#2011.3.11

[mirumitamono]

RIP.

[myself-85]

[atelier-ima0526]

It’s my power song in 2011 when huge earthquake comes to us in Japan.

I thanked to Mr.Shinichi Osawa.

He is the very best composer and musician in my mind ofcourse♫

SHINICHI OSAWA - 大沢伸一

SHINICHI OSAWA - 大沢伸一

[hayator]

あの日の想いと変わらぬ想い

沢山の想いと共にやってきた

東松島 変わらぬ想い 出会い ちゃんこ萩乃井 花火 SocialTOUR おのくん 沢山の出会い 支えられて今がある まもなく東北,

東松島７年目の夏がやってくる

View On WordPress

[people-of-iwate]

Kumiko Motoda of Miyako City Ms. Motoda is a longtime resident of the Taro area of Miyako, which is home to a flat basin that makes it particularly vulnerable to tsunami. After experiencing the tsunami in 2011, she knew she wanted to educate others on how to prepare for natural disaster, so that no one would know such tragedy ever again. Her group, the Disaster Education Tour Guides, welcomes 20,000 visitors every year to the area, and will continue to work so the disaster may never be forgotten.

“I refused when they first asked me to become a guide, because I wasn’t yet in a place where I could talk about my experience. But I started thinking about how my father-in-law always used to talk about tsunami in the past. I remember how I used to be annoyed – how many times do I have to hear this story? I didn’t listen to him, because I thought there was no way it would happen to me. But he was right. I really regret dismissing the things he told me, and I felt like I had to become a person who can pass these experiences on to others. It is hard to rehash the story of the disaster over and over again, but I remember I received a letter from someone from Kobe (which suffered from a huge earthquake in 1995). They wrote to me, ‘People don’t smile because they are happy. They are happy because they smile.’ I think so, too. After a tour, my heart does ache a bit, but I come back, talk to my colleagues, and we try to smile over the small things. Try to laugh as much as we can, to try to calm our hearts.”

Ms. Motoda giving a tour from atop the seawall in Taro

“You can never know when or where a natural disaster will strike, yet no one thinks these bad things will happen to them personally. In order to protect yourself, you need to learn what you can do every day to be prepared. That’s the message I want to convey. We aren’t just storytellers. We’re educators. Like in Japan, we take our shoes off at the entrance, but we teach people to rearrange them to face outwards (so that we can put them back on and run out in a hurry). This is disaster awareness. We want to teach what we experienced so we can help protect the world against as much disaster damage as possible. And we don’t talk about the ocean as being this scary thing. It is also something that has blessed us. Everyone wonders why we stay here even after tsunami has struck so many times. No matter how many times the wave comes, we have the power to rebuild, because we are supported by the ocean.”

Learn more! Miyako City – Travel Info Disaster Education Tours (“Manabu Bosai”) A video about the disaster in Taro, Miyako (English) The Taro Tourism Hotel memorial

[people-of-iwate]

Sioned Huws of Sumita Town (originally from Wales) -part 2-

Ms. Huws is a dancer and choreographer who has been in Japan for around a decade to research and study traditional folk dances. After the 2011 tsunami, she joined Rikuzentakata’s Artist in Residency program, where she also learned of next-door Sumita Town and its rich cultural history of Shishi Odori (Deer Dance). Living in a beautiful wooden house in the mountains of Sumita, Ms. Huws enjoys being a part of a living, breathing culture that has been hidden from the world. (All photos supplied by Ms. Huws)

“The dance can be complicated because you first you have to learn the kuchi shoga – the phonetic sounds of the drumbeat - by memory. And then you play that on the drum, and then you learn the movement. There’s many layers. There’s also the ma, the lack of movement while they just play the drum. So you have to stop one thing while continuing another thing. And the local dancers have bodies that are very different from a contemporary dancer’s body. When you watch the dance, you think it’s powerful with its big movements, but when you learn it, you see that it’s so soft and articulate, with so much detail. The resilience of the body, the soft touch of the foot on the floor, the detailed head movement. Super-fine and super-detailed. Then there’s the layer added by the songs too – there are many short songs, with imagery of the natural world, the movements of wild creatures. It’s related to the Shinto and Buddhist rituals as well. Even outside my house, I can see wild deer about, which helps me to connect closer to the Deer Dance.”

Right before a performance

“Unfortunately, traditional arts are becoming a spectacle, more and more theatrical. So much culture has been lost in our world. What’s special here in Sumita is that dance is still connected to their way of life. They're not 'preserving' culture - it’s living culture, today. And this is rare, I think. It’s not something of the past. It’s now. But if you came here you wouldn’t know such culture is here on the face of it. You need to take the time, go out walking, have a small conversation, find something out - they don’t give their culture away too easily. I think that’s a good thing. There’s a need to take care in how you pass it on. It’s about those conversations, those social times. I have had four dancers came to work with me to learn the Deer Dance. I can teach the basics quite quickly, but you have to study with the local dancers to really get the knowledge. They’ve lived here, and it’s part of their environment that has been passed on through generations. They know something I can never know. There’s a lot to be said for that.”

