March Was Made of Yarn
Various Authors
This book is a collection of writings by various Japanese authors on the 2011 Fukushima catastrophe.
My personal favourite is “lulu” by Shinji Ishii: Lulu is a little dog that sneaked into one of the numerous shelters for orphaned children that were established after the quake. In the night, she sees mysterious, ghost-like women, who, coming down amidst a shining light from the ceiling, comfort the sleeping children. All of them, except five, who seem too wrapped up in darkness for the women to notice. So, Lulu decides to comfort these children on her own, in the only way she knows – the way of a dog…
Another story I enjoyed, although it is much darker, is “Grandma’s Bible” by Natsuki Ikezawa, where a man called Kimura tells his story to a rescue team: Though born in Matsubetsu, he lives in Tokyo, but has an offer to move to Arizona for business, which he is going to accept. Wishing to travel light, he packs his most valuable belongings into a trunk and sends it to his brother, still in Matsubetsu, for safekeeping. However, during the scheduled delivery, the tsunami comes and wipes out the little village, and Kimura now feels obliged to stay…
Note that not all of the stories talk about the tsunami or have a direct connection to it. The book is simply a collection of stories expressing the writer’s feelings at that time; in Japanese many things are left unspoken. A part of the proceeds will go towards disaster relief in Japan.
Check out the book on amazon.