Issue:
BEFORE — 3.11 — AFTER What the Fukushima Nuclear Explosion Did to Our Beloved Rose Garden
co-organized by Hisako Matsuda and Maya Moore
AS WE APPROACH THE fourth anniversary of the Tohoku earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown, the general reaction both in Japan and elsewhere is that of disinterest. That is perhaps the most distressing aspect for the victims of that tragic day, since little about the events has faded from their memory. So it is of vital importance to think about what it is like to lose one’s family, home, livelihood and dreams.
This exhibition gives a unique and personal perspective to the ongoing suffering of the many residents of Fukushima who are now refugees within their own country. The contrast between the magnificent, vibrant rose blossoms in their prime, and the haunting images of the present Futaba Rose Garden, located just eight kilometers from the nuclear plant, is nothing short of shocking. In their silent way, the roses represent the profound anguish of all the victims of 3.11.
The photographs were taken by non-professionals: the garden shots by Katsuhide Okada, the owner of the Futaba Rose Garden, and the individual roses by members of the Yokohama Photographers of Roses. Their love of the subject matter makes these photographs all the more poignant.
Hisako Matsuda is a photography graduate and photographer for the Japan Kennel Club who runs a private photo studio specializing in portraits and animals. She produced “Our Beloved Rose Garden” exhibitions across Japan.
Maya Moore is a former journalist and anchor for NHK, TBS and PBS. She is a facilitator for the Tohoku Virtual English Class Project for elementary schools in Ofunato, Iwate. She is the author of The Rose Garden Of Fukushima. (Available at FCCJ.)
“Before Fukushima we all believed in the “safety myth” on which all nuclear policy was based. We learned a bitter lesson, that it was a lie. From now on all possible risks must be taken into consideration to guarantee the safety of the people.”
JOIN THE MOVIE COMMITTEE . . .
. . . at 7:00 pm on Thursday, March 13 for a sneak preview of the U.S. festival hit Man from Reno, a bilingual thriller starring Steven Seagal’s very talented daughter, Ayako Fujitani (who will join director Dave Boyle for the Q&A session). Winner of the Best Narrative Feature award at last fall’s Los Angeles Film Festival, and a nominee for the John Cassavetes Award at the Spirit Awards, the film opens on a lonely highway in dense northern California fog, and it isn’t until the final moments that the fog lifts, as all the twists and turns, disappearances and mistaken identities, MacGuffins, mysteries and mayhem, finally make sense. Fujitani plays a popular Japanese mystery author who has fled to San Francisco to escape a book tour and can’t quite resist the extremely charismatic come-on of a fellow Japanese traveler at her hotel. But after a night together, Akira Suzuki (Kazuki Kitamura) suddenly disappears. Aki finds herself teaming up with aging, small-town Sheriff Paul Del Moral (the great Pepe Serna, in a rare leading role), who is also chasing a mysterious Japanese man. (USA, 2014; 110 minutes; English/Japanese with Japanese/English subtitles.)
REGULAR MEMBERS
HUI ZHAO has recently moved to Tokyo as Japan correspondent and representative of CBN Weekly, a business magazine in China published by the Shanghai Media Group. She covers business stories involving technology, design and fashion companies and start-ups in Japan. Hui was previously Chief Editor of CBN Business Review at CBN Weekly, and Managing Editor at MONEY+, a financial magazine from the same SMG Group.
PROFESSIONAL/JOURNALIST ASSOCIATE MEMBERS
Ryuji Nakamura, Jakarta Shimbun
Takashi Kawakami, Takushoku University
ASSOCIATE MEMBERS
Hisakatsu Koyama, Daito Trust Construction
Satoshi Kakuda, Alabama Department of Commerce
Ryuichi Honda, Mitsubishi Corporation
Hiroyoshi Kitamura, American Home Assurance Co., Ltd.
Ryuji Iwata, CLC Inc.
New in the Library
Genpatsu anzen sengen
Shoichi Watanabe; Hironobu NakamuraU TimeGift from Hiroyuki Fujita
The Great Tokyo Air Raids Tokyo Memorial Association (Tokyo-to Irei Kyokai)
Gift from Yasuo Sumiyoshi (Kyodo News)
Japan Inc. on the Brink: Institutional Corruption and Agency Failure
Susan Carpenter Palgrave MacmillanGift from Palgrave Macmillan
The Market & Media Databook of Japan, 2014/2015
Mediaship JapanGift from Mediaship Japan
The Future, Declassified: Megatrends That Will Undo the World Unless We Take Action
Mathew BurrowsPalgrave MacmillanGift from Julian Ryall
China's Japan Policy: Adjusting to New Challenges
Joseph Yu-sheck Cheng World Scientific
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