ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡

ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡
ÈÕ±¾Óï
ÈÕ±¾Óï

A Theory of "Tohoku" Pain: When Memory Turns into History

Publish: June 27, 2024

Writer Profile

  • Akemi Yamauchi

    Other : Associate Professor, Faculty of Education, Miyagi University of Education

    ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡ alumni

    Akemi Yamauchi

    Other : Associate Professor, Faculty of Education, Miyagi University of Education

    ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡ alumni

Starting from March 11, 2011, this book is an ¨¦criture (a bundle of memories) compiled by an editor who gathered short pieces I contributed to magazines such as Gendai Shiso (Seidosha) over the past 13 years. It brings back the state of the disaster-stricken areas (I am originally from Minamisanriku, Miyagi Prefecture) and my feelings at those times¡ªimmediately after the earthquake, then one, two, three, five, and ten years later. Retracing these 13 years of memories, I realize that I feel much more gloomy and despairing now than I did immediately after the Great East Japan Earthquake, to the point where I wonder, "Am I a pessimist?"

In truth, immediately after the disaster, despite the devastating situation caused by the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear accident, I was surprisingly optimistic. This was because the local residents were prepared to survive and start from zero (or even a negative point), having lost everything. However, against the backdrop of a shrinking Japanese society, the reality of this world¡ªrepeated disasters, the COVID-19 pandemic, ongoing wars and conflicts worldwide, and the intensifying bashing and hate crimes against "others" on social media and in the news¡ªcontinues to drag down Fukushima and the Sanriku coastal areas without exception.

It feels as though care has been left undone since 13 years ago, and the pain continues. This is likely a post-catastrophe melancholy that envelops not only the disaster-stricken areas but also a very wide range of this society.

Since the magnitude of the pain was extraordinary, it cannot be healed so easily. There may be pain that one must live with for a lifetime. Even so, while scattering enclaves of "care" here and there, I hope to find another world by leaping over the pain¡ªnot by forgetting that event, but through a method that eventually becomes a "form" or a "posture."

2024 began with the Noto Earthquake. I believe that we, living in an era where "the world has already ended," are being tested on our humanity.

Akemi Yamauchi

Seidosha

296 pages, 2,860 yen (tax included)

*Affiliations and titles are as of the time of publication.

Writing Notes