kimono-clad kid being a kid (harajuku, tokyo)

Posted by timothy sullivan (Tokyo, Japan) on 11 November 2007 in People & Portrait.

..and, like all children, these kimono-clad youngsters get tired. they get restless. they want to play.

the grounds of meijijingu shrine are covered with gravel pathways; kids of all cultures seem to be entranced by these Little stones-- they squat and meticulously pick through stone by stone until they find a particularly unique one. excitedly, they jump up, show their parent sand/or grandparents-- and plop down, repeating the process over and over again.

or instead, they build small mounds of gravel. mounds attract the attention of other kids, who run over and want to have their own small mound of stones nearby.

i always have a chuckle at the parents; it also becomes immediately clear of what kind of parent they are. some parents immediately scold their children; they tug at their child's arm, tell them to drop the dirty rocks. i always sigh when i see these parents; they tend to be the ones talking on their cell phone while they admonish their child-- and tend to nitpick and fuss over their child's appearance.

my favorite parents, however, are the ones who just sigh and smile and shrug. they help their kids find that perfect stone, or they let their children take a little time to build gravel-mounds. seeing these parents-- the amount of affection for and understanding of their children, and recognizing that their children are still children-- makes me so warm inside.
(day 3 of 8)

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