"A Big Sigh of Relief..."

“You see, I was born after the war," says puppet carver and farmer Wakako Oe.  "When I was little I saw people planting rice barefoot, but by the time we went to India, Japan was all about high-speed growth, especially of the economy, what they called ‘modernization,’” she says, as if in the presence of something on the verge of frightening. “The scenery that I was used to as a child had all changed so rapidly.”

Listening to Wakako now, it occurs to me that when people lose things very quickly, especially things they feel are beautiful, it can be bewildering.

She continues, “No matter how I tried--I’m sorry--it was really hard to breathe in Japan at that time. I couldn’t keep up. In Japan in the ’60s and ’70s progress  meant getting rid of old things. But when we got to India, it was all heading in the opposite direction-- they treasured their past. I felt a big sigh of relief coming out of me.”