Archive | April, 2011

Nihon [Art]

8 Apr


Submitted by: Jepp


Facebooking from Tokyo [Essay]

7 Apr

Here is a collection of the updates I posted on Facebook in the 11 days following the March 11th earthquake. Never was a big fan of Facebook but the power it gave us living here in Tokyo to relay our experiences to friends and loved ones has proven itself to be revolutionary in terms of how news is gathered and disseminated.


1st entry: March 12th 2011 – 11:39
Just thought I’d post a bit of an update while I’m still able to – talk of a blackout this evening. There have been a lot of aftershocks throughout the night, maybe 3 or 4 an hour. I’d normally sleep through them but not last night. They are still going on at the moment but their intensity seems to be dying down. No major structural damage in my area but, as I’m sure you’ve seen on TV, the North-east of the country and the area around Sendai in particular about 350 km north of here, is in real trouble.

Anyway, seems like the worst of it is over now, fingers crossed. Hopefully the death toll will remain relatively low.
Thanks again for all your messages, much appreciated.

2nd entry: March 14th 2011 – 1:34
Another day, another update. Life in Tokyo is pretty much the same as before Friday’s quake but there have been a few subtle changes: the streets are quieter and a lot of shops are closed. Impossible to get any bread or milk but to be fair, relatively speaking, I don’t feel that’s a major issue.

A lot of people are deciding to stay at home and stock up on food. Power cuts are going to start tomorrow in order to save electricity for essential services.

We are still experiencing some minor aftershocks from time to time and we have been told to expect a level 7 (Richter scale) or above aftershock over the next few days.

The real problems are in the north of the country, those areas that were destroyed by the tsunami. I’m sure you have all seen the images on TV. The devastation has been unbelievable and the rescue services are busy trying to get people to safety.

A lot of people here in Tokyo are concerned about the potential meltdown of the Fukushima nuclear power plant and the subsequent fallout. At the moment we are getting conflicting information about the situation so it’s almost impossible to give an accurate assessment of it.
I will keep you updated on any changes.

3rd entry: March 14th 2011 – 21:18
For friends and family outside Japan (I’m guessing that those of you in Japan are up to speed on what’s happening over here):
There was no power cut after all, not in my area anyway.
Went shopping today and the supermarket was absolutely full of people and the panic buying has meant that that there isn’t as much food as usual. That is not to say there is a food shortage as such, rather a decrease in the usual abundance.
I had to queue up for around 30 minutes to get a few tinned and dry goods, given that the local smaller shops have very little in terms of food.

New images of the damage inflicted by the tsunami and the ongoing rescue efforts are continuing to come in.
It has recently been announced that the cooling system at reactor number 2 in the Fukushima nuclear facility has failed. This means that the nuclear fuel rods were partially exposed, began to partially melt and have therefore given off some radiation in the area surrounding the facility. News just in however suggests that the cooling system has recently resumed working. It’s all very much a developing situation and I will keep you informed as news comes in.

4th entry: March 15th 2011 – 17:20
The situation at the nuclear power plant is uncertain. I am awaiting news from a friend who is attending a meeting here in Tokyo with a top British scientific advisor on nuclear accidents. As a precaution I have packed a suitcase ready to head to the west of Japan in order to put some distance between myself and the plant. Not a time to panic but at the same time, not a time to be complacent. As always, I will keep you updated.

5th entry: March 15th 2011 – 21:29
Today has probably been the most stressful day since the earthquake struck on Friday. Was woken up this morning by quite a large aftershock but then managed to doze off again. An hour or so later and my phone rang: it was a friend telling me that there had been another explosion at the nuclear plant. Got up and checked the news and soon realised that the situation was at its most critical since Friday.

There were reports of increased radiation levels in the Tokyo area and surrounding prefectures. I have received a few messages and phone calls from friends who were either living Tokyo, preparing to do so or at least considering it. Some were heading to the West of the country, whilst others were leaving the country completely. I decided to pack a suitcase, follow the developments on the news and prepare to leave at a moment’s notice.

A friend who works for the British Chamber of Commerce announced here on FB that at 5 pm (local time) she was attending a meeting with the British Government’s chief scientific advisor about the unfolding events at the nuclear plant in Fukushima. I decided to wait until I heard news about the outcome of that meeting.

As you may have seen from previous posts, the news was good: Tokyo is SAFE, even if things were to deteriorate at the plant, a Chernobyl-like disaster is impossible.

In addition, I have read a number of up-to-date scientific reports on the situation undistorted by the sensationalist lens of the media. After carefully reading these reports and hearing the assessment of the chief scientific advisor I have decide to stay here in the metropolis.

I respect the decision that some of my friends have taken to leave the city. It is something that everyone has to decide for themselves after taking into account the information available.

Striking the balance between panic, caution and complacency is not easy when you follow the output of the media, especially the foreign media: panic is where the balance is encouraged to lie. This brings me to my final point: the foreign media has shown a real lack of respect to anyone who is living here in Japan, and their friends and relatives, who are continuously relying on their output to keep themselves informed on the unfolding events. Some of the headlines have been sensationalistic, to say the least, especially in relation to the nuclear plant incident. The vast majority of foreign media seems to have chosen style over substance, apocalyptic rhetoric over fact and sensationalism over accuracy.

Don’t get me wrong, the situation in the north-east of the country, the part devastated by the tsunami, is awful and we have all been repeatedly exposed to the terrifying images of the tsunami. Right now however, the focus should also begin to shift to the resilience of the people in that part of Japan, the heroic efforts of the people still working at the nuclear plant to contain the leak as well as the rescue workers working around the clock to find survivors and the unbelievable feat of engineering which has meant that the vast majority of buildings in Japan have withstood the incredible force of the earthquake that those of us living in the East of the country experienced 4 days ago.
Apologies for the length of the entry but it’s been an eventful day and I believe that my sentiments are shared by non-Japanese and Japanese alike.

