Photography Mon Jan 27 2014

Photo Exhibition Documents Japan Pre-Disaster

By Sheila Burt

Tohoku, the northern part of Japan's main island, is home to some of Japan's most striking natural wonders and archeological sites dating back to the country's first settlers during the Jomon period (ca. 10,500-300 B.C.). Far from the robust and glamorous temptations of Tokyo, many of this region's lively festivals pay tribute to these roots.

One moment three years ago, however, changed this region's legacy forever. The March 11, 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster destroyed several coastal towns and forever linked the name Tohoku with the Great East Japan Earthquake.

Though some normalcy has returned to the damaged areas, the ensuing nuclear crises continues to displace many in Fukushima, and the rural areas of this area may never regain an economic base. In some towns, suicide rates have spiked dramatically and those who have not left for the big cities struggle to find jobs.

These disasters, however, are not how curator Kotaro Iizawa wants people to remember this region. His exhibit, Tohoku: Through the Eyes of Japanese Photographers, consists of a collection of photos taken in Tohoku before the earthquake. The exhibit, free to the public, runs through Feb. 7 at the Japan Information Center at the Consulate General of Japan, 737 N. Michigan Ave.

A native of Sendai, Iizawa's family narrowly escaped the tsunami by one kilometer. At the time of the earthquake, he was hundreds of miles away in Tokyo, but he feared for his mother and sisters who lived near the ocean. He did not know of their safety for three days.

"I couldn't sleep," Iizawa said during a recent visit to Chicago, where he introduced the exhibit. "I was shocked. My feeling and thinking has been changed by the earthquake."

Nearly 20,000 people lost their lives that afternoon. Yet as one instant tore apart the eastern part of this region, Iizawa hopes to show people what Tohoku was like before these disasters. Often considered off the beaten path for tourists and even Japanese people, Tohoku is home to some of Japan's most stunning nature. Many of the photos focus on this beauty as well as the region's spirited festivals and simplicity of daily life decades ago. Only one of the photographs included in the collection was taken after the tsunami.

Kotaro Iizawa

"I wanted to show the roots of the Tohoku region, what's hidden and what is behind these cultural festivals," Iizawa says. "We can find many other grieving pictures elsewhere, so I wanted to avoid that and do something different."

Assembled in only three months, the exhibit showcases the work of nine photographers from Tohoku and other parts of Japan, as well as pictures from a group of photographers. This mix was intentional so as to view the region through different lenses. Iizawa explains that one Japanese photographer who visited the area was so impressed with the region that he proclaimed afterwards that Tohoku changed his life forever.

As Iizawa walks around the exhibit, he stops at a picture of a man wearing traditional Japanese festival garments. In the picture, the man looks directly at the camera with a stern gaze.

"He has a very typical Tohoku face," Iizawa says. "Strong but gentle."

Stopping at another photograph, Iizawa points to a young girl with a traditional Japanese haircut (shaved bottom and full top, similar to a "mushroom cut") from 1959. In the photo, she and her sibling are bowing in front of a country home with thatched doors, playing an innocent game of house.

It's a simple gesture, but it's how Iizawa thinks of his hometown.

"I hope this photo exhibit brings people to visit Japan or Tohoku. It's a lovely place to visit. It's pretty cold like Chicago but in the springtime, there are cherry blossoms. The area is very good for hot springs, so please come and visit."

Note: Ayako Yamada, vice consul at the Consulate, helped translate Iizawa's quotes for me during the interview.