Kizuna: Nikkei Stories from the 2011 Japan Earthquake & Tsunami

Noodles: Standing With Japan

Published April 13, 2011 1 comments

Gwen Muranaka’s weekly cartoon “Noodles” appears in The Japan Times, and occasionally in The Rafu Shimpo. The cartoons feature a Japanese American woman and her dog, presenting a Nikkei view of life in Japan. In this cartoon, she expresses solidarity for those suffering in Japan.

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*This comic was originally published in The Japan Times on March 27, 2011.

2011 Tohoku Earthquake & Tsunami, Japan cartoons comics disasters earthquakes food Japan Japanese language newspapers Japanese newspaper JPquake2011 newspapers noodles Rafu Shimpo (newspaper) The Japan Times (newspaper)

About this series

In Japanese, kizuna means strong emotional bonds.

This series shares stories about Nikkei individual and/or community reaction and perspectives on the Great Tohoku Kanto earthquake on March 11, 2011 and the resulting tsunami and other impacts—either about supporting relief efforts or how what has happened has affected them and their feeling of connection to Japan.

If you would like to share your reactions, please see the “Submit an Article” page for general submission guidelines. We welcome submissions in English, Japanese, Spanish, and/or Portuguese, and are seeking diverse stories from around the world.

We hope that these stories bring some comfort to those affected in Japan and around the world, and that this will become like a time capsule of responses and perspectives from our global Nima-kai community for the future.

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There are many organizations and relief funds established around the world providing support for Japan. Follow us on Twitter @discovernikkei for info on Nikkei relief efforts, or check the Events section. If you’re posting a Japan relief fundraising event, please add the tag “JPquake2011” to make it appear on the list of earthquake relief events.

About the Author

Gwen Muranaka

Gwen Muranaka, Senior Editor, has been with The Rafu Shimpo since 2001. Prior to that, she worked in Tokyo at the Japan Times where she still contributes the weekly cartoon “Noodles.” She attended UCLA where she received a BA in English literature and also studied one year at Waseda University. Muranaka started in community newspapers as assistant editor at the Pacific Citizen.

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