6th entry: March 16th 2011 – 22:26
First of all, a big thank you to all of you who have been reading my updates, commenting and messaging, much appreciated.

The day began with another problem at the Fukushima nuclear plant. I’m sure you have all seen the news so there is no point in going over that. Needless to say, I noticed the usual apocalyptic language being used by the foreign media, who once again have shown a complete lack of respect for those people who either live here or have relatives and/or friends living here. I noticed how the BBC was reporting on foreigners leaving Tokyo and actually using those people’s comments in their live text feed taken from twitter or from people commenting directly to the BBC. What an interesting example of the news creating the news: the media’s own sensationalistic rhetoric and selective reporting is playing a primary role in people’s decision to panic and flee the capital, and what do they do? They report on it. (I guess this where I should insert a lol-fknwnks)

I decided to send in a comment to the BBC in order to politely and succinctly put this point to them; but guess what…my comment wasn’t published. Oh well, there must have been too many spelling mistakes or maybe my comment did not fit in with the picture they are trying to paint: I guess we’ll never know…

Let me add that the BBC, of all the foreign media, is probably one of the less sensationalistic. I shudder to think what FOX, ITV etc. are up to. I don’t even want to know. As for the print media, I’m sure the tabloids are lowering the standards of journalism with each and every single printed word published on their toilet paper.

Anyway, this is how my day, here on the outskirts of Tokyo, panned out. Around 12:52 my apartment began shaking, again. As you know, there have been around 200 aftershocks over the last five days but this one actually made me head for the door, but after 30 seconds or so it subsided. As I posted earlier, it turned out to be a magnitude 6 earthquake and its epicentre was off the coast of Eastern Chiba, perhaps 100 km from my house, hence its intensity.

At around 3 pm I decided to head out and catch a bite to eat. I got on my bicycle (an actual antique I believe) and headed for the train station area, where some of the city’s major shopping outlets, restaurants, cafes and bars are located. As I parked my bike I noticed that though some of the shops were open they seemed to be in complete darkness: the rolling power cuts had finally come to Ichikawa. A text message from a friend’s girlfriend confirmed that the power cut would last for 3 hours and 20 minutes and be in place until 18:20. Not a single restaurant or cafe was open and those shops that were had very little to sell, in terms of food. I decided to head back home.

On my way back I found a bakery with a lot of people inside it: bread?! After queuing for around 20 minutes I managed to get 2 freshly baked baguettes. I inexplicably began to hear the Russian national anthem playing in my head and imagined myself wearing an ushanka… though to be fair, I’m guessing that in Communist Russia they had to queue for much longer than 20 minutes and I’m pretty sure that baguettes were off the menu.

Buoyed by my recent acquisition of bread – quite a rare find since Friday – I decided to try and capture the moment the electricity came back on from the nearby river, that separates Tokyo (unaffected at the time by the rolling power cuts) from Chiba. Once dusk had given way to the evening I thought the contrast between Tokyo’s bright lights and Chiba’s eerie and, for me, unprecedented plunge into complete darkness would be quite striking. It may not sound too exciting to you but you’d be surprised at the things you find exciting when there is no electricity. I have attached some pictures and let me just say this: you had to be there.

On a more serious note, the magnitude and extent of the devastation in the north-east of the country continues to unfold, and that is what our concerns should centre on at the moment; they are the people who need help; that is the area of Japan that the foreign press should be focused on: they are the real victims of Friday’s events. As you can see by the tone of this note, I, as well millions of others living here in Tokyo, who do not have family and friends affected directly by the tsunami, are fine. We may find it hard to buy milk or bread for a few days, we feel the aftershocks and we are inconvenienced by the occasional power cut, but that’s the whole point: we are INCONVENIENCED, nothing more. Oh and yes, almost forgot: thanks to some of the media’s coverage of the situation at the Fukushima nuclear plant some of us were also scared shitless.

Just because the media has run out of adjectives to describe the situation there, just because they have no new footage to shock us with and just because they did not have the foresight to enlist the help of individuals fluent in both Japanese and English – and there plenty of them – in order to help their reporters do their job, does not give them carte blanche to exaggerate the news, to make people panic and to ultimately deflect attention from the real tragedy of the past few days, a tragedy still unfolding that has affected thousands of people in that part of the country.

Hopefully this will be the last of my diatribes I subject you to. As panic begins to hopefully subside then so will my desire to bore you with my thoughts and experiences. Despite what you hear and see on the news, or read in the newspapers, things are OK here in the Tokyo area. If anything changes I will let you know, minus all the sensationalism.

However, up there in the north-east they are not: rescue workers from Japan and all over the globe are working round the clock to try and help those affected; survivors of the tsunami are sheltering together and demonstrating to the world their strength, resilience and courage; nuclear plant workers are exposing themselves to dangerous levels of radiation in order to keep as safe as possible those people living in the area. That is what’s happening. What MAKES the news and what IS the news are two different things.

Thank you for reading and apologies for the length.
Take care and look forward to reading your comments.

7th entry: March 17th 2011 – 16:19
I know that a lot of you back home in England are worried about the unfolding events here and I honestly appreciate your concern. I, as well as everyone else here, am also following the situation closely. As of the time of writing this is what the FCO is advising:

‘We advise against all non essential travel to Tokyo and north eastern Japan given the damage caused by the 11 March earthquake and resulting aftershocks and tsunami. Due to the evolving situation at the Fukushima nuclear facility and potential disruptions to the supply of goods, transport, communications, power and other infrastructure, British nationals currently in Tokyo and to the north of Tokyo should consider leaving the area.’

Note the last sentence of the paragraph ‘…British nationals currently in Tokyo and to the north of Tokyo should CONSIDER leaving the area.’

