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The Great East Japan Earthquake which struck Japan on March 11 2011 raised questions among Japanese people: "What is to live?"; "what is richness?"; "what are families and friends?" ; and even changed the way they look at their lives. Even after experiencing sadness which cannot be described with words, the survivors still smile and move on. The way they deal with the disaster and how they live through it taught me that "to live" itself is something very noble and that simple everyday life is filled with happiness.
Since the earthquake, many photos of the disaster and how people survive it have been shown through the press, books and exhibitions. The photo exhibition "Ikiru" -Post TSUNAMI- was held in Tokyo and Sendai by the Japanese professional Photographers Society (JPS) in March 2012 i.e. one year after the disaster. And it drew a lot of attention both domestically and internationally. The exhibition will be held again at Photokina 2012 in Cologne, Germany.
The reason this exhibition stands out is that it's composed with photographs taken by the tsunami survivors themselves. The exhibition has not only photographs of the disaster itself, but also of the restoration until today, and even more particularly, of the local life and natural beauty of the region before the tsunami, which strike even stronger observers' minds.
Every single shot collected from the local photographers has such genuine message that I knew the exhibition would be of high quality. All 116 pieces were shot when the photographers' "souls were shaken". You can also tell from those photos how strong their feelings are for the subjects. Whatever the techniques, I truly believe that these photographs have the power to strike people's minds.
Tohoku region which was severely hit by the earthquake is known in Japan for its rich nature, and its people know very well that "human beings cannot live without it". That is why, even after such a mega quake, people immediately resumed their path to reconstruction in harmony with nature, rather than treating it as an enemy. I visited the region many times, met the survivors and had dialogues with them. The more I did so, the more I saw "the genuine nature of humans".
The exhibition "Ikiru" -Post TSUNAMI- reflects "the essential nature of humans" and "the power of living through" hardship of people in Tohoku. At Photokina these photographs will be witnessed by visiters from all over the world. Through this exhibition the power of photography and human nature will surely touch hearts and minds of people beyond religions and races.
Hiroshi Suga
Born in 1945. Photographer, Director of the Japan Professional Photographers Society. The theme of his photography work is "How humans live" and "Faiths and perspective on nature" through Japan and Asia. He visited the disaster area many times and built trust with local photographers. He collected all the photographs which he wanted to pass on to the future generation via this exhibition.