Maia Madison
The March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami in eastern Japan was one of the most devastating natural disasters in Japanese history. What began at 2:46pm lasted far longer than the initial event, and years later communities affected by the disaster have still not fully recovered. For the residents of the eastern coast regions, the March 11 event was traumatic beyond words. Nonetheless, post-disaster narratives show a remarkable calmness and understanding, part of which we can attribute to the concept of gaman. Anger and frustration were present as well, of course. Through video and written testimonies, we find a struggle between trying to see the positive, and being unable to forget the feelings of despair and loss that followed the quake and tsunami. Over time, memories and memoirs changed and reflected the importance of learning from disaster, and appreciating the importance of community.
Reactions and emotional responses to the event ranged from anger and frustration to optimism. Towns such as Rikuzentakata lost about 10% of its population, and many communities were essentially reduced to a pile of rubble and debris. Although aid was present, the extreme bureaucracy of the government which often hindered relief was a source of annoyance for many. In particular, one policy directed that a “victim” was a person who had lost their home–thus anyone whose home remained, even if they had lost family members and businesses, was not considered a victim. Takahiro Nishimura, an associate professor from Sendai, expresses his frustration and his worry about the suffering of the people of Sendai in the following interview.
https://www.youtu.be/jAgsYhQvWTU
As Nishimura mentions, “The atmosphere that says it is only those who lost their houses that can talk about 3/11 is belittling this event called 3/11”. In addition, he explains how ”3/11 hurt everybody at home and abroad in various ways”. The shock that accompanies the loss of so much can hardly be put into words, and cultural norms of stifling one’s own problems for the sake of group can lead to further emotional strife. News coverage in the months and year following the disaster, for example, would often focus on a few regions (Fukushima, Tohoku) when in fact 9 prefectures had been affected by the disaster. Furthermore, while most foreign media coverage subsided after a year, the affected areas in Japan were still very much affected. Nishimura also touches on an important issue of emotional health, noting that “people have been suffering more after 3/11 than from the event itself. I feel such silent weariness among the people.” Survivor’s guilt was part of this weariness, and Nishimura even says that in Sendai as a whole, “people still feel a sense of indebtedness or guilt”.
Kazuya Sakurai was another survivor of the disaster who shared a similar frustration with the government and the way things were handled after the tsunami.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=48&v=MhMXTcbGIRs
Sakurai describes his frustration during the first month when he wanted to help out but was unable to. He even goes as far as to say “it is partly a man made disaster caused by vertical academic or administrative structures.” The difficulty caused by excessive bureaucracy in the distribution of goods and services and general aid to survivors following the disaster caused unnecessary stress and oftentimes a slow response. However, what Sakurai also mentions, and what has been echoed among many other disaster victims, is the need to learn from the experience. As he reminds us, “We must strive to pass on our experiences to future generations”, and “we must leave our wisdom for 1000 years or more”. The importance of preparedness for disaster has been keenly noted by individuals and cities as they reconstruct with the hope of avoiding future destruction.
Another survivor also sees the need to remember and learn from March 11.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6iQYreNZ54
Teppei Kajika, who has since documented his reactions to March 11 through his music, urges “everybody not only in Japan but in the world should not let this disaster pass as something temporary”. As mentioned previously, all news stories have a limited shelf life and the disaster in Japan is now reported on infrequently at best, but survivors and others alike maintain the necessity of remembering the event. Kajika laments the gap in intensity of compassion, claiming how some Japanese think “”people over there must be having a hard time” and that’s it”, not acting further to help disaster victims. However, he also admits that even through the struggle, the disaster came with opportunity, as he says, “We have to face it. It frustrates me a lot. But as an experience, it might be something that will strengthen me and this city to build an even better city. So I don’t want 3/11 to be just about sorrow and frustration.” Rikuzentakata, a city not far from Sendai, is one such example of trying to build a better city, and their mayor hopes new construction can make it completely accessible and even a site to host the paralympics. So while March 11 is not just about sorrow and frustration, these certainly play a central role. One of his final sentiments, “I hope I will be thinking everyday that March 11, 2011 made me who I am” is something that every person affected by the disaster surely relates to.
