What did the 3.11 Disaster leave in Akita?

Interview

[Mother]

At the time, I was pregnant and on maternity leave. When I was taking a rest on the second floor of my house, the earthquake came, and I immediately went outside to check what had happened. After confirming safety, I went to pick Koga (the author) up at the kindergarten. Also, I was unsure about the situation of my family living in a different city and my brother’s family who lived in Fukushima. However, there was no way to confirm their safety because the radio waves were unavailable; therefore, I directly visited my family in the dark night with no electricity and street lights, and waited patiently until the radio waves were restored to know my brother’s situation. Later, he was forced to move to Sendai with his family because of the radiation. Since then, our life with no electricity, water, and gas started. We have to remember that “Anything could happen at Any time” and the importance of preparing for such an occasion. 

[Grandmother]

When I was working in the field outside, the disaster occurred; since the earthquake was 4 or 5 on the Shindo scale. (Some objects shook violently and fell over, and most people felt like they should hold onto something, cited from Japan Meteorological Agency, n.d.) in Akita prefecture. I was so scared that I held onto the house pillar. Even though there were no casualties in my region and no serious damage to buildings, I felt really sorry for those on the Tohoku east coast, where the massive earthquake of 6 or 7 on the Shindo scale. (On the east coast, most objects in a room fell, and some wooden and even concrete buildings collapsed. People could move only by crawling, cited from Japan Meteorological Agency, n.d.). The tsunami further deprived citizens of their lives. However, we were also forced to live by candlelight instead of electricity, had to ask for water from my relatives to make baby formula, for example, and slept on the first floor in a line. “Disasters can happen all of a sudden” and “Being careful on a daily basis” a way to protect ourselves.

The Whole Interview 

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Bio Note 

Interviewer: Koga MATSUI, a sophomore student of AIU, conducted an interview with his mother and grandmother as a part of JAS 300 Japanese Literature II: Postwar Identity in Literature, in order to know their 3.11 experiences in Ugo Town. He was also born and raised in the town, and experienced the 3.11 disaster in 2011 when he was 5 years old.

Reflection

This project became an important opportunity for me to recall what happened in Akita during the 3.11, having limited memory because it happened when I was 5 years old. However, I still remember the significant impacts the disaster had on my life, such as gathering in the middle of a kindergarten room at the moment of the 3.11, my mother picking me up, and living with candlelight in a dark living room. I am happy that these memories will be passed down through this archive project and I want the viewers to remember that this massive disaster actually happened and lots of people survived the harsh post-disaster period with their courage and cooperation.