Believe me, all of us here have considered leaving the area since Friday and after considering it, I have personally decided to stay for now. Should the advice from the FCO change, then my plans will change accordingly, as I’m sure will those of all the other Brits.

There are a lot of us still here in Tokyo. I cannot speak for everyone so I will try to explain MY own reasons for staying put, for the time being. My own decision to stay does not stem from complacency, stubbornness or misinformation. It stems from my determination to remain level-headed, to not be guided by panic, and ultimately, to make an informed decision based on the advice given by the FCO and the facts that we are all continuously having to distill from the constant stream of hyperbolic news.

I hope this clarifies my decision to stay here in Tokyo for now.
I will post further updates later on in the day.
Thank you.

8th entry: March 17 2011 – 22:52
Hello everyone. I wrote yesterday that I probably would not be writing anymore updates, I lied.
What a bizarre few days we have had; today has been no exception. There was an unexpected power cut which began at around 12:40 and lasted until around 15:30. With very little to do at home I decided to head out to see what was happening here in Ichikawa. I started off by going to the park near my house: the sun was shining down and a lot of children were playing as their parents looked on: if they felt a sense of imminent danger it wasn’t visible at all.

There is no doubt that the streets are quieter than they normally are, but people are going about their daily business as normally as they possibly can. There were a few cafes open near the station so I decide to go into one to get a drink. As the power was still out there were only cold drinks available. I decided to get an ice coffee and find a seat in what turned out to be quite a crowded place. My Japanese language ability is limited but listening to the conversations of the people around me I noticed that they all centred on the Fukushima nuclear plant, their fears but also their desire for things to get back to normal. As we all sat there in semi-darkness it was clear that things were far from normal.

After nursing my coffee for around 20 minutes I decided to head back home and wait for the electricity to come back on. At 3:30 power was restored to the area. As some of you may have seen, I decided to update everyone on the recent developments in relation to the FCO’s advice to British nationals living in the area. I underestimated the emotional response that the update would elicit from my family. Perhaps I was unable to convey the relatively low importance of the FCO’s statement in the context of what has been happening over the last few days; perhaps the news was the proverbial ‘straw that broke the camel’s back. Either way, the psychological toll that the events of the last few days has had on loved ones became very clear and poignant through the wall posts, messages and in particular the phone calls that I have received over the last couple of hours; though they have been coming in for days now.

It has become clear to me that the events that have unfolded in Japan since Friday have been felt far beyond the confines of this part of the world. The pain, hardship and grief that the people living in the north-east of the country have been experiencing is beyond imagination and I will not pretend to even begin to understand what it must be like.  Unfortunately, there is nothing I can do to help them and the powerlessness I, and I’m sure, many residents of Tokyo feel is extremely frustrating. It seems to me that in all of this I have a very small part to play: all I can do is to help alleviate the anxiety of my loved ones by doing what they believe is in my best interests right now. Given the focus of the media in recent days on the potential ‘nuclear catastrophe’, it is not surprising that most of you in England and Italy have been suggesting that I should leave the country and return to England, but I can’t bring myself to do that. What I can do however is to leave the metropolis and head to Osaka, in order to join some friends who went there a couple of days ago. I am sorry to leave you Tokyo-ites but my family and my loved ones` well-being, being physical or mental, will always come first.

You might be wondering why I am reticent to leave Japan completely, even if for a short time. It’s a difficult question to answer but I will try. From the point of view of someone who has never lived here, I can imagine that you see the country as a distant, foreign land; thousands of miles away both in terms of geographical distance and culture. And you’re right, it is. What you have to remember however, is that I have lived here for 4 and a half years; I have spent some very important and formative years of my life here; I have built relationships and friendships here that still endure and will do so for a long time to come; I have both loved and hated this country in equal measure; I have gotten to know its people and culture, both their good points and their bad points; I have memories that will stay with me forever. Ultimately, I can’t bring myself to abandon – and that’s what it feels like to me – Japan in this dark hour in the name of the misplaced fear that the sensationalism of the foreign media has helped to cultivate since Friday. This may seem a little sentimental to you, then again it may not, I don’t know, and frankly I don’t care. This is the way I feel.

My family is happy that I am moving from Tokyo to Osaka: it will put their minds at ease and that’s what matters to me the most right now. If the threat were real and imminent I would probably be writing these words from the distant safety of England but I am writing to you from – what I believe to be – the safety of Tokyo, and it is with regret that tomorrow morning I will temporarily leave this great city. Take care.
がんばろ 日本

9th entry: March 22nd 2011-1:50
It really does seem as though this will be the last update I write about the events triggered by the earthquake here in Japan on March the 11th. Before leaving Tokyo for Osaka last Friday, the events unfolding at the nuclear power plant in Fukushima were being dissected in every possible way. As I checked the news at around 5 am local time, just before leaving to catch a bus from the centre of Tokyo, there was a steady stream of coverage flowing from every major news channel.
As soon as I arrived home this morning, I checked those very same news channels and found that the focus of their attentions had primarily shifted to Libya. I’m sure that in relation to Japan, the phrase `no news is good news` must have come to mind for all of you not living here. Another way to put it is that `relatively good news is no news`.

Anyway, as expected, things do seem to be settling down here, at least as far as the ‘nuclear apocalypse’ is concerned, and that is good news for everyone concerned. Of course, the death toll continues to rise in the north-east of the country as the rescue teams continue to uncover bodies from the rubble left in the wake of the tsunami, hundreds of thousands of people continue to live in temporary shelters and hope fades rapidly for the survivors still unable to contact or locate family and friends. There isn’t a great deal of good news coming form that part of Japan but I guess that the opportunity to create hyperbolic, eye-catching headlines by means of sensationalistic language does not present itself so readily in these kind of tragic, yet sadly familiar situations. It seems to me as though there is a great deal of journalistic work still to be done in that part of Japan, though perhaps it isn’t the kind of work that would yield the immediate results needed to sell the news.

