Social change is a volcanic phenomenon. The first rumblings may not be widely seen or heard; then there is an eruption that takes society unawares. All of a sudden — or so it seems — a new generation with new needs and demands is born. Until that happens, society often outwardly appears placid, calm and devoid of disturbance.
I frequently write that young Japanese must be taught to look to their own cultural past for inspiration on how to deal with detachment, stagnation and the malaise of social cynicism. But the question arises: Where in the past to look for such inspiration?
Feb. 20 is the 125th anniversary of the birth in 1886 of Takuboku Ishikawa, one of Japan's greatest and most innovative poets. Known by his nom de plume, Takuboku's personal awakening from plaintive romantic to keen radical is a transformation that can rouse today's introverted young people to active awareness of their nation's "dilemma of disconnectedness."