Yappeshi Festival in Tohoku, Japan
By James Jack
In this area of Japan’s northeastern Iwate prefecture, the impact of last year’s tsunami can still be strongly felt: abandoned train tracks fill with weeds growing where people once stood waiting at the station, cement foundations are all that remain from countless houses and buildings that stood in low lying areas, the remnants of a public bathhouse with its roof torn off—and the endless debris. As destruction is gradually being cleaned up and relief efforts are bringing many people their essential needs in the seaside areas of Tohoku, artists too are playing a significant role in the emotional recovery of residents in towns such as Ofunato.