A friend and colleague of mine living over here in Tokyo, showed me the following article, which appeared today in The Sun: I know it’s The Sun, but even by their standards it’s pretty shambolic. For me it’s quite a funny read but, I know what’s happening here; a lot of people back home however, don’t. Well, anyway, another reason to hate The Sun. You know, it’s been a bit hard to get hold of toilet paper out here recently so if anyone fancies buying a copy and sending it over to me I’d be much obliged.

On a separate note, the trip to Osaka was quite interesting. First of all, it was the first time that I have really spent any time there. It’s a great city, full of friendly, warm and fascinating people. It is quite different to Tokyo and it’s definitely a place I would like to spend more time in, should the opportunity arise. Secondly, it turned out to be quite a Tokyo escapee’s reunion, though I know that some of you Tokyoites will resent the term ‘escapee’…

Never before – and hopefully never again – have I had so many drunken conversations about nuclear radiation, contaminated food and water, or reasons for packing a bag and leaving because of emails and phone calls from people back home worried about a ‘nuclear meltdown’. People’s opinions ranged considerably from those concerned about radioactive spinach – you know who you are – to those who wanted to get back as soon as possible to get on with normal everyday life. Anyway, it turned out to be quite an impromptu piss-up in a great city, which I must admit, took the edge off the initial annoyance at having to leave Tokyo. Though now, given the amount of alcohol consumed, I’m not sure if did my long-term well-being any favours by going to Osaka rather than staying here in the capital…

As I said, barring any highly improbable developments, life should gradually get back to normal here in Tokyo and my need to write these updates is over and done with. It’s been quite interesting for me to document what has been happening here in Tokyo over the last 10 days or so.

For those of you who have been reading, thank you for reading and thanks again for the concern expressed through your messages, wall posts, emails and phone calls.
From Tokyo with love.


Submitted by: Maximillian Guarini


Letter from Tokyo [Essay]

7 Apr

On March 16th I sent this letter from Tokyo, where I live, to my family and friends overseas.

My friends,

First, thank you so much for all your messages and words of support and concern. I am really touched by so many of you reaching out to me. And through me to the people in Japan.

Second, I am okay. Still shaken, pretty tired, sometimes pretty emotional, but mentally and spiritually strong.

Right now all of us here are experiencing something we have no experience with. We have no handbook ready on how to deal with what is happening, neither do we know what will happen next. Real and surreal at the same time. We live from moment to moment, from day to day. Here in Tokyo we try to do our normal things, yet nothing feels normal. Life as we knew it is gone. We are already living life differently. Priorities have shifted, relationships changed. We surely feel as one community, close and on the same page. We all had the same traumatic experience, and all are very aware we are lucky, here in Tokyo, compared to the Northeast.

I know that you are concerned about the Fukushima nuclear plant and hearing reports on people leaving Tokyo to safer grounds. It is true that many foreigners have left the city. Some embassies, among which the Dutch embassy, has urged their citizens to leave. Many foreign companies have relocated their expatriates and families. I respect their decisions, especially if children are involved, but do not plan to follow their example.

I am among the group of foreign locals who is still in Tokyo and that does not want to leave. Many of us have strong connections with the city and its people. We have family, friends, coworkers or staff we are responsible for. And many of us see no reason to leave. We all monitor the news, we have lots of resources of information here, and we constantly exchange information. Facebook and twitter play an amazing role. For me these two are a real lifeline right now.

We all know there is a lot of uncertainty and that nobody can say for sure what is going to happen. We are getting reports on something new happening almost every hour. At the same time we are also getting more and more background information that is helping us put things into perspective. This helps us stay calm, make informed decisions and be prepared.

I like to share an update from the British Embassy dated yesterday, afternoon. Widely read and spread here in Tokyo. Although we cannot say anything with absolute certainty right now, this update from the Chief Scientific Advisor to the UK Government makes a lot of sense to many of us here. Moving from panic and fear to getting informed, and next to putting things into perspective is so important in situations like this. Especially for the people in the situation. Please be assured this does not mean we are getting into denial or going overboard on the positive thinking side. Believe me, we are all very reality-minded here.

I encourage you to read it.

For “facebookers”

For others

Our plight here, although not a light one, fades in comparison with the people in the Northeast. Every time we feel an earthquake or aftershock in Tokyo, and we have many, we know in the Northeast they probably feel it stronger. Every time we look at the empty shelves in supermarkets and wonder if we should start stocking food (which we should not, there is still plenty of food here), we think of the people in the disaster area evacuation camps where food supplies are getting scarcer by the day, with reports that at some places people only get one riceball a day. And as far as radiation is concerned, if we are already concerned here in Tokyo, we can only image what it is for those living closer to the plant (and in the disaster areas).

Please keep sending your thoughts and words of love and prayers to Japan. The Japanese people truly appreciate it. They feel very much supported by the world. The words of admiration for how the Japanese people have been dealing with everything since Friday, conveyed via press, personal messages and twitter (very big in Japan), makes them feel proud and helps restoring their spirit. It all helps. It really does.

And of course you can also help with financial donations. Very much needed. I am happy to send you suggestions of good organizations.

For now, with love,

Jacinta


Submitted by: Jacinta Hin
Originally published on JacintaHin.com


Tokyo after the Quake [Photos]

4 Apr























Submitted by: David Powell


An Email from my Landlord [Essay]

3 Apr

(Below is the response from Akaishi-san, my landlord/guardian angel/friend/philosopher/guide in Tokyo, to a well-wisher who asked him to move out of Japan for a while. This is one of the most moving pieces that I have ever read, more so for its matter-of-fact tone; that characterizes how most Japanese responded to the unprecedented triple tragedy that befell this exceptional country and its people, in living history)


Dear friends,

Thank you very much your kind suggestion to evacuate ourselves to France .

