One Year Later

On March 11, 2011, the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami devastated much of eastern Japan. On that single day, many of our lives were changed forever. For some, it was the loss of all material possessions. For others, it may have been their cars, houses, companies, or even their entire city. Countless people lost dear family and friends. Lives were lost, memories were swallowed whole, and all hope had vanished.

Article Transcript

Over a year has now passed since that tragic day. Although we as a nation lost so much then, we were also able to learn many lessons from the disaster. Some of these lessons include love for our families, bonds of friendship, community spirit, and preciousness of life. Each individual’s experiences will lead him or her to discover these lessons in a unique way.

In any case, the reality is that following this tragedy, it is imperative that we move forward into the future, rather than just dwell on the past. It is our responsibility as adults to create a better world for future generations.

The moment the earthquake struck, I felt that I had to do something. As a professional caricaturist, I considered my options. I came to the realization that drawing caricatures was essentially my only skill, and I wondered how I could possibly use artwork to help the situation. Sadly, I concluded that there wasn’t really anything I could do. Even after discussing this predicament with other caricaturists in my company, we all felt helpless given the circumstances. However, I had faith that one way or another, we could come together and help those affected by the disaster.

Today, over one year after the earthquake and tsunami, we are using caricature art to spread laughter, emotion, and joyous surprise throughout the Tohoku region.

I’m delighted to take this opportunity to share some of our company’s experiences from the past year. Specifically, I would like to focus on the amazing potential of caricatures. Hopefully this article can help spread pride and encouragement in our line of work.

On that fateful Friday afternoon last March, I found myself in the Shibuya district in Tokyo. Shibuya is a famous gathering place for young people and is one of Tokyo’s most famous entertainment areas. I was putting the finishing touches on three months of negotiations to acquire a prime retail location for a new Caricature Japan shop. With a targeted opening date of April 1, we all definitely had a positive outlook for the spring.

While en route to sign the contract, I exited the Shibuya train station and waited to cross at a large intersection, just across the street from my destination. This particular intersection is actually famous for being the busiest in Tokyo, with up to 3,000 individuals crossing during a single green light. Also, the Starbucks on that corner proudly claims that it is the most profitable Starbucks in the world. At the exact moment the earthquake hit, I experienced a ferocious shaking unlike anything I had ever felt before. The entire intersection bellowed, many around me screamed and the buildings above shook violently. Worried people flowed out of the buildings and onto the streets. Instantly, I was enveloped by the crowd. Perhaps if the glass windows above shattered, or if one of the buildings collapsed, I would not be alive today.

Tokyo’s impressive public transportation system came to a complete standstill, and the only option for people to return to their homes was on foot. I actually ended up walking five hours from Shibuya back to our company headquarters located all the way across the city in Asakusa.

It is no surprise that our company’s ten shops were forced to close that day. Many of the artists in our company could not return to their homes and were therefore stuck in our office. I wondered what challenges the next day would bring.

In light of the giant earthquake that we experienced, our immediate priority was the safety of all our company employees. Suffice to say, generating company sales was definitely not an urgent matter. But then, one of our new employees spoke out: “I want to go back to work. I want to cover my shift tomorrow. This is my job, and this is all that I can do. It is our responsibility to try our hardest and do whatever we can do.” It soon became clear that we all understood what she meant.

So then I thought, “In that case, the shop managers should arrive to work 30 minutes early, confirm all evacuation procedures in the event of another immediate emergency, pay close attention to the developing news, and happily open our doors to the public while ensuring safety as our top priority.”

The next day, our shops that were located in larger buildings and malls remained closed, but those located directly on streets opened to the public. Then we waited with heightened curiosity. Amazingly, our sales for that day were virtually identical to our average sales from before the disaster! I would like to share some words from our customers that day:

“It’s so great that you’re open! Most of the shops on the street had their shutters closed, and this is the only place that’s open. We’re so sorry for the areas that were affected by the disaster.”

“It might be inappropriate for me to say, but today is actually our wedding anniversary. I’m so thankful that I was able to find someplace that is actually open!”

“I need to immediately return to my hometown, which was severely hit. I’ll be traveling alone and leaving my wife and child here in Tokyo. That’s why I’d like to first have a drawing of our family together to leave with them. Time for me to be on my way!”

Some people were even taking trains (which had started to run again) to visit our shops. At that moment, I realized that in this time of tragedy, there actually was something we were doing to help! Our work as caricaturists is to create not just a drawing, but also a physical manifestation of a memory from a fleeting moment in time.

We pledged to donate all proceeds from our Asakusa headquarters during a ten-day span in late March towards disaster relief. Even in this period of an incredibly poor national economy, our Asakusa shop had 373 customers, which enabled us to donate ¥794,360 (about US $10,350). We continued with our efforts to support the disasterstricken area from afar for the next three months, until they were able to achieve some semblance of normalcy.

As July rolled around, the public was finally able to get a more clear picture of what was actually happening in the devastated region, and we decided to send a team of five artists there. One of our first stops was at a refugee shelter in Ishinomaki city, Miyagi prefecture. The refugee shelter was located at a local gymnasium. The accommodations were shockingly crude; towels were laid out on bare ground and cardboard boxes were used as partitions. There wasn’t anything in that shelter that could bring joy and happiness to those relegated to such depressing conditions. As soon as we entered the gymnasium, crowds of people had already gathered, many clutching photographs in their hands.

