FEATURE
Kan Matsuzaki
library, with its foam-tiled floor, has evolved into a cozy spot. Sunlight streams in through the windows one weekday lunchtime in early February, as children smile shyly and try out new English words. The reading corner, whose shelves are stocked with about 60 books, was built by Shinichi Endo, 42, a local carpenter who lost his three children in the tsunami. Two of his children were taught by Taylor at another elementary school. Endo, who says he thought about Taylor’s bright and cheerful personality while making the shelves, attended a dedication ceremony together with Taylor’s family in early September. Hancock, Ohyama and Griggs were also there. “It was wonderful to see the first Taylor’s Corner come to fruition and to be there with her family and all those connected with her,” says Hancock. “It was a very moving ceremony and, I thought, a positive step in moving forward for all of those who had experienced great personal loss in the tsunami. The funds donated will have a direct, positive impact now and in the future, and this is exactly what our TAC Members wanted.” Ahead of the trip to Ishinomaki, where more than 3,000 people died on that fateful day last year and another almost 580 remain missing, Ohyama says that she was apprehensive about how emotional it might be to meet the Anderson family. “However, rather than being emotional, I was encouraged by the energetic children whom Taylor actually taught,” she says. “I felt that Taylor’s spirit [lives on] in the children.”
Children in the city of Fukushima have also benefited from the generosity of Members. Another ¥4 million was donated to the local education board to buy brass band instruments for three junior high schools. According to Masahiro Sato, a former city council member and the coordinator of the project, with the new instruments, the recipient schools would be able to compete in regional music competitions. A win, he adds, would be a huge boost for the community. “Parents in the region are very sensitive to the radiation issue and largely limit the outdoor activities of the children,” Sato says. “Today, it is improving but we still have many hurdles to overcome.” The Tochigi town of Mashiko faces challenges, too, but the Club’s donation of ¥3.7 million is helping its pottery industry recover. “The economy of Mashiko has not yet recovered completely, if compared with what it was before the 11th of March,” says gallery owner Otsuka. “However, it is getting better very slowly. The number of visitors to Mashiko is increasing in small steps, but the entire Mashiko business result is still very severe.” From its humble beginnings in the mid-19th century, Mashiko grew into one of Japan’s preeminent ceramic centers, attracting more than 500,000 visitors to its spring pottery festivals and about 200,000 to the fall festivals. The likes of Otsuka, though, fear that the town may only draw around half those numbers this year. The damage to Mashiko’s livelihood was severe. All of the 50 climbing kilns were destroyed and Otsuka estimates that pottery worth around ¥800 million was lost that day. About 20 percent of the climbing kilns have been rebuilt, and the Club’s contribution is being used to reconstruct a special kiln in the museum dedicated to the late Shoji Hamada, a Mashiko potter and living national treasure who pioneered salt glazing in Japan. Since the majority of the area’s gas- and electricpowered kilns are still working, local artisans can continue to create and craft—a testament to the resilience of the community, says Otsuka. “It is not about the individual,” he says. “Each [gallery] owner wants to help Mashiko become strong. The pottery world has grown tighter and we want to rebuild together.” Award-winning artisan Matsuzaki says that the hundreds of e-mails of support he received from around the world and the arrival of volunteers in Mashiko to help clean up after the quake motivated him to move forward. And that’s exactly what he’s doing. His works and those of four other Mashiko potters are on display at the Club’s Frederick Harris Gallery until March 25. o Bromley is a Tokyo-based freelance journalist.
Jammin’ for Japan II An evening of glamour, opera and fashion from top Japanese designer Junko Koshino. Friday, April 27 6:30 p.m. New York Ballroom Sign up online or at the Member Services Desk
Rebuilding Lives 31