Kizuna: Nikkei Stories from the 2011 Japan Earthquake & Tsunami

“How was your trip to Japan?” 

It’s a question I’ve been asked several times since we returned from our Goodwill Tour to Tohoku last month.

“It went really well,” I would say. But after that, I would have a hard time finding the words to describe it.

“It wasn’t like your typical tour of Japan,” said one of our group members.

This is true. We did do some sight-seeing, but the sights to see in the tsunami-affected towns of Minamisanriku and Ishinomaki are not pretty. The debris has been cleared, but what remains is just mile after ...

Read part 1 >> 

Stood speechless at the sight of disaster areas: We will keep doing what we can 

Soon we will observe the third anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake. In the faraway land of America, the Nanka (Southern California) Miyagi Kenjinkai has been engaging in charity activities with their heart all going out to their hometown. While it’s not a big organization, with 100 family units, so far they have collected nearly $160,000—the achievement which no doubt owes much to the leadership of Yoshihito Yonezawa who has served as president for over twenty years.

Tanabata ...

“I was so touched by people’s kindness I wanted to do all that I could to help others” 

The Great East Japan Earthquake has become an unprecedented disaster. Nearly three years have passed since the day of March 11, 2011. There was a widespread call for support all over the world in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake; and in California, too, the Miyagi Kenjinkai, under the direction of president Yoshihito Yonezawa, actively launched and expanded its charity drive.

Japan has yet to recover from the devastation as many are still living in shelters. We decided to interview Yonezawa ...

After the “Tohoku Insights 2013” event at JAMsj [Japanese American Museum of San Jose] last year, I was inspired to visit the Tohoku area and see the aftermath first hand. My journey was made richer because I was able to visit the region with professional photographer and journalist Darrell Miho, a co-founder of Ai Love Japan. Because the mission of Ai Love Japan is to document survivor stories and provide direct aid to the people most affected by the earthquake, Miho has visited the Tohoku area more than a dozen times since the disaster of March 2011. We made the ...

After a long trek across the country, Linda Ohama’s Cloth Letter exhibition has finally arrived in Toronto and Mississauga, Ontario for the Christmas and New Year holidays. 

The exhibition can now be viewed at the Toronto Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre from December 12 to the end of January. Another exhibition will be on display at the Mississauga Central Public Library from January 11 to February 16, 2014.

After an extensive tour of Japan, the tour arrived in Canada in the spring of 2013. The tour began with exhibitions in Burnaby, Richmond and North Vancouver and downtown Vancouver, British Columbia ...