A Visit to the Coastal Area Affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami

 　The 4^th of September saw twenty-two workers from Aiina go on an observation trip to coastal areas affected by last year’s tsunami. We departed from Morioka at 7:30 a.m., and first stopped off at the Miyako City Office. From there, we went to the Omoe Fisheries Co-Operative.

The Fisheries Co-Operative performs an important function for the inhabitants of Omoe. The principal of Omoe Elementary School (our next stop) emphasized the critical importance of that organization for Omoe. The Omoe Fisheries Co-Operative’s representative told us that a reliance on external aid inhibits the region’s independence. “While we are very thankful for the aid, we must never depend too much on it,” he told us.

　After that, we moved on to the Taro area. There, the local fire corps chief and the head of “Taro-chan House” (a temporary retailer cooperative formed from twenty-two shops in Miyako City) guided us around the area of Taro Station. When the tsunami happened, it was the fire corps volunteers who had to close the gate of the seawall. They told us that several people died during this process, as well. The chief described to us how terrifying the job was. We were then taken to the top floor of the five-storey Taro Kanko Hotel, which was damaged up to the third floor. There, we were shown images that had not been shown to the media. These were taken from the fifth floor of the hotel, with other footage taken from other areas of high ground by local residents. We had never seen such disastrous images before.

　Lastly, we stopped by Taro-chan House. It is a jointly-run store that was established by local retailers. It was put together to service residents of the large-scale temporary housing built on the property of GEENPIA Sanriku Miyako Hotel. They provide several services that help make life easier for people in the area, such as retail shops, bento shops, barbers, cram schools, etc.

　What we can do now to help with the recovery is to purchase products from the affected coastal areas, and not to let the memory of this disaster fade. Elderly residents we spoke to expressed their desire to be given a forum where they could speak and people would listen.

 


（Iwate International Association 9/21/2012）

Emotional Support Through Glasswork Beads

Akemi Furukawa from one of Japan’s devastated areas

An exhibition of glasswork beads by Kamaishi City’s Akemi Furukawa (51), entitled  “Glasswork Beads Glittering in the Early Summer Sun,” will be open at the Nonohanasha Café in Nagayama, Shidzukuishi until the 11^th of June. The exhibition holds around 100 works, from flowers buried in transparent glass to ceramic glass painted with Japanese designs; a miniature world inside delicate and vivid glass beads.

Last year’s tsunami destroyed Furukawa’s home in Unosumai Town, washing away the all the tools and works she had kept in her workshop. While considering what she should and could do, she kept thinking, “I just don’t want to give up glasswork.”

Seiko Shirasaki, a friend of Furukawa’s who also holds works in the exhibition, invited Furukawa to move to Niigata prefecture, which she did in September of last year. With a compressor and burner provided by the teacher who taught her glassworking, she was finally able to get back into the mood to create.

The beads Furukawa makes are comprised of tiny parts which she manufactures by hand from colored glass, the flowers represented in each bead finely worked down to the last vein of each leaf. The glass she uses is delicate and can crack if heated too quickly; the small parts inside the beads can melt if too much heat is applied. On the other hand, if the heating temperature is too low, the compounds in the material will not bond and the beads will remain opaque.

“It’s work that can’t be re-done. You have to concentrate hard the entire time.”  The glasswork creations require absolute concentration, but to Furukawa, the time she spends glassworking is priceless. Nowadays, she works part-time, taking up glassworking on her days off. “I’m able to calm down and forget about things while I work,” she says. Glasswork bead-making has become Furukawa’s emotional sustenance.

Her next ambition is to create a series of works with fruits, leaves and winter scenes as motifs. “I want to make works that give a sense of excitement to adults, like the excitement felt by children looking at grape beads and heart-shaped necklaces at festivals,” she says.

（Morioka Times　6/5/2012） 

Northeast Japan Rokkonsai

Festival Ends Exceeding Expectations with 240,000 Participants

The Rokkonsai festival, representing the 6 Northeast Japan prefectures, was held this year in Morioka city, sponsored by the Rokkonsai executive committee. The parades unfolded magnificently from Morioka city’s Chuuodori and Maruyama districts, ending without incident on May 27^th. Lively performances captured the audiences, while all around the air was filled with Northeast Japan’s energy to “Revive as One” from the earthquake disaster. According to presentations from the Rokkonsai hosts, there were 130,000 visitors on the second day of the festival, the entire length of the festival exceeding all expectations with a total of 240,000 visitors.

The Rokkonsai parade, which holds performers from the 6 Northeast Japan prefectures, began at 12 noon, with crowds so large that entrants to the festival had to be restricted. As the participants, all from 6 different prefectures, finished the parade and prepared to return to the festival site, they were surrounded by visitors with applause and loud cries of “Thank you!” and “It was wonderful!”. 

