“We will bounce back!” That was the strong message I received in an email from Hirohisa Kikuchi, the man in charge of overseas sales for Asabiraki, a sake brewery in Iwate Prefecture in the northern part of the Tohoku region. When the earthquake and tsunami hit on March 11, he was in San Francisco for business. “I was watching TV in my hotel room when I was very surprised by the words ‘Japan Shock’ on the screen. I turned to the news and watched as water cascaded over Sendai airport as if it were a rice field being watered in spring. Now I know it was a tsunami, but at the time I wasn’t sure what I was watching. The next scene to race before my eyes was a hotel in Kamaishi, my hometown, being washed away by the tsunami. The owner of the hotel is a good friend of mine and the hotel was a regular customer of our sake.  When the thought crossed my mind  that the tsunami may have hit my parents’ house, I was overcome with emotion,” Kikuchi said of the shock he felt that day.
Kikuchi spent the next hours trying to reach family, friends and business associates in any way he could. He confirmed that his wife and two children were safe. However, he couldn’t reach his parents. Filled with unease, he left the next day to return to Japan. Dealing with congestion, he finally made it back to his home in Morioka on March 13. “I wanted to see for myself that my family was alright,” he said. “After that I wanted to head directly to my parents’ house, but there was a gas shortage and the roads were jammed. There was nothing I could do. My sister who lives in a town next to Kamaishi called me in a few days with news that our parents were safe at a shelter, and I began to cry in relief.”

He started going to work after he confirmed his parent’s safety. The company president, Mr. Murai, told his staff that “it is times like these that we can’t think just about ourselves but about how we can contribute to society.” The talk gave Mr. Kikuchi a sense of relief. “When thing settle down, I’d like to take my children to see where the tsunami hit,” Kikuchi said. “I’d like to explain to them the natural phenomenon and what it means to protect life. I want them to realize that as we rebuild, we’ll need the strength to overcome the disaster.”
Asabiraki was founded in 1871 by a samurai, Genzo Murai, who resigned his post after being defeated by the new government of the Meiji Restoration. The name “Asabiraki,” which conjures up images of a new day in Japanese, comes from the fact that the samurai dedicated himself to the craft of sake brewing during a time of national rebirth.  Their corporate motto is: “No matter how many trials we are subjected to, we will always strive to enlighten the age and open people’s hearts while overcoming every difficulty we face.” The staff lived up to that motto by striving to supplement the local market by developing new markets. “We are 252km from the nuclear plants,” Kikuchi explained. “Luckily, the level of radioactivity in neighboring facilities hasn’t risen as projected. Our materials have been safely procured, so our sake can be consumed without worry.”

There are many historic sake breweries in the Tohoku region because of its precious supply of water and rice. All of the breweries affected by the disaster have plans to come roaring back. On March 21 in Belltown, there was a sake-tasting event where I met Mr. Enomoto who represents Ichinokura, a sake brewery from Miyagi Prefecture. “I almost thought about canceling this visit to Seattle, but the owner encouraged me to come here,” he said. “We are working to rebuild our business.” Ichinokura came about when four historic sake breweries decided they would join forces and become Japan’s leading brewery. The union resulted in a brewery that continued its traditional handcrafted brewing process while developing novel products that would appeal to new markets outside of their local market. After the disaster, the employees made an all-out effort to rebuild. They started by removing debris, then repairing the battered building and facilities, then focusing on the sake itself. By March 22, they made their first post-disaster shipment. A large aftershock on April 7 damaged the brewery, its facilities and its sake stock all over again. On the following morning, the employees assembled and began the process of rebuilding once more. By April 12, they were practically done. I deeply admire the hearty and calm people of Tohoku who are coming together as a team to rebuild their region.

There’s also a movement emerging in Tokyo’s Harajuku neighborhood in response to the disaster. It’s called the “Mighty Harajuku Project.” The residents and shopkeepers of the area are raising money and sending condolences to the people in the disaster zone, and they’re also trying to make their Harajuku neighborhood as attractive as possible to draw visitors from all over the world. The man behind this movement is the producer of the popular Harajuku fashion brand 6% Dokidoki. “Right after the disaster, we heard words of sympathy from people all over the world,” he told Ibuki in a telephone call from Tokyo. “Tokyo experienced some confusion with its transportation and rolling blackouts at first, but a few days later, we were back to normal. The only exception is that there are very few foreigners in Harajuku these days My biggest concern is that all the broadcasts around this Japanese quake may bring the mistaken impression that this disaster has wiped out Japan’s youth culture. I want the world to understand that the disaster has not changed the power of Harajuku one bit. By maintaining Harajuku’s core strengths, we will support Japan and Tohoku.” Masuda is blogging and posting on Facebook to remind people that “mighty Harajuku” is doing just fine. He’s also distributing free “Mighty Harajuku” badges to anyone who wants them. He planned to distribute them on 6% Dokidoki’s West Coast tour in April, which included appearances at Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood,  Space 15 Twenty in Los Angeles, the Caprice Night Club in Vancouver and Sakura-Con in Seattle.

I nodded in agreement when Masuda said, “Relief is important, but if our economy doesn’t bounce back, there will be no revival. ” I hope everyone shows their love of Japan by enjoying its sake, video games, movies, music and fashion.

The opening illustration "Ganbaro Japan" by Enfu. Find and purchase his arts at http://enfu.com/