Kizuna: Nikkei Stories from the 2011 Japan Earthquake & Tsunami
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.
Stories from this series
The Japan Earthquake and Tsunami
April 15, 2011 • Wayne Tada
On March 11, 2011 still another catastrophe (not close to home in America but 5,000 miles across the Pacific Ocean) defined our lives. On a world-wide stage, Japan reacted to the force of nature and the devastation left in its wake. We who are Japanese by ancestry can understand (and be proud) of the courageous spirit of our relatives, friends and counter-parts in Japan. The human emotions of losing loved ones, homes, and businesses have no ethnic differentiation. But the …
Noodles: Standing With Japan
April 13, 2011 • Gwen Muranaka
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. *This comic was originally published in The Japan Times on March 27, 2011.
The Great Tohoku Disaster - Part 5
April 11, 2011 • Norm Masaji Ibuki
Read Part 4 >>This is a recreation of my personal experiences from the e-mails that I sent to friends in Canada and Japan, TV news reports in Canada, the U.S., and Japan, and from what my wife Akiko told me.Wednesday, March 16 Hi Norm,My name is Marnie and I was reading your article re: returning to Sendai that you wrote for Discover Nikkei.I am particularly interested in story about Kurosu Senji. Many years ago I lived in Sendai as a …
Operation Tomodachi
April 9, 2011 • Jay Horinouchi
My name is Jay Horinouchi, and I’m a Japanese American artist currently living in Tokyo, Japan. I was born in Berkeley, raised in Silicon Valley, attended college in Pasadena and spent most of my professional career in Los Angeles, so I am very proud to call myself a native Californian as well. Most Californians have some sort of love/hate relationship with earthquakes and the San Andreas Fault line. We pride ourselves on the fact that we are earthquake survivors and …
The Great Tohoku Disaster - Part 4
April 7, 2011 • Norm Masaji Ibuki
Read Part 3 >>This is a recreation of my personal experiences from the e-mails that I sent to friends in Canada and Japan, TV news reports in Canada, the U.S., and Japan, and from what my wife Akiko told me.Continuation of Tomo’s email from March 15: Back to SendaiLife here: …shortage everything. But we have so much more than tens of thousands of others. We took turns standing in line at the local food store for two hours. Petrol for …
The Great Tohoku Disaster - Part 3
April 6, 2011 • Norm Masaji Ibuki
Read Part 2 >>This is a recreation of my personal experiences from the e-mails that I sent to friends in Canada and Japan, TV news reports in Canada, the U.S., and Japan, and from what my wife Akiko told me.Tuesday, March 15 hi guys we R ok no hydro/denki some toyu and some food no gas bad connection here no internet, borrowing a computer at a school. Want to know more about the nuke. Senji…Astuko and Hikari OK ???see you …