Photo/Illutration Tapes are wrapped around playground devices to ban children from using them in a park in Tokyo's Minato Ward on April 28. (The Asahi Shimbun)

It’s been a while since children’s laughter and happy squeals have ceased to resonate in schoolyards and playgrounds.

In a normal year, now is about the time when youngsters would be getting used to their new classmates and raring to go outside and play to their hearts’ content.

The prolonged self-isolation, mandated by the novel coronavirus crisis, must be quite hard on growing children.

“The more the kid likes school and is outdoorsy by nature, the more they tend to feel the blues,” said Hiromi Tanaka, 38, who has been living under virtual house arrest with her husband and two children--a fifth-grader girl and a kindergarten boy.

Tanaka has a friend whose child wouldn’t get out of bed because there is nowhere to go. And another friend’s child started crying during breakfast, blubbering, “I can’t take this anymore.”

To give youngsters an activity they can really get into at home, Tanaka started a group for making so-called missanga bracelets, which are fashioned from knotted embroidery floss, thread or gimp. Similar to friendship bracelets, they are a kind of good luck charm worn on the wrist or the ankle.

Tanaka delivers the materials to the homes of group members. The finished products are gifted to the children’s grandparents or donated to welfare and health care institutions.

The threads used are those of Olympus Thread Mfg. Co., a major maker of handicraft supplies and the supporter of this project.

The activity has gotten everyone--boys as well as girls--royally hooked.

“I realized acutely how bored these kids must have been, having no outlet for their energy,” Tanaka said.

This spring has deprived youngsters of their places to play and time to spend with their mates and severely limited their chances to study and learn. The “density” of one year is incomparably greater for young people than for adults. The same goes for the weight of what they are being forced to endure.

The Asahi Shimbun’s “Kadan” poetry section recently ran this piece by Sumiko Ito: “Will they come to be called the ‘corona generation’ a few years from now? I just want these kids to be happy and healthy while their schools remain closed.”

May 5 is Children’s Day in Japan, a national holiday when “koinobori” carp streamers are hoisted to wish for children’s healthy growth.

I want all kids to be able to take a deep breath of contentment next year.

--The Asahi Shimbun, May 5

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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