Everyday around 5:00 pm, some unknown and unseen force in my neighborhood plays a little tune. I've been told that this music is played at that point in time to remind kids who are outside playing to go home. I will always associate this daily public music with life in Japan. The first month that I stayed with my boyfriend (now husband) in Tokyo, I heard this music everyday while he was at work and I waited for him in his apartment. It somehow became linked to my missing him and now it always makes me remember how I felt at that time.
I'll miss the sense of benevolent paternalism and strange sense of melancholy that hearing this music always brings to mind.
Posts
It's called Yuuyake Koyake. I was told by an elderly coworker that back in the early 90's (I think), there were some kidnappings, and this is their solution somehow. I guess it gets the kids home on time and reminds them to be careful. Not that this will stop some pervert from accosting them.
ReplyDelete