I know. It's fair to say that almost every building put up
Everywhere in the last eighty years is, at best plain, quite
Often, ugly. Sometimes, that's not cause for sorrow.
In Las Vegas, in Dubai or any other desert city, ugly
Buildings can't detract from the unsightly lands they're
In, but Honshu isn't ugly. With its beaches, and its
Forests, and its mountains, it's a charming land,
And, once upon a time, the buildings which were put
Upon it honored it: the Shinto shrines and Buddhist
Temples, Shoguns' castles, all of which, with sturdy
Timbers, upturned eaves, were beautiful as their
Surroundings. Most, alas, have been destroyed,
And in their places, one now finds such comprehensive
Ugliness that Honshu's beauty's dearly sullied. One
Might fail to notice it, and call the place Dubai.