I’ve never looked at strangers on the train with tears in my eyes before. As I stare back down at the phone in my hand, the 21st century contraption connects with my primal feelings. It’s hard to swallow back the grief as I read about this image:
“Here is a photograph, dated 13 March, by Kiyomu Tomita, one of the first independent journalists who entered the area after the quake and tsunami. ‘A girl huddles herself,’ he tweeted. ‘She has lost her family. In Nobiru.’”
It’s fitting that less than 30 days after being backhanded by Mother Nature, "2:46 Aftershocks: Stories from the Japan Earthquake" (which has come simply to be known as #quakebook via its standard Twitter hashtag) was out and available in the most accessible manner possible: via Amazon. As a Kindle edition, once purchased, the book is shared wirelessly to any number of devices and platforms: your iPhone, your iPad, your Android, your laptop, your PC. Your whatever-you-were-glued-to-when-it-hit device.
I relive the moments, my own, as I read those shared in #quakebook. I’m surprised at the emotion that wells up in me at unexpected times. While I don’t agree with all of them, some of them break my heart. #quakebook was compiled and edited by Our Man in Abiko, an English resident of Japan and Twitter denizen whose goal simply was “to record the moment, and in doing so raise money for the Japanese Red Cross Society to help the thousands of homeless, hungry and cold survivors of the earthquake and tsunami.” He wanted to get it done within a week. With word out over Twitter and Facebook, the submissions poured in. From the idea on March 18, the completed first draft was finished by March 25.
The entries are real-time accounts, small reflections. They are offerings of hope from some with connections to Japan, such as Yoko Ono Lennon, countless overseas family members and former residents. Some are a little more abstract, such as William Gibson’s submission. There are photos. There is art. What resonates with you in this compendium is most certainly going to differ from what strikes a nerve with me. It’s personal. It spans opinions and crosses divides. There are no “flyjin” divisions here. Just accounts of how people were affected on and after that Friday afternoon in March.
It occurs to me while reading that we are still caught in it. How appropriate the title is. Each submission is part of this endless aftershock that we are stuck in at this moment: continued tremors, a sense of helplessness, economic repercussions, radiation fears and divisive opinions. We haven’t yet had a chance to process the events—to come to grips with it. Maybe this is how to start.
How do you write a review about a book that affects you so much; that was written by so many to help so many more? You don’t. All you do is tell people that it’s available. That it’s not a purchase but a gift. That 10 bucks is a meager price to donate to the people in the Tohoku area. That reading it is humbling and humanizing and uplifting, and that catharsis comes in many guises. And this book is one of them.
So there is nothing really to recommend you to do, except: buy #quakebook. And when you read it and find yourself looking at a stranger on the train, tears welling at the corner of your eye, don’t be so self-conscious and hide it. Don’t fear brothers and sisters—smile. This too shall pass.
This story originally appeared in Metropolis magazine (www.metropolis.co.jp).
© Japan Today
11 Comments
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goddog
Good article. Read in Metro. So many people have their own stories. Mine started with a 7 hour walk home, and no food or drink.
Fadamor
So many stories. Downloaded it to my Droid and I'm reading it now.
TheBigRiceBowl
I just bought it for my kindle after reading that 100% of the proceedings will go to the quake victims. Even if the writing is not to my liking, the purchase reason is what counts. I am finding a variety of ways to donate money to various sources (eg. through Google to Red Cross, at the office, buying books, paying for local goods, etc.). I hope to continue to do so.
Klein2
"There are no “flyjin” divisions here."
Oh. I bet there are.
Klein2
"It occurs to me while reading that we are still caught in it."
And "we" is an editor in Tokyo? Puh... leeze.
I classify this stuff as DISASTER PORN. People who will enjoy this are people who want to be connected, to say, "What was it like?" It is just as natural for people to scurry to safety as it is for them to have a peek at the danger they "narrowly avoided". Just to tell the parents back home.
All of the YOUTUBE videos, the special anniversaries and TV programs, the charity events, the hundreds of NGOs who have so crowded disaster zones (all 65 of them!) that they are now being turned away. What is going on?
It is a spasm of tragedy, concern, and whatever emotion you want to throw in there. Now you can read other people's stories and feel like you too were right here. RIGHT HERE! Bravery, courage, luck, etc. But without the ocean stench, lines for gasoline, and wafting radiation!
If it is so great, come and live in Sendai. Every waitress, every teller, every cashier, every resident has a story to tell. Not a few people are sick of it. We had good, interesting lives before the quake, and it would be nice to just have that back, thank you very much, without a lot of anxiety about whether the rest of Japan views this all as more than a carnival.
Buy the book. Have your fun. But if you need to read stories about it to feel something, I would say you missed it. If you are yearning to relive that, you weren't close enough to "appreciate it" the first time.
oberst
Klein2, enough already, we all know you are very dedicated.
stevecpfc
This is something that needs to be remembered and these things are important to some.
There are many suffering mental health issues due to this disaster. We have to understand that some of these people are now severely damaged maybe for life and we have to take this into consideration in our posts. It is very sad as this whole disaster has been , let us hope that those who are still suffering get better soon.
Fadamor
Klein2, these stories were submitted by the people themselves, not interviewed and re-written by some reporter. Just as you seem to use this site to vent your frustrations, they needed an outlet as well. For the most part, they are first-person accounts of how the earthquake, tsunami, and radiation leakage have affected their lives. The rest of the world will use their words to get an idea of what happened at 2:46 on March 11. In contrast, your words will march off this page (along with mine) to never be seen again unless some archivist runs a search later on. History takes on many forms - not just ponderous tomes of data, but also collections of accounts like this. This book is no different than the ones containing the recollections of people who were at Hiroshima and Nagasaki during the dropping of the atomic bombs. It has the same historical significance.
YongYang
The process of grief takes time. It'll be a long journey, one some will not make. The scars too deep, too wide. Smile at everyone you see and spread some warmth.
porter
I can't wait to read it. It will be therapeutically helpful. I was a total mess that day. I wonder if my tweets are in there....
BurakuminDes
I agree with Klein - let's not dwell too much on these awful events. Sure - remember those who have passed - but let's all move on and be positive. This book will likely appeal to those far from disaster like Tokyo, Osaka and overseas. Too close to home for Tohoku people. If $10 goes toward rebuilding the joint, though, I think it is a worthwhile charity. I wouldn't be able to read it though...