Creative Revitalization in Rural Japan

Lessons from Ishinomaki

Authors

  • Yao (Nancy) JI Keio University, Tokyo, Japan
  • Heide IMAI Senshu University, Tokyo, Japan

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4312/as.2022.10.1.211-240

Keywords:

sustainable development, creativity, rural revitalization, Ishinomaki, Japan

Abstract

Different disasters throughout history have prompted Japan to develop diverse approaches to recovery, revitalization, and local resilience. The current global COVID-19 pandemic is no exception. In this paper, we argue the need to study the impacts of COVID-19 on outside major cities such as Tokyo as such areas were already experiencing socioeconomic decline. Ishinomaki in Miyagi Prefecture is a city that has also been undergoing extensive post-disaster reconstruction after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE), notably through various bottom-up approaches, often initiated by volunteers and migrants bringing new, creative ideas to community revitalization. These efforts continue to shape the social life of its residents during COVID-19, making Ishinomaki an important case study in both disaster reconstruction and rural revitalization. This paper examines examples in which creativity played a key role in revitalization, recovery, and community resilience in Ishinomaki over the last decade to shed light on current creative revitalization initiatives at the grassroots level, initiated and carried out by citizens. Drawing on an ethnographic approach conducted remotely in the form of semi-structured interviews, the paper presents the personal narratives of a diverse range of residents and social networks committed to rebuilding the soft infrastructure that is often overlooked compared to hard infrastructure. The paper proposes suggestions for the future based on lessons learned from the past decade, and hopes to illuminate how Japan’s rural areas are adapting to a new normal in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Aldrich, Daniel P. 2012. Building Resilience: Social Capital in Post-disaster Recovery. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Aldrich, Daniel P., and Michelle A. Meyer. 2015. “Social Capital and Community Resilience.” American Behavioral Scientist 59 (2): 254–69.

Asahi Shimbun. 2021. “Reconstruction of Ishinomaki: Big Dreams, but Old Woes Remain.” Asahi Shimbun, March 8, 2021. http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14223201.

Chamlee-Wright, Emily, and Virgil Henry Storr. 2011. “Social Capital as Collective Narratives and Post-Disaster Community Recovery.” The Sociological Review 59 (2): 266–82.

Chan, E. Y. Y., A. Y. T. Man, and H. C. Y. Lam. 2019. “Scientific Evidence on Natural Disasters and Health Emergency and Disaster Risk Management in Asian Rural-based Area.” British Medical Bulletin 129 (1): 91–105.

Chang, Hueishilja. 2018. “The Resilience of Shrinking Communities in Rural Japan.” PhD diss., University of Oxford. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:c3bc0358-b025-4368-af95-a6e828bfd0b8/download_file?file_format=pdf&safe_filename=Chapter%2B-%2BALL.pdf&type_of_work=Thesis.

Chang, Yan, Suzanne Wilkinson, David Brunsdon, Erica Seville, and Regan Potangaroa. 2011. “An Integrated Approach: Managing Resources for Post-disaster Reconstruction.” Disasters 35 (4): 739–65.

Courage, Cara, and Anita McKeown. 2019. Creative Placemaking: Research, Theory and Practice. London: Routledge.

Dilley, Luke, Sae Shizato, and Mitsuyoshi Ando. 2017. “Revitalising the Rural in Japan: Working through the Power of Place.” Electronic Journal of Contemporary Japanese Studies 17 (3).

Dimmer, Christian. 2014. “Evolving Place Governance Innovations and Pluralising Reconstruction Practices in Post-disaster Japan.” Planning Theory and Practice 15 (2): 260–65.

———. 2016. “Place-Making Before and After 3.11: The Emergence of Social Design in Post-Disaster, Post-Growth Japan.” Review of Japanese Culture and Society 28: 198–226. doi:10.1353/roj.2016.0034.

