canine co-host Haru beside him, Jefferson has produced, shot and edited several hundred videos for his channel. In weekly half-hour episodes, Jefferson centers his show on the mountainside garden that he shares with viewers around the world. Japan has no shortage of beautiful gardens deserving of attention, but I assure you this one is unique, even powerful. Arrive and hear the birdsong around the sun-dappled terrace. Notice the rows of vegetables, fruits and flowers set against a gentle sea of green hills. Admire the drops of morning dew poised on the edges and folds of emerald leaves. Feel your nervous system, twisted ragged by the relentless news cycle, social media scroll and endless to-do lists, begin to uncoil. This garden offers a glimpse of a gentler world and way of living — a place Jefferson had to create for himself before he could open the gate to the rest of us. Cure for the news blues Before he met American civil rights icons including Coretta Scott King and Stokely Carmichael (aka Kwame Ture) as a teenage radio journalist, before he joined the news service of the U.S. Air Force and took assignments around the world — including an initial stint in Japan in 1982 that would prove life-changing — Jefferson was just a sixth grader in Pennsylvania growing a string bean plant in any empty milk carton. 'Look at that,' he remembers thinking when it grew. 'A little teeny tiny bean placed in soil with some water could sprout into a plant. I'm still fascinated by it at 65.' Jefferson has lived in Japan for more than 40 years and is a semiretired news writer and announcer at NHK. | Alex Michael Dwyer Plants have woven into his life and career ever since: bamboo from his apartment in Koto Ward; cactuses and palm trees he received when friends left Japan; a fern he was gifted by his first car dealer; a rubber plant that fit in his bicycle basket in Tokyo, and now crawls for meters along the beams of his living room. 'Next year will be 50 years in broadcasting,' Jefferson says, citing an array of major news events, from assassinations and wars to natural disasters, that have been burned into his memory. 'From the days of Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan to ... George Bush, Obama, Biden and now Trump, I've seen a lot, and it can take a lot out of you.' Before, he coped with the gruesome business of newsmaking with stiff drinks and jazz. His social world used to be centered around Tokyo's jazz cafes. He frequented Eagle in Yotsuya, Swing in Shibuya and Dug in Shinjuku. 'I used to hang out at all of them,' he says, noting how many friends in his nightlife community had passed away. 'That's why I'm so glad I quit drinking when I did. Had I not, I probably would've suffered the fate of so many others with bad health and a destroyed mind.' Now, even though he still works in a news industry that hasn't become any less stressful, gardening offers not only a way to cope, but a chance to commune with the natural world — and transcend. 'Grow, my lovelies' You won't find Jefferson's garden in the guidebooks, but the comment section below each of his YouTube videos is a testament to the inspiration he instills in viewers from around the world, or just across town. 'Watching your channel is so relaxing,' reads a comment from a subscriber in Florida. 'It makes me feel as though I was right there with you in Kamakura.' Jefferson began working on his Tokyo apartment's balcony garden in 2006 before moving to Kamakura the following year, but the impetus to share what he did online came during the COVID-19 pandemic as he became increasingly health-conscious and felt the desire to grow more of his own food. Kamakura is often pictured as a getaway. A popular daytrip from Tokyo, the city's beaches, trails and connections to history draw visitors in equal measure. For those of us who call Kamakura home, we experience the town, first and foremost, as a close-knit community. I discovered The Kamakura Gardener in December thanks to a neighbor who ran into Jefferson on a hike. I had become horticulturally curious after frequent gifts of fresh vegetables and jams from that same neighbor's garden. Embarrassed that I had made it nearly 40 years into life without ever growing a single plant, I didn't know where to start. The Kamakura Gardener provided guidance in the form of a weekly episode of must-see TV. If watching a garden grow sounds too slow in a lightning-fast world, turn your attention to the gripping anecdotes hiding just below the soil: the antagonistic rodents and insects that visit the garden uninvited; the water and fertilizer ratio riddles Jefferson seeks to decipher; the unexpected appearance of hard-won delights like pineapple and avocado. Episodes continue in the kitchen where he prepares meals and treats with his homegrown goods. Once Jefferson sets the gardening shears aside and dons the chef's apron, all bets are off. Have a napkin nearby because it's hard to get through an episode without drooling. Don't worry about indulging too much. We'll hike it off with Haru, the French bulldog — running into old buddies and making new friends along the way — to a viewpoint of Mount Fuji behind the storied Kuzuharaoka Shrine. The Kamakura Gardener is more than a gardening, cooking or travel show; it is a balm for our present milieu. After one episode, I was hooked. What plants will survive and fruit this year? What new sagas will unfold? Why put so much effort into things you can buy from the grocery store? These questions float in my head when I visit The Kamakura Gardener's headquarters this spring. Jefferson gives me a tour of his home — some 50 plants grow indoors alone — before we step out to the sprawling garden terrace. Haru zooms around as we explore, and there's so much to take in: tiny white blossoms dangling off blueberry plants, bright yellow zucchini flowers and radish sprouts that have popped up in the lower garden. Over a glass of homemade ginger ale and freshly baked strawberry cupcakes, I ask Jefferson what I should pick for my first foray into the gardening world. 'Eat what you grow,' Jefferson says, 'and grow what you eat.' Haru, a French bulldog, is Jefferson's constant companion in his videos and in life. | Alex Michael Dwyer My curiosity accelerates. There's a delight in Jefferson's voice when he sees new growth, and you can feel his resolve when presented with a challenge. His passion and determination are contagious. 'Grow, my lovelies, grow,' he frequently says with a chuckle in his videos. His words are fully sincere. They are like prayers to himself, his plants — and all of his viewers. The nudge of encouragement we all need to reach toward what lights us up and to release what dims us. 'I don't listen to (jazz) anymore,' he reveals in a moment of reflection. 'I listen to the birds.' It becomes clear then, with the natural soundtrack of spring in the background, surrounded by plants Jefferson has cared for with such dedication for so many years, what makes this garden so unique and powerful. It's a reciprocal relationship: The garden has grown him as much as he has grown it. 'There's a saying,' Jefferson explains. 'A garden is a grand teacher. It teaches patience and careful watchfulness. It teaches industry and thrift. Above all, it teaches entire trust.' These words ring in my head when I pick out my first seeds. A week later tiny, tender cucumber leaves sprout up. I run into the house, celebrating the growth like a child. I don't know what to do when the sprouts outgrow their tiny cup container. I can only trust that I'll figure it out. After all, there's a garden I know I can visit anytime, from anywhere, for guidance on how to grow.
