Sampledata

A Time of Disaster
The Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami
Table of Contents

SaPrologue

Chapter 1: A Vision Burned into the Eyes
Chapter 2: Family Ties that Bond

Chapter 3: Think about “Death” in the Course of Surviving
Chapter 4: Warped House, Vanished Privacy

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Chapter 5: Gap

Chapter 6: Looking for a Home with Her Dog Hachi
Chapter 7: The Teachings of Malawi
Chapter 8: Lost Peace

Chapter 9: Something Good Comes Out of Something Bad
Chapter 10: Precious Things

Chapter 11: Longing for Waves
Relevant DataleAfterword

PUBLISHER: SASAKI PRINTING & PUBLISHING CO., LTD

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Written by Takumi HAYASAKA, Marie NIINO
Designed by Ayumi YURI, Shuhei ITO
Edited by Toshihiro TADANO
Directed by Yukio SASAKI

Translated by Saburo Sam Tsuchida (Chief), Ami London, Fumiko Uno, John Hataye,
Keiko Tassill, Masako Ozaki, Sachiko Chiba Reis, Saeko Dickinson, Tamiko Fujiwara

All rights reservedaEnglish Edited by Lisa Kumagai-Sung

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DEDICATIONThis book is dedicated to the people devastated by the Great

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East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami. We would also like toexpress our condolences to the family and loved ones of victims ofthe disaster.

ledataGreetings from Publisher

When the magnitude 9.0 great East Japan earthquake struck on March 11, 2011 at 2:46

Sap.m. in the Pacific Ocean off of Northeast Japan’s coastal region, the shaking was soviolent and lasted so long that, for a moment, it knocked me senseless.
At approximately 3:00 p.m., the tremor subsided and we evacuated our building.

Power was knocked out. Items and documents had fallen from desks and shelve and lay
spread out all over the floor. Later I was to learn that several of our company employees
who resided and worked in the tsunami ravaged areas had been tragically swept away.

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Four days later, I was able to verify that all of the company employees from ouroffice in Sendai City were safe. Under the circumstances, however, we were in nocondition to resume work within our office. As a group of employees, now bonded
together in our own way as survivors of a catastrophic event, we asked ourselves,“Though we too were victims, isn’t there anything we can do to support our country, ourcommunity and those more severely affected by this natural disaster?” The answer tothat became this book.

leThe eyes of the world bore witness as an unimaginable tsunami swept Japan’s
coastal region in a matter of approximately 30 minutes after the earthquake struck.
Waves over 10 meters (30 feet) high swept through 500 kilometers (over 300 miles) ofcoastline.

Our company, Sasaki Printing & Publishing Co., Ltd. is small with a total of about
70 employees. When the series of disasters unexpectedly hit, many of these peopledatbegan writing about their harrowing experiences and powerful emotions during andfollowing the aftermath. Their personal accounts have been gathered together here in
the hopes of sharing moments of triumph, courage and humanity among ordinary
people under extreme and extraordinary circumstances.

I believe it will take some time before stories such as these can be read among thepeople of Japan. The healing process is ongoing. For readers abroad, I wish to impartdescriptions and insights of a plight that I hope no one else will ever have to endure.
rebuilding the devastated areas of Japan.

aProceeds from this book will be donated to the Red Cross towards restoring andMr. Saburo Sam Tsuchida in California was instrumental in arranging the English
translation for this book. He was introduced to me by a friend from my middle schooland high school days. I contacted this friend after recalling she had an acquaintanceinvolved in English interpretation and translation in the U.S.

Despite his busy schedule, Mr. Tsuchida empathized with this project and, together
with the help and cooperation of friends and colleagues, worked quickly in a relatively
short period of time to complete this project. I would like to offer my heart-felt
appreciation to Mr. Tsuchida and his team of translators, whose names are listed on thesecond page, in California.

SaMay 11, 2011

Two months after the Disastermp

Yukio Sasaki

Chief Executive Officer

SASAKI PRINTING & PUBLISHING CO., LTDledataPrologue

The time was 2:46 p.m., March 11, 2011.

SaA violent tremor unlike any we had ever experienced assaulted our hometown of‘Sendai.’

Some people left to seek refuge in other prefectures. Still others lost contact with

their family members. Others were hit directly by the tsunami.
From this day on began a time for reclaiming a semblance of prior conditions.
This book will tell you how ordinary people, like you and me, were dragged into thatmpdevastating event and how they struggled in their daily lives after the disaster.
We get on the trail of how all leading characters made every effort to cope during
the one month period from March 11 to April 11, 2011.

ledataChapter 1: A Vision Burned into the Eyes

Keiko Kimura (Pen Name)Sa

The Day of March 11

Keiko is a young designer from Akita prefecture in Northern Japan who has been withour company for two years. Enjoying her single life in the city of Sendai, she had been

mplooking forward to a fun-filled weekend on the fateful Friday of March 11. That day,
Keiko had been busy at work on three different projects when the floor beneath herbegan swerving gently.

Keiko’s department is in charge of computer generated design data and, thus,
makes it a priority to protect the data in the event of an earthquake. As the tremor grew
bigger and stronger, Keiko, while clinging to her personal computer, took shelter underthe desk.

leThe violent shaking felt like a hair-raising rollercoaster ride. The lights went out
with the initial big jolt and the power outage only fed Keiko’s mounting fear. She yelled
out several times, “Stop it! Stop it!” She was terrified that the ceiling would fall or thefloor would give way.

As the building shuddered violently, twice and again a third time, she heard herboss bellow out, “We’re moving out when this shaking stops!” Once the shaking subsided,dat

Keiko, who was closest to the door, followed those orders and ran to open it. Upon
exiting the building, she saw other employees taking refuge outdoors. When hit by anaftershock, the building swayed like rubber.

Two People Better than One

A necessity in this day and age, particularly for a young single woman living away from
into the office and retrieve hers from her locker.

ahome, is a cell phone. It is no wonder then that Keiko’s initial instinct was to go backIn light of the disaster, Keiko’s boss dismissed his employees for the day. However,
Keiko, who dreaded being by herself as the ground continued to tremble, turned to her
co-worker and friend, Erika. “I don’t want to be alone.” Erika, a local girl from theShichiga-hama beach area, invited Keiko to her home.

Afterword

In order to encourage our company’s fellow members who had fallen victims to theSa

disaster to share their encounters, we started taking meticulous care in approachingthem so that they would be willing to support our efforts in creating a record of thedisaster. The production of this book began from such distress of ours.
Rather than gouging into their already wounded and bruised soul, we gambled on

the hope that by talking about their experiences, it could serve as a healing process.
As a result, we received support from eleven employees who were willing to be

mpinterviewed. Interviews were conducted amidst ceaseless aftershocks. It was still a very
frightening and stressful time. Of those interviewed, some still cringe under the weightof the horrible memories. Others have walked away relatively unscathed. Throughout
the book, we hope their voices and stories helped convey the different perspectives andangles of the same event.

We deeply appreciate your time and attention in reading this book.

Authors:

leMay 11, 2011

Takumi Hayasaka, Marie Niino

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