5 Years After 3/11

Today is the fifth anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake (東日本大震災 Higashi nihon daishinsai ) on March 11, 2011.

Buddhist Lantern Ceremony, Kōmyōji, Kamakura
 March 10, 2016

Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction--An Anthology of Japan Teen Stories (Stone Bridge Press) continues to raise money by donating royalties from sales of the book.

The donations from Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction support high school students in the earthquake and tsunami affected areas via the N.P.O Hope for Tomorrow. In December, Hope for Tomorrow announced the most recent allocation of funds as follows:

The 2015 Educational Support Program will be allocated to the following five high schools:Haramachi High School (Minami Soma City, Fukushima Prefecture), Ishinomaki High School (Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture), Kesennuma High School (Kesennuma City, Miyagi Prefecture), Ofunato High School (Ofunato City, Iwate Prefecture) Takata Senior High School (Rikuzentakada City, Iwate Prefecture; temporarily located in Ofunato City).

Individual recipients are selected through their schools, and grants are awarded to students each February.

Five years have passed since the earthquake--both quickly and slowly. Recovery proceeds in Tohoku, but problems abound, and of course, after trauma of such magnitude, grief and pain are ongoing. In Japan, it is customary to keep true feelings to yourself, to mute your complaints, to suffer in silence. After the tsunami, a homeowner in the town of Otsuchi in Iwachi Prefecture wisely set up a telephone booth in his garden, placed a disconnected rotary dial phone inside, and invited people to step inside and speak to the loved ones they'd lost in the disaster. Called the kaze no denwa (風の電話) -- wind phone -- the booth has drawn over 10,000 visitors (see a reblogged version of a Mainichi Daily article here and NHK coverage in Japanese here). NHK recently featured a poignant documentary (trailer) on the phone and its power to enable individuals to speak words of deep pain. One segment featured a family of a mother and her three children who'd lost their father with all of them visiting the wind phone after the eldest child bravely did so.

Yoko Imoto has written and illustrated a children's picture book called Kaze no denwa (The Wind Telephone).  This book and one other are featured on the SCBWI Japan Translation Group Blog: Two Stories for Children Commemorate 3.11 in a post by Deborah Iwabuchi (translator of the Tomo story "The Law of Gravity" by Yuko Katakawa) with links to English-language readings.

For readers of all ages, today is a also good day to re-read the SCBWI Japan Translation Group post by Sako Ikegami (translator of the Tomo story "Hachiro" by Ryusuke Saito): The Tale of Hamaguchi Gohei and the Tsunami.  Kimiko Kajikawa's picture book Tsunami, written before 3/11, is based on the same tale.

Wishing compassion and the comfort of words and stories to all those affected by the disasters of March 11, 2011.

Tokyo Tomo Launch on March 10, 2012

On March 10, the evening before the one-year anniversary of the March 11, 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction--An Anthology of Japan Teen Stories was officially released and launched with a Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators event in Tokyo. Present were 16 contributors, including several translator-author pairs. All read excerpts from their stories to give the audience a sense of the great range of stories included in the anthology.

Here are a few photos of the contributors who were able to attend the Tokyo launch:

Back row, L to R: John Paul Catton, Juliet Winters Carpenter, Deborah Iwabuchi, Margi Napper, Louise George Kittaka, Ann Slater, Charles De Wolf, Trevor Kew, Hart Larrabee  Front Row, L to R: Arie Nashiya, Yuko Katakawa, Holly Thompson, Sako Ikegami, Fumio Takano, Leza Lowitz, Mariko Nagai

Louise George Kittaka, author, and Holly Thompson, editor

Juliet Winters Carpenter, translator, and Arie Nashiya, author

Sako Ikegami, translator

Fumio Takano, author, and Hart Larrabee, translator

Yuko Katakawa, author, and Deborah Iwabuchi, translator

It was wonderful for so many contributors to meet face to face and for translators to finally meet the authors whose works they'd translated. And the Tomo books sold out. Hooray!

Looking forward to the Boston Tomo launch at the Boston Children's Museum on March 23.

