The Japanese bullet train, also known as the Shinkansen, has been a renowned cultural icon and engineering marvel since its inception in 1964. It enables passengers to travel up to 200 mph between major cities like Tokyo and Osaka. Known for its punctuality, the trains are always on time and even slight delays of a few seconds are covered in the news and apologized for by the company.
Despite its efficiency, dependability, and safety, with zero passenger fatalities due to derailments or collisions in over 50 years, Skyler paints the Shinkansen on a blizzardy day to question the huge resources that have been dedicated to transporting over a quarter-million people daily between cities under various human agendas. The painting raises concerns about whether individuals don't have other important things to do closer to home or outside the shinkansen corridor and whether it is wise to travel under conditions their ancestors would have considered ill-advised.