But thanks to your praying Gods and Kamisama to protect us,we are so far well protected from so called Radiation fears caused by the Nuclaer plants in Northern part of Japan.

So far there is no Victim nor sufferer from Radiation is reported

At present japanese emergency workers are trying to cool overheating reactors in many ways and also many people are trying hard to supply food ,water ,electric power ,clothes and daily items to those sufferer as much as possible.

U.S.Government recommend that U.S. citizens within 80 kilometer of the plant leave the area to a safer place or heaven in Asia.

We are staying in Tokyo,which locates about 250 kilometer south from Fukishima Nuclear plant. So we are enough away from Nuclear plants at this moment.And also our Himonya area is given special favour to be out of Electric power rotation area.

We, Naoko and I, are thinking that we must behave ourselves just like a captain of Titanic Ship which sunk to the depths of sea near the South pole many years ago. Because we are in a same position to leave our ship last like a captain of Titanic Ship in case of danger. Until we are sure to believe that all of our children, residents of Excelsior garden and local people are all safe, we cannnot leave Tokyo.

We wish we can keep our patience and order in good condition.

We hope every thing will be settled soon in good order.

Thanking your kind and warm attention and offer to us,

Mr and Mrs Akaishi


Submitted by: Arun Vemuri


The Quakebook theme tune?

3 Apr

@ourmaninabiko pushed @FatBlueMan to write a song, before the idea of Quakebook was born (about 10mins before!)

And here is that song…..

Global media coverage for Quakebook

2 Apr

It is really quite astounding how much coverage Quakebook has received already.

Don’t forget to read what others are saying about Quakebook on the Media page.

The Terrible Tsunami [Poem]

1 Apr

For an English translation, please scroll down.


Tsunami Terribilis

Quand la terre tremble.

CRĀĀĀCK! BRRRR! KRRRK!
Un bruit sourd qui surgit de la terre même.
CRĀĀĀCK! BRRRR! KRRRK!
Grugeant les hommes jusqu’aux os en cet aprème.

Les enfers ont ouvert les portes rougeoyantes
De leurs fournaises aux remugles sulfureux.
Toute la terre tremble et remue palpitante
Jusqu’aux profondeurs de ses soubassements ferreux.

Un horrible craquement qui ébranle la terre.
Peut-être une saillie souterraine entre des dieux?
L’onde de choc, qui se propage en mille lieux,
Secoue le roc sur ce quart d’hémisphère.

Des usines qui crachent le feu vers les nues,
L’onde serpent se faufile un peu plus vite.
La terre bouge sous les grands gratte-ciel qui s’agitent
Comme les doigts de la main qui envoie un salut.

Là en dessous, il y a cette alchimie secrète
Que la colère inconsciente des dieux secrète.
Les dés du hasard et du destin sont lancés
Et les monstres du néant peuvent s’élancer.

Agitant une fois de plus la Lance céleste,
Izanami et Izanagi se détestent
Et manigancent méchamment du tremblement
De terre au tsunami serpent, l’accouplement.

Au fond de la mer une très grande avalanche.
Les esprits des Aïnous dans la mer balayés
Et les heikegani des Taira guerriers
Voient l’opportunité de prendre leur revanche.

La grande vague arrive.

TŌŌŌT! TŌŌŌT! TŌŌŌT! TŌŌŌT!
La sirène surprise lance sa complainte.
TŌŌŌT! TŌŌŌT! TŌŌŌT! TŌŌŌT!
De la mort qui arrive, une longue plainte.

Les anciens ne nous avaient-ils pas avertis
De la colère insensée de ces dieux célestes :
De la terre qu’ils ébranlent de leurs cris,
De la mer dont ils agitent les vagues.

Kashima a-t-il relâché son attention?
Le poisson-chat géant Ōnamazu rapide
En aurait-il profité pour s’enfuir perfide
Et causer du séisme l’abomination?

Jōmon, Yayoi, les civilisations anciennes,
Combien de fois ont-ils vécus des cas pareils
Où Amaterasu, la déesse Soleil,
Laisse aller ces Forces terribles souterraines.

Susanoo, dieu de la mer et des tempêtes
Se livre encore à ses offenses à tâtons.
Cette fois-ci personne pour vaincre le dragon
Yamata-no-Orochi, avec ses huit têtes.

La vague qui s’en vient sur le vaste océan
En un long, si long, très long ruban de néant
Qui de son trait, un nouvel horizon dessine,
Seul avertissement de sa visée assassine.

Est-ce une déesse qui a fait mousser la mer
Pour une cérémonie d’un thé doux et amer?
Ou des profondeurs, le grand requin Isonade
Qui remonte avaler les bateaux dans les rades?

Quelque part au bout du rond de ce monde trop plat,
Un papillon a dû, dérangé par un pas,
Secouer, sans aucun doute par inadvertance,
Un peu trop fort de ses ailes la quintessence.

La grande vague déferle.

TŌŌŌT! TŌŌŌT! TŌŌŌT! TŌŌŌT!
La sirène désormais en vain, toujours hurle.
TŌŌŌT! TŌŌŌT! TŌŌŌT! TŌŌŌT!
Les dés sont jetés en une noire blessure.

La beauté funeste d’une mariée en noir,
Aux longues ailes blanches d’écumes si tranchantes,
Déroulant de son voile la traîne béante
Aux dentelles à franges d’un géant hachoir.

La grande vague de Kanawaga ressurgit
En vraies masses monstrueuses qui déferlent
En enfer de fureur, de fléaux, d’énergie,
Une voile noire que sur nous les dieux ferlent.