Tsuyoshi Kawamura, 65, of Morioka’s Higashimatsuzono district, was one of the lucky sightseers who managed to get a front-row view of the parade. “It was the best. I was deeply touched, knowing that the performers had all come from different areas to perform for everyone,” he responded with heartfelt emotion. Tomoe Numahata, 47, a visitor from Aomori’s Hachinohe city, said that she felt “very satisfied, being able to see six different festivals in the same place. [She] enjoyed it very much.”

The deep emotion was affluent in the festival performers as well. A　participant in the Rokkonsai festival held in Sendai as well as a Sansa Odori Seiryuu Association member, Rui Abe (30, Oushuu City), says that “the Rokkonsai Festival in Sendai was chaos, and several of the visitors spoke very harshly to me. But this time, the festival was held partly as a means of revival after the earthquake, and it was very pleasant.” Hajime Saitou, an enthusiastic performer of the Akita Kantou Festival, 44, explained that he “wants to see some courage brought to the disaster-stricken areas.”

At the closing ceremony, everybody gathered around the specially set stage in the Morioka castle remains park. Rokkonsai Executive committee member Hiroaki Tanifuji spoke words of gratitude that “[we] were able to share the Touhoku people’s enthusiasm and feelings of reconstruction with the rest of Japan.”

Various opinions on the festival and the future of the Touhoku region were heard during the festival. Katsutoshi Motomochi of Morioka’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry said that he felt “the prefectures were able to express their earnestness [about reconstruction]. This will have a considerable effect on the Touhoku region’s revival.” He continued in a bracing tone that “We must use these festivals as a means of stimulation [for reconstruction]. “

Many hotels and restaurants in Morioka said they had great success due to the influx of visitors to the festival, but there were some shop owners who said that they were unable to sell many of their goods. Liquor store owner Kazushige Yoshimoto, 47, remarked that “Iwate prefecture should call in more people to send to the devastated coastal areas.”

Morioka did experience traffic throughout the city, but it was well directed and no chaos ensued. A total of 269 temporary sightseeing buses stopped at the festival, 5,300 cars came to park in the prepared spaces for the festival, and shuttle buses ran a total of 345 times to and from the festival grounds to the parking lot carrying a whopping 12,756 people back and forth throughout the weekend. A total of 62 people visited the first aid stations; 10 people were transported by ambulance due to heat stroke.

（Morioka Times　5/28/2012）

Recovery Support Tours

Trips entitled “Recovery Support Tour” from big travel companies are set to visit Ofunato, one after the other, as of this month. The first tour is scheduled until the 3^rd, and goes to the Sakari Station on the Sanriku Railroad. It wins popularity, not only for the donko-soup sightseers are treated to aboard a stationary train, but also for the souvenirs sold in the station’s waiting room.

This time’s tour was put together by Club Tourism in Tokyo, with the cooperation of Mosaba Rohas Club. The tour is entitled “Hang in there, Tohoku! Recovery Support Tour”, and after departing metropolitan areas, the tour headed to Ofunato from Iwaizumi, and down to Sanriku for 2 nights, 3 days.

According to the city of Ofunato, the tour consisted of 33 tourists from Chiba, and 24 from Yokohama. On the last day of the tour, the party of tourists stopped by Sakari Station and gathered aboard a stationary train where they were treated to donko-soup. The dish is very familiar to Kesen, and Vice-Chairman Mitsue Kumagai of Mosaba Rohas Club explains the fishing method and the unique swollen shape they are given after extracting the guts from the mouth of the fish. Many favorable reviews followed.

Kumagai also explains how after the heavy damages received by each of the coastal areas, fishermen were left without the fishing boats essential to their work. While expressing thanks for the all the support received up until now, and the “delight that tourists have come back so soon”, an exchange was cultivated.

Many tourists also make their way to and enjoy shopping at Santetsu Sakari Station’s Fureai Waiting Room, set up by NPO Yume Net Ofunato. There is much interest in the various items produced not only by local merchants but also by residents from the temporary housing units.

The Mosaba Rohas Club plans to treat groups to donko-soup every second day until the middle of this month. Kumagai also says that they are aiming to re-build the “Marugoto Taiken-kan” that was is Okirai during May. “I hope that we can develop an experience with the help of the fishermen who are back on their feet”.

The 3 Kesen Tourism-related groups that make up the Sanriku Kesen Tourism Council opened a “Tourism Fair” at Ginza’s Iwate Ginga Plaza in Tokyo, in January. They not only made direct sales to those who came to the fair, but also went around to the travel agencies in the metropolitan areas, and while proposing their “Recovery Tours to the Kesen Area” that includes routes that visit now world heritage Hiraizumi, promoted their group tours.

They say that interest and inquiries into their group tours to the area have increased. Even in Ofunato, subsidies towards the tours have begun and they are planning the attraction of tourists from a wide range of viewpoints.

