October 17, 2012
The members in charge of the Itako area convened at the university to hold a debriefing session on the situation in the Hinode district and exchanged opinions about the investigation. On October 24th, the team traveled there to have a meeting with the faculty of the junior high school. It was an occasion to discuss the concrete objectives of collaboration between the school and the university as well as to update everyone on the real condition of the area. This meeting proved to be the origin of a deep reflection on the attainable goals of the project.
We also took a look at the surrounding environs of Hinode. Here and there, construction was taking place to repair damages from the liquefaction phenomenon — however, it seemed to us that there is still a great amount of time and progress before the area would return to the way it appeared prior to the disaster. (Kamiura)
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Category Archives: team
Research in Iwaki
The area research team organized an onsite observation tour from August 21st through 23rd, during which they inspected the damages and assessed the progress of the recovery in Iwaki. We heard accounts of disaster experiences and got a first-hand look at the current condition of the city. We met with local artists and other creative minds to hear to their post-earthquake activities.
On the last day, each member chose a theme, formulated plans of coverage and spread out in the city. Following our investigations, members reported back to the group to share the information retrieved. We were all able to interact and empathize with residents on an intimate level. Previously our only source was the media, but this tour allowed us to fully realize the situation in Iwaki through hands-on fieldwork.
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Announcement of the date for the 2nd public viewing of Kazunari Watanabe’s cycle race.
Since the timing of the race in which Kazunari Watanabe would participate was not determined, we were awaiting confirmation before scheduling a date for the public screening. It has now been decided that the 2nd public viewing would be held on August 8th.
Today was the first viewing. The people from Futaba as well as school children from the children’s house were present for this lively gathering. Also, the “Power generation! Miniature cycle race” that was held at the same time proved to be very popular.
We look forward to active participation at the 2nd viewing for those who were here today as well as those who could not attend.
Public viewing to cheer for Kazunari Watanabe!
There are presently about 50 households (mainly from Futaba in the Fukushima prefecture) that have been evacuated to Namiki, Tsukuba city. In this context, we are delighted to hear that Kazunari Watanabe, native of Futaba, will attend the London Olympics to compete in the cycle race. Since the people of Futuba have been domestically displaced, we would like to encourage the whole city of Tsukuba to cheer for Kazunari Watanabe! A public screening of the taped broadcast of Kazunari Watanabe’s Olympic cycling event will be shown. The viewing will also be an occasion for a workshop called “Power generation! Miniature cycle race”, so let’s cheer for Kazunari Watanabe while having fun! (Kataoka)
The Namiki project
There are presently about 50 households (mainly from Futaba in the Fukushima prefecture) that have been evacuated to Namiki, Tsukuba city. In this context, we are delighted to hear that Kazunari Watanabe, native of Futaba, will attend the London Olympics to compete in the cycle race. We have initiated the “Kazunari Watanabe Cheering Program” for Futaba evacuees and the citizens of Namiki, Tsukuba — it is our hope that this program will foster communication and understanding between the two communities.
A cheering flag was created at the Summer Festival of Namiki held on the 15th (Sunday). The central image was designed by the artist Kensuke Miyazaki; the people of Tsukuba adorned the banner with messages of support directed at citizens of Futaba and other districts around Fukushima. Since the disaster, Kensuke Miyazaki has been diligently working on various projects promoting recovery. For more details about his activities, please visit his website:
>>http://www.miyazakingdom.com/
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Iwaki 2
During our visit to « Hibi no Shinbun », a publication based in Iwaki City, we learned about the many communities of refugees of the nuclear accident and tsunami as well as communities of local citizens. It appeared that these different groups were often divided on several issues, a factor that seemed a severe and stark truth to us. (Kataoka)）
Iwaki 1
We are in Iwaki for our research project.
We examined the post-disaster activities of the Iwaki City Art Museum and Alios, Iwaki Performing Arts Center. A particularly impressive workshop explored the psychological insights of color-by-number exercises. An exhibition showcasing creations of the participants is due to be held at the end of June; it is our intention to return to Iwaki to attend the opening.
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The grand and beautiful Alios, Iwaki Performing Arts Center.
WEBSITE INAUGURATION
Launch of the CR project’s webpage
We are proud to present the website for the Creative Reconstruction Project! This page will serve as a platform for announcements and reports related to the program. For reference, this project will be commonly called the « CR Project », as an abbreviation of « Creative Reconstruction Project ». (Kataoka)
Joso City : Ishigenishi Junior High School
Since the earthquake, significant cracks have appeared in the pillars and walls of the school building. As a consequence, the school was condemned and must be leveled. We went to visit the school in order to find out if there was something we could do for the pupils and alumni to keep the history and memories alive. (Kataoka)
Kitakata City Hall
More than half of the population of Okuma city, located in a region where all villages received evacuation orders, has departed. Our team went to gather information from the City Hall of Kitakata. 