Et la vague élargit inlassablement
Sa lame sans fin qui se noircit de sa haine.
Un si grand rouleau qui écrase lourdement
Toute chose qui peut exister dans cette plaine.

Les grandes vagues font la file pour saccager.
L’enfer est d’un instant suspendu dans le vide.
Le chaos n’est qu’un peu de néant à ranger.
Un fleuve irrité à rebrousse poil se ride.

Ainsi donc, la grande vague à Kanawaga
Sortait finalement de son dessin, de ses lignes,
Et abattait infiniment son oméga
En grondements sourds de tonnerres curvilignes.

La vague avance, franchit les risibles murs.
Elle pousse tout devant en un rampant reptile,
Laissant parfois des squelettes comme des îles.
Elle bitume son vide d’un limon obscur.

La vague à Minami Sanriku, de ses griffes,
Grave creux tout le long de la côte sa glyphe.
La mer envahit tout d’un maelström de succions.
Kesennuma n’est plus que mort, désolation.

La vague qui s’étire encore.

SHĪĪĪH! SHĪĪĪH! SHĪĪĪH!
La vague qui s’étire un peu plus de sa langue
Comme si elle n’avait pas assez joui dans sa fangue.
SHĪĪĪH! SHĪĪĪH! SHĪĪĪH!

Que peut-il naître du mariage de l’immonde,
Venu du fin fond des entrailles de ce monde,
Avec le désastre qui accable ces humains :
Un gigantesque jeu de pinball inhumain,

Où des bateaux naviguent des rues en oblique,
Ricochant aux maisons qu’ils emportent souvent.
Un vaste terrain de jeu pour ces dieux sadiques
Pour qui nous sommes quelques poussières au vent.

Le petit bébé est emporté comme plume,
Loin de ce monde qu’il n’a même pas encore appris.
Tous ces gens dont le courant emporte la vie,
Savent-ils qu’ils ne seront plus qu’un peu d’écume?

Quand le dieu des mers, Ryujin le tout puissant,
Dresse serpent, la force du courant en laisse,
Monter sur les toits et attendre impuissants
D’être emportés ou qu’enfin le niveau d’eau baisse.

Est-ce un tatsu ou un mille-pattes du néant,
Qui hante les entrailles noires de la houle
Ou le serpent vengeur bachi hebi qui roule
Et se mord la queue en ouroboros géant?

Le temps suspendu du désastre.

Kachikachi! Kachikachi! Kachikachi!
Le temps suspendu ne mesure plus ses heures.
Kachikachi! Kachikachi! Kachikachi!
Et la noirceur qui vient n’est peut être qu’un leurre.

Déluge hallucinant :
¨C’est comme ça maintenant¨
Quand les digues trahissent
Et deviennent complices.

À Shishiori, le pays est avalé
Par la gueule béante de la bête immonde
Qui rampe boueuse à ras le sole et qui gronde
Et le feu consume les débris emmêlés.

Un train serpente et file le long du rivage,
La vague l’emporte comme un collier de fleurs.
Un écolier réfugié au troisième étage
Qui voit les corps au deuxième, retient son cœur.

Le grand balancier de la vie, de la non vie,
S’est noyé sous la mer de ces larmes énormes
Venues des ces abysses profondes et sombres
Où se sont réveillées les entités honnis.

Les autos fuient linéaires, respectueuses,
Sur la route et l’aiguille du temps tueuse
Les enfilent une à une en sombres bouliers
De métal tordu, abandonnés, balayés.

Puis la vague se retire.

SLēūSH! SLēūSH! SLēūSH!
Ayant tout ravagé, la vague se retire.
SLēūSH! SLēūSH! SLēūSH!
En immenses tourbillons d’absurde délire.

Une petite poupée a sa face dans la vase,
Comme pour une enfant, l’évocation d’un adieu,
Et cette honte infâme de merde pour les dieux,
Assassins des enfants et bébés qu’ils écrasent.

Des enfants qui dansaient,
Leurs corps sous les flots roulent.
Tous ces débris effraient
Et sur leur dos s’écroulent.

La boue a sali le grand sablier du temps
Et les rêves noyés dans la tête d’enfants.
Les dieux clowns, de tous ces malheurs, un peu s’amusent,
Considérant tout ça avec dédain et ruse.

Les âmes des enfants
Emportées sur la houle,
Pétales en rose et blanc
De cerisiers qui croulent.
.

L’après déluge.

BiiBO! BiiBO! BiiBO! BiiBO!
Le monde regarde en direct le grand déluge.
BiiBO! BiiBO! BiiBO! BiiBO!
Cette terre habitée que le tsunami gruge.

Le soleil levant ne fait plus danser ses rais
Sur la ligne d’horizon désormais incertaine.
Même la lune là-haut se cache et s’effraie.
La neige seule cache un peu cette géhenne.

À Minami et à Rikuzen-Takata
Qu’une terre fantôme post-apocalyptique.
À Natori, à Sendai et Kanesuka,
Qu’une grande étendue boueuse cadavérique.

Où était le gardien des maisons, Inari,
Pour qu’il ne puisse annoncer le danger d’avance?
Pourquoi de Zashiki Warashi ce silence?
Quel message, Koropokkuru, sous les fuki?

Est-ce qu’ils ont pu s’envoler tous ces petits anges,
Avant d’être entraînés sous ce magma étrange?
La nuit il y a sur l’eau comme de faibles lueurs :
Les voix tremblantes des âmes et de leur peur.

Puisse notre prière descendre
En un grand drap de neige tendre
Pour les vivant réconfortant
Et pour tous les morts apaisant.

Dans les cerisiers, il y a les fleurs qui frissonnent
Au souvenir des disparus jamais revenus.
J’entends de l’éternité le gong qui résonne.
Pleurez donc ce printemps jamais venu!

