Land of the Rising Phoenix

Since the first millenium, Japan has been known as the Land of the Rising Sun.

The Kanji for Nihon (Japan's name in Japanese) means "origin of the Sun". The reference goes back to a phrase first used by one of its early diplomatic leaders, in a missive to the Emperor of China, which started: "From the Prince of the Land where the Sun Rises, to the Prince of the Land where the Sun Sets...". The tiny far-eastern country thus dared to invent itself as an equal to the greatest empire in the world at the time, through daring, innovation, education, and vision.

We all know how Japan rose from the devastation of World War II, achieving what seemed to be the impossible, rebuilding and innovating, to become a great economic power. Western countries marveled and wondered how this was accomplished. The focus and drive of the people as a whole, the hard working ethics, the obsessive education, led the defeated nation past many of its victors to heights of prosperity inconceivable before the war.

For the past two decades, that country was visibly slumping, decaying perhaps, and the world wondered if it was witnessing the twilight of Japan as a world power. I certainly did. Nations are supposed to rise and fall, history teaches us. Ancient Greece, Rome, Spain, Britain have all had their time in the limelight, and we wonder if the US is past its prime.

Now the country lies in ruins, devastated beyond belief. A record breaking earthquake, tsunami, multiple simultaneous nuclear crises- it just keeps piling on. And, the worst may yet to be seen. Voclanoes are erupting, aftershocks powerful enough that they would have been breaking news just few days ago, are still happening as I type this.

And yet, I find myself now no longer questioning whether we are witnessing the fall of this country. In fact, because of all this I am now confident that we are about to witness another rebirth, rebuilding, rising from the ashes.

We hear about the Western journalists' puzzlement at how there is no looting. Where people expect price gouging, merchants are in fact seen slashing prices, giving supplies away, and people patiently wait in line. People in major cities, without power, heat or water in some places, ride bicycles to report to work where the trains are not running. They say "we can't complain, we're the lucky ones".

And then there's the elderly man, rescued from the rubbles of his house, where he was trapped for three days, who told the rescuers: "I'm fine, I lived through the 1960 tsunami," and smiled, "Let's rebuild again".

The devastation is horrific, and the loss inconceivable. Yet the character of the people certainly seem to shine brighter than ever before. It feels like the fat, tamed and perhaps lazy circus animal is suddenly finding itself hungry and in the wild, and its instincts are being awakened.

For the next few months, years, or even decades, there will be a lot of work ahead for Japan. Its reliance on electricity, especially nuclear power, will need to be rethought. Its engineering, manufacturing, and architecture will have to be improved, revamped, and the lost cities and infrastructures rebuilt. I suspect it will force Japan to develop further energy efficient technology relying on more sustainable energy and agriculture.

The upside of destruction, as seen after WWII, is that it is also a clean slate on which to restart, rather than patching and fixing what's already there. It's a reason and opportunity to reinvent and improve, and Japan knows this more than any other nation.

I wonder if it wasn't just the kind of trial by fire, that Japan needed to come together and push itself to find its true strength, and to rise again from the ashes. I sincerely hope that, the "fire and ashes" needn't be literal, and a catastrophic nuclear disaster can be avoided. But whether it can be avoided or not, I believe, out of the tragic destruction, a newer, better Japan will rise. Be it the Sun or a Phoenix, it is the Land of Rising. I think I understand that now.