Japanese girl returns to Florence to atone for graffiti
ROME —
A Japanese teenager who was caught on video daubing graffiti on the Duomo in Florence flew back to the Renaissance city at her own expense to apologize, Italian media report.
The 19-year-old fashion student from Japan’s Gifu University also offered 600 euros, television and news agency reports said.
“We accept the apologies and we accept the money exceptionally for the gesture’s great sense of civility,” said the Duomo’s chief curator Anna Mitrano, flanked by the university’s visiting rector, Yukitoshi Matsuda.
The incident, which took place in February and was captured on film, was one of several involving Japanese visitors in recent months.
Mitrano noted that 2008 marked the 30th year of a friendship pact between Florence and Gifu.
AFP
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rjd_jr
Now folks this is a genuine act of class and decency. How many people in the world would actually spend their own time and money to atone for stupid things they did? Nitpick and unfairly as many of you always do, but again not many people would take full accountability for their mistakes. Great for her.
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presto345
Yes, rjd jr, spot on. This is a wonderful display of hansei/regret I admire. I hope more people will do the same.
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borscht
Not to nitpick and be unfair as I always do, but while not many people would take full responsibility for their mistakes - and scribbling your own graffiti on a national treasure certainly applies as a mistake - not scribbling your graffiti on a national treasure could be taken as ... common sense. And could have saved this 'girl' - or her parents - quite a bit of cash (airline tickets aren't cheap this time of year).
But I'm glad she did this, it shows a growing awareness on her part of the seriousness of her mistake and hopefully she will be followed by the others who defaced treasures in another land.
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blvtzpk
Somebody was downplaying what she did a few weeks ago...
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Betting
"Now folks this is a genuine act of class and decency. How many people in the world would actually spend their own time and money to atone for stupid things they did? Nitpick and unfairly as many of you always do, but again not many people would take full accountability for their mistakes. Great for her"
Wasn't the reason for having to go back because someone (Japanese I think) took a picture of the graffiti? And also wasn't it because she wrote her name and university on the wall? I seriously doubt that if the photo wasn't taken she would still be laughing about it (or more probably have completely forgotten about it).
It certainly wasn't a case of her conscience getting the better of her and saying, "Oh, I did a bad thing, I better own up like a good person!".
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buddha4brains
”genuine act of class and decency”
I don't think so. Doing an act of kindness would be a genuine act of class and decency.
Still, I do give her credit for owning up to her foolishness.
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tclh
Is she the FIRST ever for doing so?She is great,Italy may make her become a role model for "graffiti artists " out there...
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RepublicofTexas
Though she shouldn't have done it in the first place, admitting and atoning for one's mistakes is an admirable thing. Hopefully people will look at this and think twice before doing something like defacing a cathedral (probably not). However this might just be a PR victory for Japan as a whole.
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thepro
Wow, this went so over the top
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bamboohat
Parents: "Ok young lady, you will fly back to Italy and say Gomen Nasai!, or else, no more Fashion University for you! Here is your ticket and some spending money, and your hotel reservations and 600 Euros to offer to the nice Italians."
Daughter: "Hai"
What a crock
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hoserfella
bamboohat- spot on
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GJDailleult
And a double spot on to thepro.
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supuncho
All these negative comments...just wow... Did any of you guys watch her apology? It looked pretty damn sincere. And the wall in question is COVERED in graffiti from top to bottom. There is barely any space to put up your name...and you guys act as if she was the first and only one...seriously take a look at that national treasure...and at your selves. Next time, before jumping on the bandwagon ,take the the to think. ,
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supuncho
er...supposed to be take the time to think...
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presto345
This isn't about what she would have done or would not have done if . . . It's simply about what she did.
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Triple888
WHy are people praising her? She shouldn't have done it in the first place.
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nisegaijin
waste of money, time, space on news column. need i say more?
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bamboohat
Only she can say why she was so sincere in her apology. She will only know after this dies down and if she looks at another international treasure that has been graffitied.
If she looks at it and thinks "Wow, it's sad that people would deface such a piece of art( or whatever)" then she has my full props. And I honestly and sincerely hope this is the case.
