Monday, July 14, 2008

Back to the future: return to EDO

At the Japanese pavilion in Expo Zaragoza 2008 you will be transported to the EDO times http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edo_period, more precisely 200 years ago...when Tokyo megalopolis was a 1 million citizens city called EDO. "In the land of Asian Monsoon climate and ragged terrain, with geographical limitations (more than 120 millions for a territory of approximately 2/3 of Spain!) surrounded by sea on all four sides, Japanese people have developed skills, culture and lifestyles that live in harmony and symbiosis with nature, rather than confronting it....". Or as Prince Naruhito put it during his visit to the Expo this week, you need to "look to our ancestors" for inspiration, noting that even without modern technology they were able to combat the problems of water, such as floods and droughts. After visiting the pavilion, I can say that this is a remarkable audiovisual experience where -despite all that we can learn from Japan http://www.expo2005.or.jp/en/index.html - the video shown is not patronising at all...hope the message will pass as indeed seems to be happening as per the high number of visitors...anyway, at the end fo the 9 minutes trip, visitors will have a surprise: a real experience of water overwhelming power and beauty. After, you will be given forecast of possible future scenarios linked with climate change...and a cup with Japanese-Spanish tea (another surprise ;) ...to digest the info and watch some artistic photographs...enjoy!

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