Despite the frustrations expressed by some, positivity also prevailed. In this interview with Mika Nakagawa, she explains how her home was destroyed yet she manages to put things in perspective with other disaster victims:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTLkdOQQ93k
Nakagawa shares the experience of she and her family, how “Valuable things were broken and we lost many mementos in the quake. But compared to those who lost everything in the tsunami, we are fortunate since there are some things left, although they are broken”. She also thinks herself lucky that her house was cleared quickly after it collapsed (in contrast to neighbors who might wait for years), and expressed confidence in future reconstruction, saying “We knew things would be restored as time goes by”.
In 2012, the Higashi-matsushima city library compiled testimonies of survivors in which they share their personal experience of the quake and tsunami. It is in these testimonies where we see a surprising optimism and strong sense of gratitude for those who helped during and after the disaster. One survivor, Sachiko Takeda, describes the work environment after the quake, recounting, “Some of our staff members voluntarily made rice balls and miso soup, and brought warm clothes and blankets for other devastated staff members. Seeing their actions, I thought Japan was not as hopeless as I had thought. At that time, members of the staff who were capable have supported others from a spirit of mutual aid. I too, was greatly supported by them” (Sachiko Takeda, “Gratitude”, 24). Takeda’s appreciation for her colleagues is reflective of many of the testimonies taken in the years following the quake. Ayumi Okuda shared, “When I felt I was finally safe, I sincerely felt that I didn’t need anything else as long as I was alive. Since I survived, I would like to live the rest of my life never forgetting that feeling. I hope my town recovers from the earthquake without further delay. I realized a lot of things from this disaster. I suppose that this earthquake provided an important lesson/message to us all. I want to live keeping that in my mind” (Ayumi Okuda, “Gratitude”, 4). Takeda’s spirit is admirable, especially considering that during the time these testimonies were taken, very little progress had been made in some areas for reconstruction and return to normalcy. Nonetheless, those who were able to take the earthquake as a lesson for the future seemed to fare relatively well. Another survivor, Kiyomi Tsuda, quotes her sister; “if we had never experienced what we experienced [the disaster], we never would have had the opportunity to learn that we are surrounded by kind people” (Kiyomi Tsuda, “Gratitude”, 7). Indeed, following the quake an outpouring of support from all around the world was instrumental in providing survivors with basic necessities and aid.
However, also present in the Higashi-matsushima testimonies were instances of regret and survivor’s guilt. Takako Matsutani recalls how “When my mother protected by 4, 2, and 1 year-old kids, I couldn’t do anything. I regretted that I left my kids in the first place, and it took a while for me to get over it” (Takako Matsutani, “Experience”, 17). In another testimony, Masao Takeda describes how “When the water levels gradually started to decrease, I realized that my wife was missing. She had gone back to get the dog from our house, but out house was swept away by the tsunami…my guess is she was swept away too. If I realized beforehand, I could have stopped her from running back…I can’t regret it enough. She is still missing” (Masao Takeda, “Gratitude”, 1).
At this point we begin to see a difference between the accounts written directly after the event and the testimonies taken over a year later. Initially the destruction from the disaster which left every aspect of life in disrepair was what occupied peoples’ minds as they struggled with a complete lack of basic routines. However, after over a year in which most people were living in temporary housing, separated from the community where they originally lived and probably missing family members and friends, yet with some sense of stability, more time for reflection led to sentiments of both guilt and gratitude. The struggle between dealing with the reality of loss and destruction and trying to remain optimistic was omnipresent, and often affected people’s memories of the disaster. Over time their memories may change again. Some aspects of life begin to return to normal while others remain starkly absent, prompting survivors to focus their memoirs on that which they lost.