Last month, rice disappeared from supermarket shelves, causing a situation called the “Reiwa rice riot.” Now that this year’s new rice has been released, it has become somewhat easier to obtain, but the number of rice in stores has drastically decreased and the price has soared. In fact, around March, the author predicted that there would be a temporary rice shortage before the new rice was released based on the inventory status and price of a major online shopping site, so he purchased one more bag than usual and was able to keep the stock up until the new rice was released. A little realization saved the day.

In modern society, various information can be obtained instantly by simply tapping a smartphone. The amount of information that modern people are exposed to in a day is said to be the same as a person in the Edo period in one year and the same as a person in the Muromachi period in one lifetime. Naturally, the brain cannot process it, so it automatically shuts out things that do not affect one’s life or topics that do not interest one. As a result, people stop thinking and only get excited or upset about the information that is in front of them. The signs of the rice problem mentioned above had been there since spring, so there was plenty of time to deal with it, but many people ended up panicking after the rice disappeared from store shelves. Seeing this, I felt like I was being shown the reality of how modern people’s senses have become dulled and they are losing the wisdom to live.
Then I remembered a story I had heard before about the lifestyle and wisdom of people living in old thatched-roof houses. For example, fire is essential for people to live, whether it’s for cooking, keeping warm, or heating the bath. Naturally, houses made of wood and thatch are flammable. Therefore, their senses are sharpened so that they can immediately notice even the slightest abnormality. Therefore, they are highly capable of detecting dangers and problems other than fire.

By the way, there are strict rules for handling fire to protect homes from the risk of fire that could wipe out a village, but it is said that three generations must live together to ensure that these rules are passed on to the next generation. When I heard this story, it coincided with the fact that the term of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force’s Blue Impulse is three years. In the first year, Blue Impulse members concentrate on learning how to perform while on standby for training, and in the second year, they perform demonstration flights while on standby for missions. Then, in the third year, they perform demonstration flights while training the first-year members as instructors. I realized that the wisdom of people in the past was passed down by children taking on roles such as first-year members of Blue Impulse, parents taking on roles such as second-year members, and grandparents taking on roles such as third-year members.
In modern society, where nuclear families have become the norm and such wisdom is no longer passed down, it may be inevitable that people’s senses have become significantly dulled. If the world were a place where there were no major natural disasters and infrastructure such as railways operated accurately, that would not be a problem. However, considering the risk of a major earthquake in the Nankai Trough and the impact of large typhoons that come every year, we cannot afford to be so relaxed. I feel that we are now in an age where we are required to look at society from a broad perspective rather than being swayed by the information in front of us, and to deal with any concerns early on.

※Translating Japanese articles into English with AI