（Tokai Shinpo　3/4/2012）

2 tonne truck of supplies arrive - Supplies reach the Filipino community of Ofunato and Rikuzen Takata

The Morioka-Manila Scholarship Association, who provides support for the education of children in Manila, has also been providing support for Filipino women and families living in Rikuzen Takata and Ofunato, where there was much damage from the tsunami.

These women, who decided to leave their home towns to come and live in Iwate, are kind and strong. 

On the 4th, 13 Filipino women from Morioka and the Morioka-Manila Scholarship Association, visited the Village Center in Takkon-cho, Ofunato, with clothing and other supplies. There, they met other Filipino women and families living in Ofunato and Rikuzen Takata, and Filipinos from Catholic churches involved in support activities. In the assembly room, they handed out a 2 tonne truck’s worth of supplies provided by Morioka’s Victim Support Team, SAVE IWATE,　which included clothing, blankets, diapers, and milk, etc.
The room was filled with Tagalog, English and Japanese, and within less than an hour, all the supplies had been handed out.

From Rikuzen Takata, Emily Suzuki (35), mother of 3 young girls, gathers diapers from the supplies while a member from the Morioka-Manila Scholarship Association watches her children. She shows a relieved expression as she says, “thanks, that helps a lot”.

A luncheon was held after the exchange, and after a few words of prayer from Father Gary Gestoveo, everybody enjoyed some home-style cooking.


A Strong Community

Marifé Sugawara (47), a leader of the Filipinos, lost her Yonesakicho home in the tsunami. Thankfully, her husband and two young sons were safe. For a while, her husband had to return to his old house, but three months ago, he returned and the four of them are now living in temporary housing.
The factory of the electronic component company he was working at was destroyed in the disaster, and he now works at the grilled chicken processing plant of the same company. It takes him more than 30mins by car from the temporary housing to the factory.
“And it costs a lot in gasoline. I wish I could work close to home”. Whilst he is grateful for the support, he reveals his concerns, saying, “it will be tough if we have to rebuild our home”.
According to Marifé, there are about 70 Filipinos in Ofunato and Rikuzen Takata. Of those, 15 from Rikuzen Takata and 4 from Ofunato lost their homes in the tsunami. Even for those who didn’t lose their homes, some have lost their jobs which has made living tough. Before the disaster, there were many Filipinos working at food or electronic parts factories, as well as working late nights at restaurants. Many of them have families with Japanese men and are raising children. The trial still continues, but the tsunami has passed and the Filipino community has become close knit and stronger. Marifé says that “the feeling of responsibility to protect my friends and family is what keeps me going”.
Loved like an older sister from all around her, Elva Sugawara (50) from Ofunato, who also says, “Seeing everyone’s smiling faces gives me the strength to try hard”. In January, her eldest daughter, Keiko, celebrated her coming of age. Elva, herself, challenged the Home Helper level 2 examination and passed. She says, “I want to study more and one day have a nursing job”.


Coverage from a Major Television Station

On this day, a Filipino major television station, GMA, is filming a documentary about the Filipinos. The producer says, “this area has suffered more damage than you could imagine, but you can feel the strength of the Filipino community to overcome these tough times. I hope that the message of hope will be conveyed through this documentary”.

The Morioka-Manila Scholarship Association helped with the job of confirming the whereabouts of Filipinos during the disaster, which then lead to them starting support activities. This is the sixth time they have helped with distributing supplies.
Secretary General, Yoshiko Ito (61), spoke about the Filipinos. “These women divided the supplies evenly, and they treat each other like neighbors. Just seeing that makes me feel good”.
Director, Toshiaki Takahashi (60), felt their power, saying, “it was actually them who gave us power”.


（Tokai Shinpo　2/11/2012）

Malnutrition in Temporary Housing - Possibly the Effect of Changing Living Environments

The city of Ofunato has summarized the results of their investigation into the eating habits and conditions of disaster victims living in temporary housing. The results clearly show a trend of deficiency in most nutrients, in particular calcium and vitamins. A trend in over consumption of salt was also apparent, and the change in living environments for victims of the disaster is suspected to be one of the causes. Effort is now going towards the guidance of nutrient-balanced diets.