Evans, Niel. 2002. “Machi-zukuri as a New Paradigm in Japanese Urban Planning: Reality or Myth?” Japan Forum 14 (3): 443–64.

Fraser, Timothy, Daniel P. Aldrich, and Andrew Small. 2020. “Seawalls or Social Recovery? The Role of Policy Networks and Design in Disaster Recovery.” SSRN Electronic Journal, November 9, 2020. https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3727387.

Gasparri, Duccio. 2019. “Locals, New-locals, Non-locals: (Re)mapping People and Food in Post-disaster Ishinomaki, Japan.” PhD diss., Oxford Brookes University.

Goldfine, Erica. 2011. “Best Practices: The Use of Social Media Throughout Emergency and Disaster Relief.” MA thesis, American University.

Government of Japan. 2019. “Regional Revitalization Paves the Way for the Future of Japan.” Highlighting Japan, May 2019. https://www.gov-online.go.jp/pdf/hlj/20190501/06-07.pdf.

Hawkins, Robert L., and Katherine Maurer. 2010. “Bonding, Bridging and Linking: How Social Capital Operated in New Orleans Following Hurricane Katrina.” British Journal of Social Work 40 (6): 1777–93.

Hayat, Ezri, and Dilanthi Amaratunga. 2011. “Road Reconstruction in Post-disaster Recovery: The Challenges and Obstacles.” Paper presented at the International Conference on Building Resilience. Sri Lanka, July 2011.

Imai, Heide, and Yao Ji. 2021. “Social Capital, Innovation, and Local Resilience: Tokyo Neighborhood in Times of Crisis.” Asian Studies 9 (1): 283–313. https://doi.org/10.4312/as.2021.9.1.283-313.

Ishiguro, Aya, Yuriko Togita, Mariko Inoue, Takayoshi Ohkubo, and Eiji Yano. 2015. “Identification of Disaster-Vulnerable Communities by Use of Census Data Prior to the Great East Japan Earthquake.” Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness 9 (1): 19–28.

Ishinomaki City. n.d. 石巻市 地方人口ビジョン検討資料 (Ishinomaki City Population Vision Study Document). https://www.city.ishinomaki.lg.jp/cont/10051050/1234/1237/2_zinkovision.pdf.

Ishinomaki Hibi Shinbun. 2019. “Jinkō genshō (2) genjō shinsai de shukushō suru chiiki shakai jidai e no kiseki 「人口減少」② 現状 震災で縮小する地域社会次代への軌跡 (Population Decline (2): Current Situation, Local Communities Shrinking Due to the Earthquake Trajectory to the Next Generation).” https://hibishinbun.com/photo/?v=4610.

Itoh, Yuki, and Yukiko Konno. 2019. “A Study on the Role of Art Festivals on Disaster Recovery: A Case Study of the Great East Japan Earthquake and the Reborn-Art Festival.” Yokohama Keiei Kenkyū 40 (2) 63–9. https://doi.org/10.18880/00013426.

Ji, Yao. 2021. “Remaking the Rural: Alternative Forms of Rural Revitalization in Post-growth Japan.” In Rethinking Sustainable Pacific Rim Territories. Proceedings of the 4th APRU Sustainable Cities and Landscapes, edited by Paola Boarin, Errol Haarhoff, Manfredo Manfredini, Mohsen Mohammadzadeh, and Alessandro Premier. University of Auckland, New Zealand, December 14–18, 2020. Conference contribution. Auckland: Future Cities Research Hub. https://doi.org/10.17608/k6.auckland.13578257.v2.

Kato, Atsushi, and Eriko Miyake. 2018. “Social Entrepreneurship and Legitimacy Gaining: The Case Study of Ishinomaki City, Reviving from 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake.” Paper presented at ICSB 2018 World Conference. Taipei: Taiwan.

