Books for Tomorrow Project and other initiatives for Tohoku
On Saturday I went to Tokyo for the wonderful Charity Lectures: Writers Talk about the 3/11 Disaster and the Books for Tomorrow Project. The Books for Tomorrow Project (in Japanese あしたの本) is a joint initiative by the Japan Board on Books for Young People (JBBY), Japan P.E.N. Club, the Japan Publishers Club (JPC), and the Japan Publishing Foundation for Culture (JPIC). The mission of the Books for Tomorrow Project is to support children affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami through books. As stated on the JBBY website, "By working to put books in the hands of children, the Books for Tomorrow Project seeks to provide sources of comfort and enjoyment that will bolster their strength as they cope with the fears, anxieties, and uncertainties they face. The project involves a variety of activities centered on books and book-related programs."
The event was held at in Osaki at Gate City Osaki Hall along with the exhibit of children's book illustrations for the Books for Tomorrow Charity Auction. Before and after the event, participants wandered through the gallery area viewing the donated artwork, all still open to bidding online. There are so many great illustrations, including several donated by SCBWI Tokyo members.
Viewing Akiko Hayashi's artwork showing the beloved Kon and Aki charactersThe talks were moderated by Akira Nogami, director of the Japan P.E.N. Club, and the first speaker was International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) president, Ahmad Redza Ahmad Khairuddin, visiting Japan for a week and on his way up to Tohoku. He mentioned that the Books for Tomorrow Project exemplified the fact that often the best of people comes to the surface in bad times.
IBBY president Ahmad Redza Ahmad Khairuddin with interpreterFollowing Ahmad Redza, Eiko Kadono, author of Majo no takkyubin (Kiki's Delivery Service) spoke of her experience reading to children in Tohoku. She also recalled her return to Tokyo a couple years after World War II and that on her arrival Akihabara the smell of burnt wood still permeated the air. She likened the landscapes of the tsunami-hit coasts of Tohoku to post-war Japan. She urged us each to take responsibility to help Japan forward.
Sachiko Kashiwaba, author of Dai obasan no fushigina reshipi (Great Aunt's Mysterious Recipes) and many other titles, spoke of the frightening night of 3/11 in Iwate, and their fear and worry for all the people on the coast. She spoke of meeting with teachers and the principal of a school in a tsunami-hit town, of listening to their harrowing tales of escape, and of the monumental challenge of helping children process their experiences when there are so few counselors in Tohoku. And she urged people to visit and support Iwate Prefecture.
Author Sachiko KashiwabaAuthor Jun Saito spoke about the Ehon Project, begun by children's book editor and founder of Suemori Books, Chieko Suemori, and how the call for books led to mountains of books and that now the task lies in delivering them via their mobile libraries. Manga artist Machiko Satonaka talked of the desire to help through manga and the resulting Manga Japan group's charity auction (Japanese language). Atsuo Nakamura, actor and writer spoke of environmental issues, the destruction to the environment through nuclear power dependency, and the unfortunate manner in which the dangers have been hidden from people in Japan.
Wrapping up the event, novelist Eto Mori shared her struggle to discover what she could do to help. She recalled being asked to write pieces immediately after the earthquake, but she explained that authors are the people walking behind everyone else, the ones left pondering after everyone else has left the scene, and that she needed time to process the disaster. She went to Tohoku to volunteer but was discouraged that she didn't have more physical strength to offer to clean-up operations. She came to realize there were other ways she could help and decided to focus on rescuing pets from the affected areas.
After the talks, participants were invited to view the Books for Tomorrow mobile library (toshokan basu), which heads up to Tohoku later this month.
I chatted with Kiyoshi Nakaizumi of JPIC by the bus, decorated with fair-weather clouds and favorite children's book characters. He said that they would first take this mobile library to the hard-hit cities of Rikuzentakata, in Iwate Prefecture, and Kesennuma in Miyagi Prefecture.
Author Eiko Kadono has a closer lookThe Books for Tomorrow Project welcomes donations. For those in Japan see JBBY's Books for Tomorrow Project bank transfer info and for those outside Japan see the IBBY Appeal for Japan page.
What an inspiring day full of creative, book-related messages of hope for Tohoku!
The event was held at in Osaki at Gate City Osaki Hall along with the exhibit of children's book illustrations for the Books for Tomorrow Charity Auction. Before and after the event, participants wandered through the gallery area viewing the donated artwork, all still open to bidding online. There are so many great illustrations, including several donated by SCBWI Tokyo members.
Viewing Akiko Hayashi's artwork showing the beloved Kon and Aki charactersThe talks were moderated by Akira Nogami, director of the Japan P.E.N. Club, and the first speaker was International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) president, Ahmad Redza Ahmad Khairuddin, visiting Japan for a week and on his way up to Tohoku. He mentioned that the Books for Tomorrow Project exemplified the fact that often the best of people comes to the surface in bad times.
IBBY president Ahmad Redza Ahmad Khairuddin with interpreterFollowing Ahmad Redza, Eiko Kadono, author of Majo no takkyubin (Kiki's Delivery Service) spoke of her experience reading to children in Tohoku. She also recalled her return to Tokyo a couple years after World War II and that on her arrival Akihabara the smell of burnt wood still permeated the air. She likened the landscapes of the tsunami-hit coasts of Tohoku to post-war Japan. She urged us each to take responsibility to help Japan forward.Sachiko Kashiwaba, author of Dai obasan no fushigina reshipi (Great Aunt's Mysterious Recipes) and many other titles, spoke of the frightening night of 3/11 in Iwate, and their fear and worry for all the people on the coast. She spoke of meeting with teachers and the principal of a school in a tsunami-hit town, of listening to their harrowing tales of escape, and of the monumental challenge of helping children process their experiences when there are so few counselors in Tohoku. And she urged people to visit and support Iwate Prefecture.
Author Sachiko KashiwabaAuthor Jun Saito spoke about the Ehon Project, begun by children's book editor and founder of Suemori Books, Chieko Suemori, and how the call for books led to mountains of books and that now the task lies in delivering them via their mobile libraries. Manga artist Machiko Satonaka talked of the desire to help through manga and the resulting Manga Japan group's charity auction (Japanese language). Atsuo Nakamura, actor and writer spoke of environmental issues, the destruction to the environment through nuclear power dependency, and the unfortunate manner in which the dangers have been hidden from people in Japan.Wrapping up the event, novelist Eto Mori shared her struggle to discover what she could do to help. She recalled being asked to write pieces immediately after the earthquake, but she explained that authors are the people walking behind everyone else, the ones left pondering after everyone else has left the scene, and that she needed time to process the disaster. She went to Tohoku to volunteer but was discouraged that she didn't have more physical strength to offer to clean-up operations. She came to realize there were other ways she could help and decided to focus on rescuing pets from the affected areas.
After the talks, participants were invited to view the Books for Tomorrow mobile library (toshokan basu), which heads up to Tohoku later this month.
I chatted with Kiyoshi Nakaizumi of JPIC by the bus, decorated with fair-weather clouds and favorite children's book characters. He said that they would first take this mobile library to the hard-hit cities of Rikuzentakata, in Iwate Prefecture, and Kesennuma in Miyagi Prefecture.
Author Eiko Kadono has a closer lookThe Books for Tomorrow Project welcomes donations. For those in Japan see JBBY's Books for Tomorrow Project bank transfer info and for those outside Japan see the IBBY Appeal for Japan page.What an inspiring day full of creative, book-related messages of hope for Tohoku!
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