Tōhoku

Since the year 2000 I have made regular trips to Japan's Tōhoku region, to the cities of Onagawa, Ishinomaki, Tagajō, Kesennuma, and Sendai.

English
日本語

To the survivors of the Tōhoku tragedy

I've now spent half my life in Japan. And, though always living in Tokyo, I have a very special place in my heart for the Tōhoku region and, in particular, the seaside towns of the Oshika Peninsula, where my Japanese relatives have lived for generations.

I've just returned from a relief trip to the North and have seen now with my own eyes the awesome power of Mother Nature, and the fragility of our cities (so much concrete and steel reduced to rubble in seconds). But I've also been moved by the strength of the human spirit in Tōhoku's survivors, and humbled by their dignity and resilience in the face of such incomprehensible tragedy.

I'll keep them in my thoughts, and look forward to the day when flowers bloom again in Tōhoku.

Michael Arias (March 22, 2011 at 5:07pm)

東日本大震災の生存者に捧げ

私は、人生の半分を日本で過ごしました。住まいは常に東京でしたが、東北地方、特に私の日本人の親族が何代にも渡って住んで来た牡鹿半島の沿岸の街は、自分の心の中に特別な位置を占めています。

私は東北地方に救援物資を届ける旅から戻ったばかりです。その旅で、自然というものの凄まじい力を、そして我々の都市のはかなさというものを（大量のコンクリートと鉄鋼が、瞬く間に瓦礫に帰したその様を）、目の当たりにしました。しかし同時に、私は災害を逃れた東北の人々の精神の力強さに感嘆し、そしてこの人知を超えた悲劇に直面しても失われない彼らの尊厳と復興への力に、圧倒されたのです。

私は彼らの事を思い続けます。そして東北の地で再び花が咲きこぼれる日を待ち望んでいます。

マイケル・アリアス（2011年3月22日17時7分）

和訳：池田穣

3/12 newspaper headline: “ALL GONE”
3/15 following military escort towards Tōhoku Expressway
3/13 bridge closed on the Tōhoku Expressway, southern outskirts of Sendai
3/13 looking east towards seashore, Wakabayashi-ku, Sendai
3/13 looking west towards mountains, Wakabayashi-ku, Sendai
3/13 looking east towards seashore, Wakabayashi-ku, Sendai
3/13 looking west towards mountains, Wakabayashi-ku, Sendai
3/13 Wakabayashi-ku, Sendai
3/13 Wakabayashi-ku, Sendai
3/13 looking east towards seashore, Wakabayashi-ku, Sendai 4
3/13 Wakabayashi-ku, Sendai
3/13 box of Children’s Day festival dolls, Wakabayashi-ku, Sendai
3/13 Wakabayashi-ku, Sendai
3/13 broken Sendai city road post, Wakabayashi-ku, Sendai
3/13 Wakabayashi-ku, Sendai
3/14 roads flooded, Ishinomaki City
3/14 walking towards Ishinomaki Station, Ishinomaki City
3/14 street corner, Ishinomaki City
3/14 walking towards Ishinomaki Station, Ishinomaki City
3/14 used car lot, Ishinomaki City
3/14 “Cheap Automobile Inspection and Registration,” Ishinomaki City
3/14 photo album, Ishinomaki City
3/14 “Caution” sign, abandoned car, and dead dog, Ishinomaki City
3/14 pile of cars, Ishinomaki City
3/14 survivors in Ishinomaki Middle School, Ishinomaki City
3/14 list of temporary residents of Ishinomaki Middle School, Ishinomaki City
3/14 Kyōto fire brigade on Route 398, outskirts of Shizugawa area, Minami Sanriku
3/14 looking towards ocean, outskirts of Shizugawa area, Minami Sanriku
3/14 looking towards ocean, outskirts of Shizugawa area, Minami Sanriku
3/15 distributing drinking water in front of Tome City Hall
3/15 Australian journalist asleep in Tome City Hall
3/15 members of Queensland Search and Rescue Task Force outside Tome City Hall
3/15 members of Queensland Search and Rescue Task Force outside Tome City Hall
3/15 newly arrived fire brigades checking radiation, staging area for Minami Sanriku operations
3/15 newly arrived fire brigades checking radiation, staging area for Minami Sanriku operations
3/15 Minami Sanriku
3/15 members of New South Wales Search and Rescue Task Force, Minami Sanriku
3/15 Minami Sanriku
3/15 leader of New South Wales Search and Rescue Task Force, Minami Sanriku
3/15 arrow pointing towards bodies of victims, Minami Sanriku
3/15 recycling materials near daycare center, Minami Sanriku
3/15 New South Wales Search and Rescue Task Force extracting bodies of children from daycare center, Minami Sanriku
3/15 following military escort towards Tōhoku Expressway
3/25 dosimeter, Tōhoku Expressway, Fukushima
3/25 Russian journalists, Tōhoku Expressway, Fukushima
3/25 Aoba Middle School, Ishinomaki City
3/25 Port of Ishinomaki, Ishinomaki City
3/25 volunteers and health staff at Aoba Middle School, Ishinomaki City
3/25 missing person notices, Aoba Middle School, Ishinomaki City
3/26 Port of Kesennuma, Kesennuma City
3/26 Port of Kesennuma, Kesennuma City
3/26 temporary communal burial, Kesennuma City
3/26 temporary communal burial, Kesennuma City
3/26 temporary communal burial, Kesennuma City
3/26 fire and tsunami damage, Port of Kesennuma, Kesennuma City
3/26 fire and tsunami damage, Port of Kesennuma, Kesennuma City
3/26 fire and tsunami damage, Port of Kesennuma, Kesennuma City
3/26 fire and tsunami damage, Port of Kesennuma, Kesennuma City
3/26 fire and tsunami damage, Port of Kesennuma, Kesennuma City
3/26 grounded ship and debris, Port of Kesennuma, Kesennuma City
4/5 outskirts of Ishinomaki City
4/5 debris from fish cannery, outskirts of Ishinomaki City
4/5 ruined houses in residential neighborhood, outskirts of Ishinomaki City
4/5 ruined house and wrecked cars in residential neighborhood, outskirts of Ishinomaki City
4/14 volunteer cooking at Second Harvest Japan, Tokyo
4/15 Onagawa Kaido road, outskirts of Onagawa City
4/15 Onagawa Kaido road, outskirts of Onagawa City
4/15 Onagawa Kaido road at high tide, outskirts of Onagawa City
4/15 downtown Onagawa City
4/15 downtown Onagawa City
4/15 candy store and wrecked train, Onagawa City
4/15 Japanese military engineers, Onagawa City
4/15 debris, Port of Onagawa, Onagawa City
4/15 debris, Port of Onagawa, Onagawa City
4/15 grounded fishing boat, Port of Onagawa, Onagawa City
4/15 downtown Onagawa City
4/15 downtown Onagawa City
4/15 downtown Onagawa City
4/15 view from hospital, downtown Onagawa City
4/15 view from hospital, downtown Onagawa City
4/16 fertilizer plant, outskirts of Onagawa City
4/14 volunteers delivering food and supplies from Second Harvest Japan to Onagawa, Onagawa City
4/20 lunch at Onagawa Primary School #1, Onagawa City
4/24 debris, Onagawa City
6/18 downtown Onagawa City
4/5 Peace Boat food and supplies warehouse, Ishinomaki City
6/18 searching for remains in Shizugawa area, Minami Sanriku
6/18 toys, Minami Sanriku
6/18 survivors in temporary housing watching movie, Kesennuma City
6/18 surfboard on Cobalt Line road, Onagawa City