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

This book is an écriture (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, starting from March 11, 2011. It brings back the state of the disaster-stricken areas (I am originally from Minamisanriku, Miyagi Prefecture) and my feelings at the time—immediately after the earthquake, then at the one-year, two-year, three-year, five-year, and ten-year marks. Retracing these 13 years of memories, I am struck by the realization that I feel far more melancholy 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, there was a surprising sense of optimism. This was because local residents had resolved to survive and start from zero (or even negative) now that there was nothing left to lose. However, against the backdrop of a shrinking Japanese society, the reality of this world—compounded by repeated 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 media—continues 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 this society quite broadly.

Since the magnitude of the pain was extraordinary, it cannot be healed so easily. There is likely 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—not by forgetting that event, but through a method that eventually becomes a "form" or a "posture."

The year 2024 began with the Noto Earthquake. I believe that we, living in an era where "the world has already ended," are being tested on what it means to be "human."

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

Akemi Yamauchi

Seidosha

296 pages, 2,860 yen (tax included)

*Affiliations and titles are those at the time of publication.