DŌŌŌNG! DŌŌŌNG! DŌŌŌNG!
DŌŌŌNG! DŌŌŌNG! DŌŌŌNG!
DŌŌŌNG! DŌŌŌNG! DŌŌŌNG!
DŌŌŌNG! DŌŌŌNG! DŌŌŌNG!


The terrible tsunami!

When the ground trembles.

CRĀĀĀCK! BRRRR! KRRRK!
A muflled noise which appears suddenly from the ground.
CRĀĀĀCK! BRRRR! KRRRK!
Duping the people up to bones in this afternoon.

The hells opened the reddening doors
Of theirs sulphurous smell furnaces.
All the ground trembles and moves up
To the depths of ferrous bases.

A horrible crackle which shakes the ground.
Maybe a subterranean projection between gods?
The shock wave, which propagates in one thousand places,
Shake the rock on this quarter of hemisphere.

Factories which spit the fire towards the sky,
The wave snake moves a little faster.
The ground moves under the big skyscrapers which stir
As the fingers of the hand which sends a salute.

There down, there is this secret alchemy
That the unconscious anger of the gods distils.
The dices of the chance and the fate are thrown
And the monsters of the nothingness can rush.

Shaking one more time the heavenly Spear,
Izanami and Izanagi hate each other
And plot maliciously the mating
Of the earthquake with the tsunami-snake.

At the bottom of the sea, a very big collapsing.
The spirits of Aïnous swept in the sea
And the heikegani of Taira warriors
See the opportunity to take their revenge.

The big wave arrives.

TŌŌŌT! TŌŌŌT! TŌŌŌT! TŌŌŌT!
The surprised siren launches its lament.
TŌŌŌT! TŌŌŌT! TŌŌŌT! TŌŌŌT!
Of the death which arrives, a long complaint.

The ancients had not warned us
Of the insane anger of these celestial gods?
Of the ground which they shake of their shouts?
Of the sea which they shake the waves?

Kashima did he release his attention?
The huge catfish fast Onamazu
Would have he deceptive taken advantage of it to run away
And to cause the abomination of the earthquake?

Jomon, Yayoi, the ancient civilizations,
How many times they lived on the similar cases
Where Amaterasu, the goddess Sun
Let go these subterranean terrible Strengths?

Susanoo, god of the sea and the storms
Is still engaged again in his insults.
This time nobody to overcome the dragon
Yamata-no-Orochi, with the eight heads

. The wave which comes there on the vast ocean
In a long, so long, very long ribbon of nothingness
Which of its line, a new horizon draws,
Only warning of its aim murders.

It is the goddess who lathered up the sea
For a ceremony of a soft and bitter tea?
Or from the depths, the big shark Isonade
Who raises to swallow boats in natural harbours?

Somewhere at the end of the circle of this too flat world,
A butterfly owed, disturbed by a step,
Shake, doubtless inadvertently,
Too hardly of its wings the quintessence.

The big wave breaks.

TŌŌŌT! TŌŌŌT! TŌŌŌT! TŌŌŌT!
The siren henceforth in vain, always roars.
TŌŌŌT! TŌŌŌT! TŌŌŌT! TŌŌŌT!
Dices are thrown in a black wound.

The disastrous beauty of a bride in black,
In the long wings white with foams so cutting,
Unwinding of its veil the gaping dragnet
With the lace fringe of a giant chopper.

The big wave of Kanawaga re-appears
In the real monstrous masses which unfurl
In hell of fury, plagues, energy,
A black sail which on us the gods furl.

And the wave widens indefatigably
Its unlimited blade which darkens of its hatred.
A so big roller which mashes heavily
Any things which can exist in this plain.

The big waves make the line to devastate.
The hell is of a moment suspended in the space.
The chaos is only a little of nothingness to be tidied up.
A river irritated by the wrong way wrinkles.

So thus, the big wave to Kanawaga
Went out finally of its)drawing, its lines,
And brought down infinitely its omega
In muffled rumblings of curvilinear thunders.

The vague advance, crosses funny walls.
It pushes anything front in one crawling reptile,
Sometimes leaving skeletons as islands.
It asphalts its void of dark silt.

The wave to Minami Sanriku, of its claws,
Engraves deep its glyph all along the coast.
The sea invades everything of a maelstrom of suctions.
Kesennuma is not more than death, sadness.

The wave which still stretches.

SHĪĪĪH! SHĪĪĪH! SHĪĪĪH!
The wave which stretches some more of its tongue
As if it had not enough enjoyed in its mud.
SHĪĪĪH! SHĪĪĪH! SHĪĪĪH!

That he can arise from the marriage of the squalid,
Come from the fine bottom of the entrails of this world
With the disaster which swamps these human beings?
A gigantic game of inhuman Pinball,

Where boats navigate streets in oblique,
Bouncing on the houses which they often take.
A vast playground for these sadistic gods
For whom we are some dusts in the wind.

The small baby is taken as pluck,
Far from this world which he did not learn even yet.
All these people whose current takes the life,
Do they know that they will not be more than a little foam?

When the god of seas, Ryujin quite powerful,
Set upright, snake, the strength of the current in leash,
Rise on roofs and wait powerless
To be taken or what finally the water level lowers.

It is a tatsu or a centipede of the nothingness,
Who haunts the black entrails of the swell
Or the avenging snake bachi hebi which runs
And bites itself the tail in an giant ouroboros?

The suspended time of the disaster.

Kachikachi! Kachikachi! Kachikachi!
The suspended time does not count any more its hours.
Kachikachi! Kachikachi! Kachikachi!
And the blackness which comes is can be only a delusion.

The hallucinating Flood:
¨It is like that now ¨
When sea walls betray
And become collusive.

At Shishiori, the country is swallowed
By the gaping mouth of the squalid animal
Which crawls muddy on the ground and roars
And the fire consumes the tangled debris.

