Title: March was made of yarn : writers respond to Japan's earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown /
Authors: Luke, Elmer; Karashima, David James.
Publisher: Harvill Secker,
Year: 2012
Subjects: Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami, Japan, 2011 Fiction.; Short stories, Japanese Translations into English; Short stories
Abstract: 11th March 2011. An earthquake occurring off the north-eastern coast of Japan - magnitude 9.0, duration six minutes - unleashed a 50-foot tsunami that within fifteen minutes had slammed its way ashore, rushing inland six miles, crushing all in its path - roads, airports, villages, trains, and buses - and triggering the slow, inexorable leak of radiation from five nuclear plants. This was just the beginning. The waves did not stop; nor did the aftershocks, which were themselves rolling earthquakes of terrifying magnitude. Nor did the danger from radiation, which was controlled incrementally, until the meltdown began. One year on, the overwhelming sense of loss endures. Life goes on, but life is not the same. The writers in this collection seek to explore the impact of this catastrophe through a variety of different means. The pieces - fiction and non-fiction, poetry and manga - reconceive the events of that day, imagine a future and a past, interpret dreams, impel purpose, pray for hope. Specific in reference, universal in scope, these singular, heartfelt contributions - by Yoko Ogawa, Ryu Murakami, Yoko Tawada and David Peace, among others - comprise an artistic record of a disaster which raises questions for all of us who live in the modern world.
Contents: Foreword / John Burnham Schwartz -- Introduction / Elmer Luke and David Karashima -- The Island of eternal life / Yoko Tawada -- The charm / Kiyoshi Shigematsu -- Nightcap / Yoko Ogawa -- God bless you / Hiromi Kawakami -- March Yarn / Mieko Kawakami -- Lulu / Shinji Ishii -- One year later / J.D. McClatchy -- Grandma's bible / Natsuki Ikezawa -- Pieces / Mitsyo Kakuta -- Sixteen years later, in the same place / Hideo Furukawa -- The crows and the girl / Brother & Sister Nishioka -- Box story / Tetsuya Akikawa -- Dream from a fisherman's boat / Barry Yourgrau -- Hiyoriyama / Kazumi Saeki -- Ride on time / Kazushige Abe -- Little eucalyptus leaves / Ryu Murakami -- After the disaster, before the disaster / David Peace.