Learn more! Sumita Town Odori Dawns Dance (Ms. Huws’ online resource about Japanese folk performing arts) Rikuzentakata Artist in Residency Program

[people-of-iwate]

Sioned Huws of Sumita Town (originally from Wales) Ms. Huws is a dancer and choreographer who has been in Japan for around a decade to research and study traditional folk dances. After the 2011 tsunami, she joined Rikuzentakata’s Artist in Residency program, where she also learned of next-door Sumita Town and its rich cultural history of Shishi Odori (Deer Dance). Living in a beautiful wooden house in the mountains of Sumita, Ms. Huws enjoys being a part of a living, breathing culture that has been hidden from the world. (All photos supplied by Ms. Huws)

“In 2013, I first came to do the Artist in Residency program, which was set up in 2011 after the tsunami and the earthquake to find ways to regenerate and revitalize the area. I do think arts and culture generate a sense of purpose and gives people a reason to live. To sing and dance - it helps people in such devastating circumstances. And through dance, I connected very quickly with people. I was completely changed with I came to the area – the people are so kind and have so much energy and time to give. They'll do anything to help you. We were eating together, drinking together, dancing and singing together. The dancers in Sumita even found me a house to live in. Within a week I had water coming in. They brought in the pipe down the mountain to get running water into the house. That’s the way they are here as a community. There’s an incredible amount of culture here, of local performing arts especially. The thing is, it’s not a 'performance' – it’s a part of their everyday life. This is what special here.”

Rehearsing the “Deer Dance (Shishi Odori)” in Sumita

“With my research, I believe in going out, going to lunch, have the local people tell you something. That’s how I came across Sumita. I was out to lunch at a restaurant and asking some people what dances they knew. Then they did an ondo dance - just got up in the restaurant and danced! They invited me to an event where I saw the Kakinaizawa Shishi Odori Deer Dance, and I was so touched by this dance. I could just read a whole story in the pure movement. So, that’s the next part of my research – where are they from and how can we meet with them? Well, an acquaintance knew somebody else and before we know it, we're driving up to Sumita, up the mountain, to a small practice room, and all the dancers were there! And I was falling more and more in love. Firstly, with this place in the mountains and the building, and then also with their immense generosity. So I asked, please, can I come study with you? I stayed with them for five weeks and danced with them. And then I just kept coming again and again – it’s been three years now. It’s been fantastic training for me as a dancer working with them.”

Learn more! Sumita Town Odori Dawns Dance (Ms. Huws’ online resource about Japanese folk performing arts) Rikuzentakata Artist in Residency Program

[people-of-iwate]

Kotaro Kumagai of Rikuzentakata City Mr. Kumagai is the head of the NPO “Saisei no Sato Yaruki Town,” which roughly means “Birthplace of Renewal: Town of Can-do Spirit.” With Yaruki Town, he has created a community plaza for residents of Rikuzentakata to gather and support each other, equipped with a café space, library, and craft shop. He also hosts seminars on various topics so people can meet, learn more, and rebuild a town that they can pass on to the next generation.

“The basic concept of Yaruki Town is to create a firm base for the renewal of Rikuzentakata. What does that mean? The government is taking care of the rebuilding of roads and buildings, but people need to be taken care of. Their hearts need to be healed, and who is going to do that? That’s why I started Yaruki Town, to support the survivors of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. I thought, what is most needed to help people get back on their feet? It’s community. A place where people can support each other. Right after the disaster, you went from living next to these people you’ve known your whole life, to everyone in separate temporary housing complexes. So I wanted to make a place where a community could grow, which is how I created the first little community plaza. Our first year, we just tried to hold as many events as we could. Japan has so many festivals, so we started with a New Year’s event, a March 3rd Hinamatsuri event for the Girl’s Festival, a raising of koi flags in May for Children’s Day, and a viewing of the autumn leaves. This year, we’ve really got to punch it up. There are so many NPOs, and they all hold events, so we want to hold a major event in each of the seasons to stand out.”

Construction is close to finishing on preparing the land for developing in Rikuzentakata

“I didn’t experience the tsunami myself, as I was working in Tokyo at the time, but Rikuzentakata is my hometown. I thought I’d come back for five years to support my hometown, but it’s already been that long and I haven’t even made a dent in all the work needed to be done. But, I spent most of my life outside of Rikuzentakata, my work transferring me from place to place, so I want to spend the rest of it here, helping people. I’m working hard so I can hand off Rikuzentakata to the next generation.”

Learn more! Rikuzentakata City Rikuzentakata on Facebook (English and Japanese) Yaruki Town’s homepage (Japanese only)