At what point...? / To what extent...?

Revisiting 1991 again today, I looked at the shotengai street near the north exit of Hibarigaoka Station and realized that the 2022 version has changed quite a lot compared to the 1991 version.  Change to places generally happens incrementally, with each change being of varying degrees.  [Video] 

As a starting point, imagine a single independently owned and operated shop and what changes it might undergo over time:

- Different owners.  The shop may look exactly the same, but with different people running it, that's a notable change for the people who shop there.  For people just passing by, they would probably have no idea that something is different.

- The same owners, but a change in what's for sale.  Again, this is a notable change for people shopping there, but - depending on how visible the change in merchandise is - people walking by might have no idea that anything has changed.  Or, if the type of merchandise looks radically different, someone looking in the window may think how times have changed... but have they?  With the same owners, and if the merchandise has somewhat similar uses as the previously sold merchandise, it could be that there is very little substantive change and it's just a visual shift, etc.

- The building is torn down and rebuilt.  This will likely be a very large visual change (although I've seen some buildings torn down and the newly constructed ones don't actually look at that much different than what they replaced).  Once the shop is open again in the new building, have the owners and/or the merchandise changed?

- Everything is the same - the same owners, the same merchandise, the same building.  But after several decades, young customers are people who hadn't been born yet when the shop opened.  With many changes in customers and in the surrounding area, the shop has become something different by way of contrast - an element with a different meaning than it used to have.

I could go on further with more examples of different types of changes that could affect one shop and how people perceive it, but presumably that's enough to illustrate my point - that there is always change - of one kind or another, perceived or not perceived.  Which is why I usually end up being irritated by people who watch a video showing part of Tokyo and comment that "nothing has changed" (全然変わってない), which is simply not possible for any area of Tokyo over three decades!

As an exaggerated statement, I suppose you can say that, but that comment  全然変わってない is sometimes made on a video that has countless very obvious changes.  Different buildings, different cars, different hair styles, different clothes, etc. etc. and then I invariably think whoever made the comment is disconnected from reality, or unable to perceive their world in any detail... 現実ハズレ？

Anyway, there is always change - of one kind or another!  The better you know a place, the more you will perceive changes to it over time.

Oh... the title "At what point...? / To what extent...?".  I made half of that title before I began writing this - thinking "At what point is it proper to say that a place has completely changed?" and - looking over what I've written above, I suppose "To what extent can a place actually stay the same?" might be better?.....

Change... it's a fascinating thing - and impossible to precisely pin down, but generally interesting to think about.  - Lyle H Saxon

www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/  youtube.com/lylehsaxon  lylehsaxon.blogspot.jp/