Solemn ceremonies mark the first anniversary of the March 11th earthquake
The Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre in Toronto (JCCC) observed the first anniversary of the March 11 earthquake, and the subsequent tsunami that inundated Japan’s northeastern coastline last year, with an afternoon of prayers, solemn ceremonies and a moment of silence.
In his opening address to the Remembering March 11 memorial crowd, Consul General of Japan in Toronto Eiji Yamamoto recalled the moment when the walls of his office in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tokyo began to shake violently on that day.
“On this hour, people of Japan and, indeed, the world, were shocked to see the huge tsunami engulfing the coast and villages of Northeastern parts of Japan,” Yamamoto said. He expressed his condolences to the victims of the disaster and all those still suffering in the affected regions in Japan. He then highlighted the efforts made by the Japanese-Canadian communities and Torontonians in “continuing the rescue of our country.”
At 2:46 p.m., the exact time when the 9.0 magnitude earthquake struck the island nation, prayer services mourning those who perished on March 11 were held by the Japanese Gospel Church of Toronto, Konko Church of Toronto, and the Toronto Buddhist Temple. Following a sombre sutra chanting, the crowd stood for a minute of silence.
The two-hour event featured a series of videos and presentations from the Japanese-Canadian communities and St. Josaphat Catholic School, including mentions of disaster relief fundraising projects the JCCC conducted over the past year. Among them was Koko Kikuchi’s report on his visit to various parts of Tohoku, Japan, and the JCCC Origami Crane Project. Kikuchi is one of the volunteers delivering paper cranes and letters to the schools in the affected areas.
A preview of filmmaker Yuki Nakamura’s upcoming documentary Never Forget March 11, 2011, was shown as an introduction to kick off the afternoon’s presentations. The film chronicles the enormity of the disaster and many first-hand accounts of the current recovery effort in Tohoku.
The day of remembrance also shed light on the enduring optimism shared by many Japanese people in the disaster regions. In the video Arigatou From Japan, which includes recorded messages from Ishinomaki City in Miyagi Prefecture, locals voiced their hope for the future and conveyed their thanks to countries contributing to the disaster relief effort.
There are stories of heroism and self-sacrifice as well. Students from Ishinomaki Elementary School remember their English teacher, Taylor Anderson, who helped evacuate them from the classroom during the earthquake, and later waited patiently for each of their parents to pick them up. But when the tsunami wave submerged most of Ishinomaki City that same day, Anderson couldn’t escape from her apartment.
Sitting in the back row of the memorial hall, Del and Shelley Ishida, both sansei JCs, recounted the tale of their son, Jason, 26, who went to Fukushima City as a Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme teacher just before the earthquake.
“He thought it (earthquake) would never end,” Shelley said.
At the time, Jason was teaching an English class inside a hundred-year-old school building. When the tremors started, he felt the fear of death overcome his entire being. “He thought he was going to die,” Shelley said. And minutes seemed like hours.
After returning to Canada in the immediate aftermath of the disaster, Jason felt an obligation and responsibility to the locals in Fukushima City. So he flew back, loaded up his car with food, water and supplies and drove back to the school, which had become an evacuation centre.
“It’s sad that tragedies like this happened, but we got closer as well,” Del said. The Ishidas are still worried about their son who works near the vicinity of the Daiichi nuclear power plant.
Del, however, remains hopeful. “Japan has always been a country that’s very resilient,” he said. “It has came through so many tragedies over the years, so I know that it will survive this for sure.”