Shinto

I hadn't noticed before today but the Kyoto Garden donated by the Chamber of Commerce of Kyoto in 1991 in Holland Park has been renamed the Fukushima Garden.

Today the first officially diagnosed cancer sufferer has been reported after the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant incident in 2011.

My father worked in the nuclear industry as part of his National Service after the war, he told me fairly scary stories about how they dealt with radioactive material, although none of his colleagues died as a result.

When I visited Hiroshima recently and heard about the harrowing consequences of the bomb, they seemed to be relatively short term (manifesting themselves within 5-10 years). Interestingly our guide told us that they were saved by a hurricane which whipped away the radiation in the atmosphere shortly after (disaster or purging, who knows).

Anyway today I am taking time out for peace and quiet. It's half term so the normally tranquil gardens are punctuated by noisy kids. 

The Japanese Shinto religion says you are born without sin and that ritual cleansing allows you to start again. Sadly we are not allowed to cleans ourself in this water, then again I haven't committed any sins recently (obviously not trying hard enough).