A train snakes and moves along the bank,
The wave takes it as a garland of flowers.
A pupil taken refuge in the third floor
Who sees bodies in the second, holds his heart.

The big pendulum of the life, the not life,
Drowned itself under the sea of these enormous tears
Come of these deep and dark gaps
Where woke up the entities held in contempt.

Automobiles run away linear, respectful,
On the road and the killer needle of time
Thread them one by one in dark abacuses
Of twisted metal, abandoned, swept

Then the wave withdraws.

SLēūSH! SLēūSH! SLēūSH!
Having ravaged everything, the wave withdraws.
SLēūSH! SLēūSH! SLēūSH!
In immense whirlwinds of absurd delirium.

A small doll has its face in the mud,
As for a child, the evocation of a goodbye,
And this vile shame of shit for the gods,
Murderers of the children and the babies whom they crush.

Children who danced,
Their bodies under streams roll.
All these debris frighten
And on their back collapse.

The mud made dirty the big hourglass of time
And the dreams flooded in children’s head.
The gods clowns, of all these misfortunes, a little have fun,
Considering all this disparagingly and mockery.

The souls of the children
Taken on the swell,
Petals in pink and white
Of cherry trees which collapse.

After deluge.

BiiBO! BiiBO! BiiBO! BiiBO!
The world looks live the big deluge.
BiiBO! BiiBO! BiiBO! BiiBO!
This inhabited earth which the tsunami eats away.

The rising sun does not make dance any more its beams
On the henceforth uncertain horizon.
Even the moon above hides and is frightened.
Only the snow hides a little this Gehenna

To Minami and to Rikuzen-Takata
Only a ghost earth post-apocalyptic.
To Natori, to Sendai and Kanesuka,
Only a big deathly muddy area.

Where was the guard of houses, Inari,
So that he cannot announce the danger beforehand?
Why of Zashiki Warashi this silence?
What message, Koropokkuru, under fuki?

Were they be able to fly away all these small angels,
Before being pulled under this strange magma?
At night there is on the water as weak lights:
The trembling voices of souls and their fear.

Can our prayer come down
In a big sheet of soft snow
Consoling for the alive
And calming for every deaths.

In cherry trees, there are the flowers which tremble
In the memory of the missing persons for ever.
I hear the gong of the eternity which resounds.
Cry then this spring which never came.

DŌŌŌNG! DŌŌŌNG! DŌŌŌNG!
DŌŌŌNG! DŌŌŌNG! DŌŌŌNG!
DŌŌŌNG! DŌŌŌNG! DŌŌŌNG!
DŌŌŌNG! DŌŌŌNG! DŌŌŌNG!


Submitted by: Hyneige
Original published here


ICARUS [Poem]

1 Apr

What stays with you are
Images that resonate like dreams, or
Cinematic, as only Hollywood Disasters can be
Deck of the Titanic now your office floor
That incinerator tower opposite careening like a Poplar tree
A sudden smudge of smoke across the Bay, a flapping door
A colleague coiled under a desk like a foetus
Grabbing random objects to save
Thirty-nine steps times thirty nine
Then down below, in parks, in cemeteries, watching the wave
Approach on keitai screens, low talking;
Pavements swarmed by office workers on the move in lines
A Biblical host walking, just walking
And always the politeness, the offers of help;
Outside a Konbini, two tiny dogs
Too terrified to yelp
Start shagging and don’t stop
Then later, when you realize that no buildings
Have collapsed, that Tokyo is more or less unscathed
And carries on as life must carry on
You think of Auden’s Beaux Arts poem
The ship that sails on past the boy that fell out of the sky
The torturer’s horse that scratches its innocent behind on a tree
The natural oblivion that accompanies suffering
And wonder how such calm serenity can co-exist
Beside apocalyptic shock from up the coast
How the Sakura buds in Ueno Park persist
How the Spring sun still warms tarmacadam or concrete post
Its all the same, and yet its different:
The balance of the world has subtly changed
Underneath the surface one detects
Something small but fundamentally deranged
Like when you feel an unexpected lump,
The cuckold who fears an affair,
Or the misjudgement on a set of stairs when your foot expects
To land on a step, finds only air.


Submitted by: Simon Dalby, Tokyo


Quake in Nagoya [Essay]

1 Apr

I’d planned to meet a foreign refugee living in Nagoya because I wanted to spend the afternoon photographing him for a project I’m working on. We arranged to meet at 2.45 p.m. at Exit 1 of Takaoka station. I got there a couple of minutes early.

I walked up the steps and out into the open, checked my phone for any messages and saw that he was going to be a few minutes late. So I stood, waiting on the corner with nothing much to do but play around with my camera.

It was then that I suddenly felt dizzy. I immediately grabbed hold of a nearby signpost just in case I fainted, but quickly realised that it was the ground moving up and down. I heard a security guard shout at construction workers to get of some scaffolding and I looked up to see office workers peering out of windows to see how bad the earthquake was or was going to get.

My immediate thought was the central Japan had been hit, probably somewhere in the mountains. Takayama perhaps. So I checked Twitter and read a tweet from a Tokyo-based friend saying that the capital had been hit by a ‘big one’. I realised then that it was more than just an ordinary quake. I stood there, the ground still shaking, checking Twitter for updates and keeping my eye on the construction crane to my right and the Nagoya Highway directly in front and 15 metres or so above. A woman walked passed in a hurry seemingly oblivious to what was happening.

5 minutes later, after it had stopped, my friend arrived by car and we headed to his office. We checked the internet and read about the tsunami warnings. When the first strong aftershock hit everything started swaying again so we all went outside.

Back inside one friend made a call on her mobile to check the extent of the damage. I could tell from her expression that it was no ordinary quake, even for Japan, but didn’t realise how serious it really was until I got home.


Submitted by: Sean Breslin, Aichi