After the disaster, apart from the 1700 temporary homes built in Ofunato, there are also more than 600 households living in apartments under a rent assistance scheme considered to be temporary housing. Amidst a big change in lifestyle from the disaster, an surey was carried out to grasp information for the support of promoting independence, securing desirable eating habits, and improving nutrition and eating habits.
The investigation received the cooperation of health centers in Ofunato and Oshu, and nutritionist associations of Oshu and Iwate. The investigation was carried out between August and November of last year.
The investigation surveyed a total of 600 participants, including 550 living in each of the city’s temporary housing facilities and 50 living under rent assistance. Nutritionists visited the homes of the investigation participants and asked them about their health condition, eating habits and their meals.
The nutritional condition was determined by examining the intake values of the valid answers taken from 575 participants.
The values were compared with the “2010 Japanese Dietary Reference Intakes” from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, and categorized as either “deficient”, “normal” or “over consumption”.
After analysis, the results showed a trend of deficiency across the nutrients. A deficiency in minerals such as calcium and also in vitamins accounted for more than 80%. In contrast to the deficiency of vitamins and minerals, the consumption of salt was considered to be in excess, making an obvious dietary imbalance.
Each of the nutrients examined in this investigation were compared with the results of the Prefectural Lifestyle Survey conducted in 2009. From this it was understood that energy, protein, calcium and vitamin A were at the 80% mark.
In regards to what they were eating, many of the surveyed households were having several bread and rice ball based meals a day with no side dishes such as vegetables. 16.2% of victims said that they didn’t know what to do when they do the shopping because while part of them wants many varied ingredients, they are far from the shops.
Recently, there has been an increase in new stores opening in the area and mobile shops that visit the temporary housing facilities, but the city’s health care center fears that if this condition of poor nutrition continues it will lead to a state of deteriorated health. They say, “on the whole, the condition is not good, and it cannot be denied that the disaster has had some kind of effect”.
The city’s health care center plans to hold cooking lessons, from the 14th, for those living in temporary housing, starting with those in Massaki-cho. Due to the smaller preparation space in kitchens of temporary housing, the lessons will show ways to effectively cook balanced meals in small spaces.

[table] Ofunato City’s Temporary Housing Survey

Nutritional Condition (%)

Deficient Normal Over Consumption Energy 51.5 29.2 19.3 Protein 31 23 46.1 Fat 30.1 24 45.9

Deficient Normal Calcium 88.9 11.1 Vitamin A 87.3 12.7 Vitamin B1 87.8 12.2 Vitamin B2 81.6 18.4 Vitamin C 88 12

Over Consumption Normal Salt 67.1 32.9

（Tokai Shinpo　February 6, 2012）

Summary of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Affected Area Workshop Report

At the Conference of Iwate International Associations held on May 26, 2011, we received reports from international associations and Japanese conversation classes about the damage and reconstruction efforts of the affected regions. Here we will share the current situation of foreign residents and international exchange.

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Report: Oceans Miyako International Club　

Representative:　Masato Sasaki

We restarted our Japanese language class on April 14. We do things like play Karuta card games using Miyako dialect, but the night roads have gotten scary for people walking alone since the disaster, and many foreigners have been absent from class. They say they could not do anything to help even when asked by Japanese. There are even foreigners who were swept away along with their houses by the tsunami. There needs to be in investigation into whether the deceased merely couldn’t understand the warnings, or whether they didn’t know where they could escape to.
 There are also foreigners who have come to help out. They soothe people’s fears just by being here. They may be able to heal our hearts precisely because they have nothing attaching them to the area yet they come anyway.

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Report: Kamaishi International Association

Director: Naoko Kato

Kamaishi, a port city, has historically welcomed foreigners. Filipino sailors who took emergency port after the tsunami were not able to communicate because of the language barrier, but they helped the Japanese in town and the Japanese gave them rice balls. There are also foreign residents who have married Japanese and taken Japanese names, so there is no way to tell who in the shelters is foreign just from the name list. Then we even have foreigners who see themselves as Japanese because they have worked so hard to integrate into their local society. I think that foreigners and Japanese are the same. After all, isn’t this what an international society is all about?
At the city’s Disaster Countermeasures Headquarters, I met former ALTs Jeffrey and Joshua by chance. When I asked them why they were here, they told me they hurried here from Kanagawa Prefecture, and they stayed in Kamaishi for some time volunteering. These are the bonds we have been able to create.

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Report: Former Rikuzentakata International Association

Japanese Language Teacher: Kayoko Owada

The participants of the Rikuzentakata Japanese Language Class are foreigners who have come to Japan through marriage. I have heard comments from foreigners saying that they were hurt by thoughtless words aimed at them while in evacuation shelters. There are people who have lost their jobs, people who have lost their children, people who cannot sleep because they have seen the dead bodies of their relatives. These women have roots in our region, and they will remain here.
 The mass media is calling the remains of swept-away homes “debris,” but we know it is not simple debris. It is the proof that we lived here.
 By chance I met a foreigner who invited me to a BBQ on April 23. We struggled to find a facility that was not already being used by evacuation shelters or emergency supply storage. On the day of the BBQ, we went around to all the shelters and picked up everyone. I think the foreign residents realized there were Japanese who were worried about them and cared about them.

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http://iwate-ia.or.jp/cms/media/kikanshi/2011/2011autumn-kikanshi-E.pdf

（Iwate International Association　September 30, 2011）