Sunday May 27, 2012

At Liberty

Picture of the Day ( 26 )

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AP

High school students pose for a photo by a damaged replica of the Statue of Liberty in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture.

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26 Comments

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  • -9

    some14some

    This is the only "Liberty" high school students have in Japan(?)

  • 0

    paulinusa

    This Liberty reminds me of those Greek statues in museums with missing parts.

  • -7

    Asagao

    Symbolism is intense...the collapse of the American economy and the rise of China.

  • 2

    JapanGal

    I think it is the same copy of the one on top of a love hotel in yokohama.

  • -4

    NetNinja

    Wow, JapanGal, you get around. Don't worry, I've seen it too. Very ...cough cough....liberating place isn't it?

  • -1

    calm down

    Hope it wasn't found washed ashore on some beach..planet of the apes meets 13 samurai.I'd go.

  • 2

    cactusJack

    "Damn you all to hell!" - Charlton Heston

  • -2

    Noripinhead

    Are they imitating John Travolta's dance moves from "Saturday Night Fever"?

  • 0

    Virtuoso

    I think it is the same copy of the one on top of a love hotel in yokohama.

    That's the statue on top of the New York hotel in Tsurumi-ku, right? (Blush)

  • -2

    anglootaku

    It looks like it was used in a B grade movie prop

  • 0

    smithinjapan

    JapanGal: There's also one on top of a kitchy store in Namba, Osaka. At least in that case you can understand the idea of a replica a little better since it's in 'Ame-mura' (America Town). I don't know why Japan has so many replicas of the Statue of Liberty, but at least it looks like these kids are having a bit of fun.

  • -1

    LoveNot

    Maybe they shall reinforce the statue, it would be dangerous if it collapsed although it is very good monument of the earthquake. Agree with people who think there are too many replicas of this statue around.

  • 0

    It"S ME

    Sorry, but that chain succors, our local one is a real dive. Way better 50metres up the road.

  • 1

    Farmboy

    I've seen those hotels that folks are talking about, and they are usually next to egyptian pyramids and other tall, monumental items. This statue, however, actually was a tourist attraction, not a love hotel, and is still visited because it survived the tsunami, which was seen as a symbol of perserverence (light through a storm?) by some.

  • -3

    oikawa

    Is it not a bit disrespectful to pose for a jokey tourist style photo in front of the remains of your town, or someone else's recently damaged town?

  • 0

    Maria

    I like this picture a lot. It's not at all disrespectful - they've adopted a forward-looking pose of strength and unity before a battered and broken symbol of liberty and freedom and justice.

  • 0

    JapanGal

    Why is there a string attached to the girls wrist and the soft cream on top?

  • -4

    T_rexmaxytime

    I think I saw this at the love hotel I used to go to with my super hot ex girlfriend. Don' be jealous!

  • -4

    j4p4nFTW

    Symbolism is intense...the collapse of the American economy and the rise of China.

    Puhleeaze! American Exceptionalism renders that impossible.

  • 1

    CptCrunch

    I can only laugh at posts about the statues at love hotels presented with trepidation. What a repressed lot!

    I love Japan's flashy reminders of the joy of sex. I also love that they don't instantly tear down damaged statues in a hyper-reactive bid at public safety.

  • 0

    Fadamor

    Why is there a string attached to the girls wrist and the soft cream on top?

    I originally thought she was going to pull the arm down and bonk the left-hand guy on his head, but closer inspection seems to indicate this is just an illusion created by camera angle and perspective. The "string" seems to be one of the extension cords powering the string of lights and disappears into the broken part of the statue. The string around her wrist is just a bracelet.

  • 0

    Darren Brannan

    Megumi..once an African slave, now a Greek goddess. Hey is that a UFO in the background? Independence day Ishinomaki style.

  • -1

    oikawa

    Maria, maybe, but these kids probably have no idea what it stands for, and peace, freedom and justice don't have much connection with a massive tsunami.

  • 0

    CptCrunch

    I sure would not want to sit next to Liberty at the theatre while she has that headdress on! Would probably make a great short film to have Liberty going on dates, and all of them ruined by those spikes on her head!

  • 0

    Farmboy

    these kids probably have no idea what it stands for...

    "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me..."

    Sad to say, now it's more like "send the bums home."

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