Memory in the debris: The 3/11 Great Japan earthquake and tsunami (Respond to this article at http://www.therai.org.uk/at/debate)

Abstract

In this narrative, I reflect on the relief activities that I was involved with in Minamisanriku, Miyagi, northeastern Japan, from late May until late August 2011, in the aftermath of the 3/11 Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami. Minamisanriku was one of the towns swept away by the tsunami. The debris was all around, which included not only the wreckage of buildings and ships, but possessions belonging to the victims. All these items were battered and left exposed to the open air. I focus on one of the relief activities – that of rescuing ‘objects of memory’, especially photographs, from the debris. In doing so, I consider the relationship between objects, images, and memory when people have lost virtually everything, as they did in this disaster.