One mother had lost her husband and three children, so I drew her a caricature of them. While crafting the caricature based on a few different photographs that had been collected, she shared a heartfelt tale about one particular summer trip to the beach. She told the story in such vivid detail that it was as if the entire family was right there with us. For her mischievous young boy, I drew a beetle on the top of his head. For her two daughters that loved watermelon, I drew them with their cheeks stuffed with the refreshing fruit. Behind them in the distance, she and her husband could be seen fondly watching over their children. Throughout the drawing process, she was smiling and crying tears of joy, and ultimately decided that the caricature would become her new good luck charm. It became evident that many people had lost their pets to the tsunami, so I also drew some dogs. For many, pets are also important family members.

For the grandfather who had lost his grandchild and consequently his will to live, a grandmother brought a photograph of the two and requested a caricature be drawn of them together.

For the woman who lost her son, I made a composite caricature using images from both his early childhood and from when he was 20 years old and ready to start his new full-time job.

Photographs can serve as clear reminders of the past. But caricatures are unique in their ability to safely enable someone to take a memorable journey back in time.

While listening to people share their stories, it was clear that there were countless memories in that gymnasium, both painful and sweet. While memories will never be completely forgotten, it is important to move forward in life and not dwell on the past; this all begins with being able to take that first step. It is my sincere hope that our caricatures were able to provide some of them with that initial nudge of encouragement.

Spring turned into the hot summer, then autumn led to the snow and cold of winter. And while paying attention to the changing seasons, I went back to Tohoku.

I went to all sorts of places. I started at the shelters, then moved on to temporary housing units, children’s day care centers, fishing spots, festivals, etc. Wherever I could be of service, I went.

At a children’s day care center, I was encouraged by the countless smiles on the faces of the children. But deep within each of those smiles, I was saddened to see the pain and grief that they will undoubtedly be burdened with for the rest of their lives. After the earthquake, some children were petrified and speechless by just a puddle of water. Some children lost both of their parents and had to come from their grandparents’ house. Others came from temporary housing units since their homes were washed away.

For these children, sharing a caricature and getting them to smile for even a split second is a miracle. In life, there will definitely be hardships, but there will also be plenty of joyful moments, and that is what I ultimately want them to understand.

While going from place to place and meeting so many people, there was never a moment that I took my service for granted. I realized how truly fortunate I was to have so many people let me draw them and their loved ones.

Everyone I encountered was so grateful throughout. At one of the shelters, an elderly woman served me some scraps of bread that were beautifully arranged on a plate. She did not even hesitate to spare the few resources that she still had.

At the children’s day care center, we were given some soup. The children were responsible for bringing their own rice for lunch, so the soup was all they had to offer us. It was cold and had only a few mushrooms, but for those of us that were drawing caricatures from morning until evening, it truly tasted delicious.

I’m especially grateful today for the work that we all do as caricaturists. Our jobs are about so much more than generating sales or increasing profits, and I truly am thankful for the special way that caricature art can serve the greater good.

And that’s why we won’t be defeated by this earthquake and tsunami. I’m doing my part by trying to create jobs, train workers, open new shops, and strengthen our national economy.

Thanks to your help, our new Shibuya shop eventually opened and has been a success, just like our other new shops in Kyoto and Odaiba. At these three shops and the rest of our retail locations, we are fortunate to have many customers every single day.

The one year anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami has come and gone. Did you know that in the cases of huge natural disasters, it is not uncommon for the local suicide rate to dramatically increase? We are now at a point that there is sufficient material aid in the Tohoku region. But what is still desperately needed there is the nurturing of the hearts and minds of those whose lives were devastated. While Tokyo remains my base of operations, I am dedicated to moving forward with this important project, and will be going back to Tohoku again soon.

In conclusion, through everything that I have been doing, I’ve come to an even greater realization of how amazing and powerful caricature art can be. A single caricature has the power to create a genuine smile in just a few minutes. In fact, the possibilities of caricature art are endless. This can be illustrated in the way that a piece of artwork can create a single moment to represent an entire lifetime, while simultaneously providing hope for the future. Perhaps through fate, we have all been blessed with a unique talent and ability to go to work and spread happiness with others. Each day I can feel more and more proud of my profession and myself.

Following the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, I received so much support from so many friends around the world. On behalf of all of the people of Japan, I would like to thank each and every one of you from the bottom of my heart. I promise that Japan will rise once again. We may have been knocked down from the disaster, but we were not knocked out. We sincerely thank you for being in our corner and helping us back to our feet. In early 2012, we are once again taking our first steps, dragging our feet along for now, but working our way back onto solid ground. We couldn’t have done it without you!

It is now my mission to continue to seek out smiles in the affected areas, and eventually share them through an art exhibition in Tokyo. I hope to continue this work for the next ten years. It is my dream that by 2021, Japan will once again be a strong and resilient nation.

Kage Nakanishi is an artist and owner of Caricature Japan, Inc. He has been a member of ISCA since 2003, and won the Golden Nosey in 2007. www.caricature-japan.com

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