The Municipal History Museum in Rikuzen, Takata, was washed away by the tsunami with two curators. We have not been able to find them.
The tsunami reached the third floor of the town’s city hall. Most of public buildings in the area were razed to the ground. Only debris was left, nothing else.
Records show that an earthquake in 869 AD, with an estimated magnitude 7, was the biggest in the history of the region and that the tsunami that followed it reached 4 kilometres inland. This March’s tsunami surpassed it. It reached 5 kilometres inland with an earthquake of magnitude 8 or 9.
At the beginning of April, the Ministry of Culture and Science reported that 443 registered cultural properties were damaged including 21 “national treasures”. In some cities it is impossible to get to close to buildings because they are not safe.
Here in the north east, many museums are public institutions and museum curators are government officials before they are museum professionals. Their priority is to help people and assist restoring public services.
The disaster at the nuclear power plant has made things worse. Where buildings remain, staff are having a hard time maintaining conditions in storage and galleries because of power shortages.
Even in Tokyo, a shortage of gas and trucks makes it hard for museums to prepare for exhibitions. Scheduled power cuts have led to cuts in opening hours and major museums are cancelling or postponing exhibitions.
Fifteen years ago, an earthquake hit my home town Kobe in central Japan. Five thousand people died. Many museums were damaged and museum workers throughout Japan formed a rescue team. They came to the city within a few days and started helping us.
When I stood on a street where I grew up and where none of the historical buildings survived, I felt a big loss in my heart. We lost something we could have passed on to the next generation.
People will soon look to museums to rediscover their past. We need to get back to normal as soon as possible to give them confidence and hope.
Kobe helped us learn about how to deal with a disaster. The Association of Museums in Japan published many reports based on the experience in Kobe. Sharing information and maintaining our professional community helps when disaster hits.
Since the recent earthquake I have received many emails and calls from all around the world asking if I am all right and if there is anything the international community can do to help.
The fact that everyone is watching us is encouraging. When the condition of each museum started coming in through our network, I knew exactly who to talk to offer assistance. Things go faster when you work together and trust each other.
The government has established the Museum Rescue Network and has informed people how the system works so that staff know what they can do. In the case of Kobe, people acted on their own initiative and the volunteer rescue team was established quickly.
This time, with the government’s involvement, it started rather slowly but the scale of the disaster is different and we need the system.
A curator whose collection was severely damaged has talked about opening up gallery space for artists so that they can work with children who have lost their homes and schools. This is a good sign. He is thinking positive, not looking back.
Yoshi Miki is a curatorial consultant and visiting professor at the National Museum of Japanese History in Sakura. He lives in San Francisco. Thanks to Ikuma Hirota for his help with this article
The tsunami reached the third floor of the town’s city hall. Most of public buildings in the area were razed to the ground. Only debris was left, nothing else.
Records show that an earthquake in 869 AD, with an estimated magnitude 7, was the biggest in the history of the region and that the tsunami that followed it reached 4 kilometres inland. This March’s tsunami surpassed it. It reached 5 kilometres inland with an earthquake of magnitude 8 or 9.
At the beginning of April, the Ministry of Culture and Science reported that 443 registered cultural properties were damaged including 21 “national treasures”. In some cities it is impossible to get to close to buildings because they are not safe.
Here in the north east, many museums are public institutions and museum curators are government officials before they are museum professionals. Their priority is to help people and assist restoring public services.
The disaster at the nuclear power plant has made things worse. Where buildings remain, staff are having a hard time maintaining conditions in storage and galleries because of power shortages.
Even in Tokyo, a shortage of gas and trucks makes it hard for museums to prepare for exhibitions. Scheduled power cuts have led to cuts in opening hours and major museums are cancelling or postponing exhibitions.
Fifteen years ago, an earthquake hit my home town Kobe in central Japan. Five thousand people died. Many museums were damaged and museum workers throughout Japan formed a rescue team. They came to the city within a few days and started helping us.
When I stood on a street where I grew up and where none of the historical buildings survived, I felt a big loss in my heart. We lost something we could have passed on to the next generation.
People will soon look to museums to rediscover their past. We need to get back to normal as soon as possible to give them confidence and hope.
Kobe helped us learn about how to deal with a disaster. The Association of Museums in Japan published many reports based on the experience in Kobe. Sharing information and maintaining our professional community helps when disaster hits.
Since the recent earthquake I have received many emails and calls from all around the world asking if I am all right and if there is anything the international community can do to help.
The fact that everyone is watching us is encouraging. When the condition of each museum started coming in through our network, I knew exactly who to talk to offer assistance. Things go faster when you work together and trust each other.
The government has established the Museum Rescue Network and has informed people how the system works so that staff know what they can do. In the case of Kobe, people acted on their own initiative and the volunteer rescue team was established quickly.
This time, with the government’s involvement, it started rather slowly but the scale of the disaster is different and we need the system.
A curator whose collection was severely damaged has talked about opening up gallery space for artists so that they can work with children who have lost their homes and schools. This is a good sign. He is thinking positive, not looking back.
Yoshi Miki is a curatorial consultant and visiting professor at the National Museum of Japanese History in Sakura. He lives in San Francisco. Thanks to Ikuma Hirota for his help with this article