Kim, Christopher, Hitomi Nakanishi, Deborah Blackman, Ben Freyens, and Angela M Benson. 2017. “The Effect of Social Capital on Community Co-production: Towards Community-oriented Development in Post-disaster Recovery.” Procedia Engineering 180: 901–11.

Klien, Susanne. 2016. “Reinventing Ishinomaki, Reinventing Japan? Creative Networks, Alternative Lifestyles and the Search for Quality of Life in Post-growth Japan.” Japanese Studies 36 (1): 39–60.

Kobayashi, Teppei, Yasuaki Onoda, Katsuya Hirano, and Michio Ubaura. 2016. “Practical Efforts for Post-Disaster Reconstruction in the City of Ishinomaki, Miyagi.” Journal of Disaster Research 11 (3): 476–85.

Love, Bridget. 2013. “Treasure Hunts in Rural Japan: Place Making at the Limits of Sustainability.” American Anthropologist 115 (1): 112–24. https:// doi.org/10.1111/j.1548-1433.2012.01539.

Mano, Yosuke, and Akihiro Noda. 2020. “Post-Disaster Reconstruction of Central Ishinomaki Through the Formation of Local Initiatives.” In Japanese Machizukuri and Community Engagement: History, Method and Practice, edited by Shigeru Satoh, 174–84. London: Routledge.

Matanle, Peter. 2010. “Learning to Live Beyond Growth in Japan’s Shrinking Regions.” Myriad Leaves JLGC Newsletter July 2010, 4–5.

Matanle, Peter. 2011. “The Great East Japan Earthquake, Tsunami, and Nuclear Meltdown: Towards the (Re)construction of a Safe, Sustainable, and Compassionate Society in Japan’s Shrinking Regions.” Local Environment 16 (9): 823–47.

———. 2018. “Depopulation Dividend for a Shrinking Japan.” AsiaGlobal Online, 5 July, 2018. https://www.asiaglobalonline.hku.hk/depopulation-japan-aging-sustainability/.

Matthews, Jamie. 2020. “Kesennuma’s Building for the Future and Ishinomaki’s Rolling Press: Sharing Localised News of Recovery from Tōhoku’s Disaster-affected Communities.” In Media, Journalism and Disaster Communities, edited by Jamie Matthews and Einar Thorsen, 53–56. London: Palgrave MacMillan.

Miller, D. 2018. “Digital Anthropology.” In The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Anthropology, edited by F. Stein, S. Lazar, M. Candea, H. Diemberger, J. Robbins, A. Sanchez, and R. Stasch. https://www.anthroencyclopedia.com/entry/digital-anthropology.

Mitsuhiro, Yoshimoto. 2017. “Kamiyama’s Success in Creative Depopulation.” Field. A Journal of Socially-Engaged Art Criticism 8.

Miyamoto, Takumi, and Tomohide Atsumi. 2008. “Creative Processes of Community Revitalization from Narrative Approach: A Case Study from Chuetsu Earthquake.” Progresss in Asian Social Psychology 6: 461–76.

Murakami, Kayo, and David Murakami Wood. 2014. “Planning Innovation and Post-disaster Reconstruction: The Case of Tohoku, Japan.” Planning Theory & Practice 15 (2): 237–42.

Nakagawa, Yuko, and Rajib Shaw. 2004. “Social Capital: A Missing Link to Disaster Recovery.” International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters 22 (1): 5–34.

Passerini, Eve. 2000. “Disasters as Agents of Social Change in Recovery and Reconstruction.” Natural Hazards Review 1 (2): 67–72.

Pink, Sarah, Heather Horst, John Postill, Larissa Hjorth, Tania Lewis, and Jo Tacchi. 2016. Digital Ethnography: Principles and Practices. Los Angeles: Sage.

Pongponrat, Kannapa. 2017. “Co-Management of Revitalization after Tsunami Disaster: A Case of Local Tourism in Ishinomaki City, Japan.” International Journal of Social Science and Humanity 7 (6): 393–97.

