Friday, March 18, 2011

A WEEK LATER...

Like all of you, I'm heartbroken about the devastation in Japan in the aftermath of last Friday's earthquake and tsunami (and continuing aftershocks), and the ongoing nuclear crisis in Fukushima. All of our close friends and family (centered mostly in Kyoto and Tokyo) are safe and accounted for, and our thoughts lie most squarely with afflicted and suffering people in Miyagi, Fukushima, and Iwate Prefectures.

If you haven't already, please consider donating to one of the following relief efforts, as the needs continue to grow for a long recovery:


(View of farmlands in Touhoku, taken from the window of our northbound shinkansen)

Last Sunday, I was cleaning my shelves and re-organizing books and serendipitously came upon my color film snapshots from a trip I took with fellow classmates in Japan during Golden Week in2003. Oliver, Mike, Eric and I took a sojourn up North from Kyoto by JR to visit Nikko, as well as venturing on to Sendai. We spent two days in Sendai, singing Queen at karaoke at a small izakaya called Pub Hibiki, then drinking at an inn overlooking the hills and coastal areas; before leaving, we also ventured to the famously picturesque Matsushima Bay. [Since that trip, Basho's famous "Ah Matsushima Ah!" haiku of adulation at the islands and wind-swept trees has been a shorthand inside joke between me and Oliver for seeing something insane/astonishing.]


(Looking out at Sendai at night)


(Islands at Matsushima Bay)

I don't have much to add during this surreal and awful crisis, and like you guys I'll be here constantly refreshing the Facebook and Twitter feeds of friends for the latest developments. If you have any additional suggestions for ways to donate/help, please post in the comments and I'll add them above.

FROM THE COMMENTS:
Caroline says: "According to the Seirinkogeisha twitter, Osamu Kanno (who we blogged about earlier -ryan) lives in Morioka, in Iwate, an area that was affected by the quake and has been experiencing power outages and other problems. Luckily, he and his family are okay. Areas like Morioka badly need supplies, so it wouldn't hurt to contribute relief."

From Kazuo Umezu's flickr, a message to earthquake/tsunami-affected people:

被災地の皆さん
がんばりましょう。
生きる力に変えましょう。
グーの力でいきましょう。
楳図