Interviews with TOMO Contributors Author Yuko Katakawa and Translator Deborah Iwabuchi

Yuko Katakawa (author of the Tomo story “The Law of Gravity”) is the author of six books and received a Kodansha New Writer in Children’s Literature Award for her first publication, Sato-san, written when she was 15. Now in university, she continues to write while studying to become a veterinarian. “The Law of Gravity” is revised from a story she first wrote at age 14. 

Deborah Iwabuchi (translator of the Tomo story “The Law of Gravity”) made her first trip to Japan at age seventeen and took up permanent residence soon after college. Translated works include novels by popular Japanese authors, including The Devil’s Whisper and The Sleeping Dragon by Miyuki Miyabe. Originally from California, she lives in the city of Maebashi with her family, and runs her own company, Minamimuki Translations. Visit her website: http://minamimuki.com/en 

Interview with Author Yuko Katakawa

When did you first start writing fiction? How old were you when you wrote “Law of Gravity?”

I started writing novels when I was 12. I was 15 or 16 when I wrote this story.

Yuko Katakawa and koala

Did you observe an elephant in order to write the story?

I have always liked animals, and often went to the zoo, so I didn’t have to make a special trip to write this story.

The relationship between the sister and brother becomes solid in this story, and the brother vows to protect his sister. Do you think this protectiveness is typical in Japan or unique to these particular siblings?

I think it depends on the family. I myself have an elder brother and we get along well, but I don’t believe he has the strong desire of the character in this story to protect his little sister. But I do believe that Japanese have within their character a strong desire to protect someone or something.

You are now a university student. What are you studying? Do you continue to write fiction?

I am getting my degree in veterinary science. Next year I’ll graduate and become a veterinarian, but I plan to continue writing novels. I have been writing all through high school and college.

Do you have any message for teens in Tohoku?

The earthquake hit hard in the Kanto area where I live. There were power outages and all of the public transportation was stopped. So it had a great effect here, too. All I can say is that we should remember this experience and use it as a tool as we move into the future. 

Anything to share with American teen readers?

I would be pleased if my story helps you understand even a little bit about Japan. 

Interview with Translator Deborah Iwabuchi

Can you tell us about your background and how you came to settle in Japan and run your own translation company?

I first came to Japan as a teenager. It was my first trip out of the US and it changed my life. I had always liked languages, and the trip inspired me to learn Japanese and learn more about Japan—the people there knew so much about the US and Americans knew so little about Japan. After college, I came back to Japan to work. I met and married a Japanese man and we raised our family here. I love translation, and it allowed me to work from home as my daughters grew up.

Deborah Iwabuchi in Nagoya

 
What appealed to you about this particular story?

This story features juku (cram school) and examination pressure. You can visit this Education in Japan Community blog post to learn more about the juku system.

Can you give us some background about the exam system in Japan? What sort of pressure would these two characters be facing?

As my daughters grew up, I became aware of how little say young people here in Japan have in their lives compared to the teenagers I met when I first came to Japan in 1973. On one hand they get a bad rap for being “spoiled” and “unmotivated,” but on the other hand, they often don’t have the freedom to dream or let their imaginations take flight. So many are constantly subjected to the directions and expectations of their schools and families. Parents put children into after-hours cram schools as soon as they start grade school—some even earlier. The result has been high rates of burnout; young people are exhausted by the time they get into college. Since teenagers the world over are programmed to rebel, rebellion in this country can often take a dark, internalized form—as it did in this story. Thankfully, though, “Law of Gravity” ends on a strong note of hope when the brother and sister are able to turn outwards, towards each other and a relationship based on affection rather than expectations. 

I’m very impressed with Ms. Katakawa who, still in her early 20s, has already published 5 or 6 books. She found her voice at an early age and manages to write, pursue various extracurricular activities and keep up her veterinary studies. I believe it is because she has made her own choices in life. She wrote “Law of Gravity” as a high school student, at an age when most young people assume that outside demands on them are “only natural.” Writing as a peer, she sends the message that teenagers have the right to make their own decisions and pursue their own paths.

Do you have any message for teens in Tohoku?

I have read so much about how resilient and resourceful Tohoku teens have been throughout this disaster and the ongoing recovery work. You truly represent the future of this country. In the years ahead, try not to lose sight of your dreams—don't let others tell you what to do. You are the ones who have the ideas and potential to get Tohoku and Japan back on its feet!