OTOH, If she looks at it and thinks "Wow, if I did that, I'd get in big trouble." well,
But I gauranteeee you that none of those social robots would have graffitied the wall had it been pristine. All that other previous graffiti gave them the herd safety of social proof. Almost.
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lipscombe
mum and dad paid their way out of this one for sure
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Speed
She didn't have to do any apologising whatsoever, but she chose to do so and in person. This is very admirable - no one else has come forward and did this.
All the detractors on this site seem to have something cynical to say no matter how positive a story or an act by a person may be.
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yabits
rdr jr writes:
What I know is that those words just sucked all the class and decency out of the action. They remind me of words said by my first Japanese language teacher: When explaining something, she would often say, "We Japanese are so humble!" Nobody had the heart to tell her that that kind of humility is just a perverse form of pride.
More than one might otherwise think. But the genuine people don't organize press conferences over them. What is it about some Japanese who feel this obsessive need to point out to others just how wonderful they are? Do some of these Japanese believe that all non-Japanese are too stupid to recognize such qualities without having them pointed out?
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lipscombe
what? yes she did have to apologise. what else would a young aspiring fashion designer (oooh tokyo and milan out of the picture yikes) who finds unwittingly caught on film do? cynical and snarky? damn right I am because she SHOULDNT HAVE DONE IT IN THE FIRST PLACE.
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OssanULTRA
"WHy are people praising her? She shouldn't have done it in the first place."
It's true she should never have done it in the first place. But to apologize for it deserves praise. We're not seeing all the other probably thousands of other graffiti writers from various countries stepping up to apologize, are we?
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yabits
Sheeeyiiit...
How many of the thousands of other writers wrote the name of their school and took pictures while doing it?
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OssanULTRA
"How many of the thousands of other writers wrote the name of their school and took pictures while doing it?"
Don't know since I can't read & write 10 or more different languages. Can you? Also, are you suggesting that by remaining anonymous enough not to "get caught" then there is no moral obligation to come forward and apologize?
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Blue_Tiger
This young lady should have gone to jail, plain and simple. Spraying graffiti on a treaure such as the Duomo in Florence and she gets off by forking over E600??? She's fortunate not to be skulking away in a Floentine jail. I certainly have no praise for her. If she really wanted to apologize, why'd she do it in front of a tee-vee camera?
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yabits
I am suggesting that this incident does not imply any moral superiority on the part of the Japanese involved in it. And some posters using it to infer such a thing is a worse smear on others than what this girl did.
The question is would she have acted as she did if she had remained anonymous. That, we will never know. But I highly doubt it.
Far too much was made of the incident to begin with, and far too much show is being made of of this "atonement."
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some14some
Publicity stunt to cover up wrong doing for 600 euros= 20 days parttime job. Nothing to do with moral values.
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GJDailleult
I'm amazed that so many people here are still peddling the idea that this story is about graffiti, and the horrible crime of defacing a cathedral. Fair enough, everybody is entitled to an opinion. And if you could explain how it is that the Italian authorities responded to this horrible crime by doing nothing, and the Italian public found it so offensive that they were actually not offended at all, then maybe your opinion might start to make some sense. Until somebody explains that disconnect to me, I will stick with my opinion. Japanese girl offends some folks sense of Japaneseness. Offended busybodies then stick their noses into girl's business. Girl responds with excessive, over-the-top apology. In other words, a typical, run-of-the-mill Japanese soap opera, given some extra sizzle with an exotic foreign location. Nothing more than that.
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supuncho
Hahaha blue tiger you know nohting about this subject. The wall is filled with graffiti from top to bottom from people all over the world(must be over 200 graffiti). She was praised in the Italian media(for her apology) and the people who take care of the site were impressed by her also saying to her smile before you leave here please and hugged her. blue tiger just say and admit you just wanna bash people.
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westurn
"at her own expense"
Hogwash ! Try "at mom and dad's expense" ! Isn't that what this is all about anyway, the family has been shamed ! I bet they can't even put their heads out their genkan ! Bwahaha !
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Blue_Tiger
supuncho - Bash people, no; merely point out that stupid is as stupid does, yes. And, yes, I know quite a bit aobut the subject, thank you....
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imagawa
This whole thing smells like a set up.
"the university’s visiting rector, Yukitoshi Matsuda."
How did that come to happen just at the "right" time?
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