Japan Earthquake

Japanese version posted on Mar. 14th

Friday, March 11^th, 2011. 14:46 at Heiwajima, Ota-ku, Tokyo. I was at my desk trying to sort out my previous exhibition data. In prior to departing the office in less than a month, this has become my routine work, along with actual work. Suddenly, the floor pulls to one way. I look up from the LCD display to see any object moving, and find a pull string on a blind-curtain swaying back and forth. Then a bigger push from ground upward…

The latest disaster in Tohoku and Kanto region was measured first at Magnitude 8.8, and then revised two days later to 9.0. The casualty and missing people is over 4,300. Lifelines including telephone lines overload. Controlled blackout became people’s concern, and started to buy everything in stores. Nuclear leakage crisis swept along the Pacific coast, and our proud public transportation system failed, as trains were delayed and canceled. People feared daily earthquakes, Tsunami, and radioactive the contamination. For us Japanese, earthquake disaster is not uncommon, but this one was more enormous than ever imagined.

People from all over the world are sending messages, care, and spirit towards our way. It is beautiful to see such care for one another, but unfortunately it took me an chaotic disaster to see it. These have become our strength to rise and stand again in such unbearable time. It is hard to think of a thing that one can do in such crisis, but the least we can do is to make a small contribution to show our support. So we did. It was Sahe’s idea, as it also was when the disaster occurred in Haiti.

We cannot live the same pain people are going through, but we want to make sure that our thoughts are with those people, to somehow ease from it and heal the wound.

I have been reconnected with long-lost friends. Again, it is unfortunate to think it took a natural disaster, but I am grateful of those who had kept us in mind. 

The following is the ten largest(magnitude level) earthquakes since 1900.

Chili Earthquake                      May 22, 1960　 M9.5     5,000 died

Good Friday Earthquake         Mar 28, 1964    M9.2     125 died from Tsunami in Ala.

Indian Ocean Earthquake       Dec 26, 2004    M9.1     over 226,000 died

Japan Earthquake                   Mar 11, 2011     M9.0

Kamchatka Earthquake          Nov 04, 1952    M9.0     Tsunami reached Hawaii

Chili Earthquake                      Feb 27 2010  　 M8.8      500 died from Tsunami

Great Alaska Earthquake       Feb 04 1965   　M8.7      Large Tsunami occured

Sumatra Earthquake              Mar 28 2005     M8.7      death toll about 1,300

Andreanof Island Earthquake   Mar 09 1957     M8.6      Volcano erupted in Ala.

Medog Earthquake                 Aug  15 1950     M8.6     at least 1,500 died