Two Suns

Today I had an inspiration for a bit of political/artistic treatment of our boat.  I installed the toko today, the large beam that spans the transom and is used to haul boats like this  ashore (or up a marina ramp) at the end of the day.  I was thinking about various ways to deal with the ends of the beam, and I have seen geometric patterns and painted designs on other Japanese boats, as well as copper covering.  

Then I realized the rectangular ends were perfect for the Bengali and Japanese flags.  Both flags feature a red circle in the center, the Bengali with a green background and the Japanese white.  

I asked one of the interpreters, a Japanese woman who lived in Bangladesh, to ask the artist painting the bus if he would paint the flags for us.  He stopped by with his paint and within ten minutes the job was done.  

The Japanese flag is a red disk on a white background, the Bengali a red disk on a greed background.  The Japanese flag represents the sun, while the Bengali flag represents both the sun and the blood of those who died in their war for independence, with the green background representing the fertile land of Bangladesh.

Just as the artist finished I noticed a gorgeous sunset breaking over the harbor.  As we packed up in the dark that same part of the sky was streaked with lightning.