Conflict of ethics

landscape photograph of body of water

Yesterday at the ruins of Koyo high school I came across a thought that stumped me. Once you pass through the old school and through a short gallery, there is a video of the people affected by the disaster (Spoiler alert if you're going to go there).

One such video is of a firefighter. He spends all night out fighting fires and doesn't get any sleep. But the toughest part was that since it's his responsibility to fight fires, it meant he wasn't able to go searching for his wife. It turns out, the next day his wife's body was found elsewhere.

I often give the Japanese stick for prioritizing work over family life. But in this case, I'm conflicted. Is this just an isolated case? Or is it just different for the men and women in this line of work? I resolved it with the latter, but you could also argue that it's just something that someone in that situation would do, without thinking of their family, believing them to be safe, and trusting them to know how to look after themselves.

Either way, this was a good exercise, and I intend to think more on it from now.

ENJOYED THIS? HAVE MORE.

MOUNTAINS OF WISDOM

Subscribe to my yamabushi newsletter

RECENT BLOG POSTS

a white door with red lever above a warning sign
The Lever
black and white photo of clocks
Long-term Decisions
blank paper with pen and coffee cup on wood table
It’s not the coffee.

YAMABUSHI BLOG POSTS

Dewa Sanzan: The Trifecta
You got your back
Make sure you get some rest

RANDOM POSTS

Nature is the medicine
woman draw a light bulb in white board
Tsubuyaki Ranting
6 to 6 and The one screen rule
Tim Bunting Kiwi Yamabushi

Tim Bunting Kiwi Yamabushi

Get In Touch

Sakata City, Yamagata, Japan 

tim@timbunting.com

Share this:

Like this:

Like Loading...
Scroll to Top
%d