Posio, Pilvi. 2019. “Reconstruction machizukuri and Negotiating Safety in Post-3.11 Community Recovery in Yamato.” Contemporary Japan 31 (1): 40–60.

Putnam, Robert D., and Lewis Feldstein. 2009. Better Together: Restoring the American Community. New York: Simon and Schuster.

Rausch, Anthony. 2006. “The Heisei Dai Gappei: A Case Study for Understanding the Municipal Mergers of the Heisei Era.” Japan Forum 18 (1): 133–56. https://www.gov-online.go.jp/pdf/hlj/20190501/20190501all.pdf.

Rotolo, Thomas, and Justin Allen Berg. 2011. “In Times of Need: An Examination of Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Relief Service Volunteers.” Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly 40 (4): 740–50.

Ryberg-Webster, Stephanie, and Kelly L. Kinahan. 2014. “Historic Preservation and Urban Revitalization in the Twenty-first Century.” Journal of Planning Literature 29 (2): 119–39.

Sato, Kumiko. 2017. “Sharing the Lessons Learned from Disaster.” Government of Japan, February 2017. https://www.gov-online.go.jp/eng/publicity/book/hlj/html/201702/201702_10_en.html.

Satoh, Shigeru. 2020. Japanese Machizukuri and Community Engagement: History, Method and Practice. New York: Routledge.

Shaw, Rajib, and Katsuichiro Goda. 2004. “From Disaster to Sustainable Civil Society: The Kobe Experience.” Disasters 28 (1): 16–40.

Shilling, Chris. 2008. Changing Bodies: Habit, Crisis and Creativity. London: Sage.

Sneader, Kevin, and Shubham Singhal. 2020. “Beyond Coronavirus: The Path to the Next Normal.” McKinsey & Company, March 23, 2020. https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/healthcare-systems-and-services/our-insights/beyond-coronavirus-the-path-to-the-next-normal.

Sorensen, Andre. 2008. “Towards Livable Communities in Japan? Population Decline and the Changing Context of Place-making.” The Asia-Pacific Journal 6 (1): 1–18.

Sorensen, Andre, and Carolina Funck, eds. 2009. Living Cities in Japan: Citizens’ Movements, Machizukuri and Local Environments. London: Routledge.

Storr, Virgil Henry, and Stefanie Haeffele-Balch. 2012. “Post-disaster Community Recovery in Heterogeneous, Loosely Connected Communities.” Review of Social Economy 70 (3): 295–314.

Tagore-Erwin, Eimi. 2018. “Post-Disaster Recovery Through Art: A Case Study of Reborn-Art Festival in Ishinomaki, Japan.” MA thesis, Lund University. https://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/search/publication/8945760.

Tatsuki, Shigeo. 2007. “Long-term Life Recovery Processes Among Survivors of the 1995 Kobe Earthquake: 1999, 2001, 2003, and 2005 Life Recovery Social Survey Results.” Journal of Disaster Research 2 (6): 484–501.

The Japan Research Institute. 2016. “Study of Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation Ecosystems in South East and East Asian countries – Case Study: Reconstruction Works and Social Business after Great East Japan Earthquake, Japan.” Inter-American Development Bank, October 2016. https://publications.iadb.org/publications/english/document/Study-of-Social-Entrepreneurship-and-Innovation-Ecosystems-in-South-East-and-East-Asian-Countries-Case-Study-Reconstruction-Works-and-Social-Business-after-Great-East-Japan-Earthquake-Japan.pdf.

The Mainichi. 2020. “Northeast Japan Theater Group Devises Virus-Safe Plays for Audiences of One to Peep On.” The Mainichi, June 13, 2020. https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20200613/p2a/00m/0et/023000c.

The Mainichi. 2021. “Editorial: 10 Years after Japan’s 3.11 Disasters, Flaws in Restoration Policies Apparent.” The Mainichi, March 10, 2021. https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20210310/p2a/00m/0op/016000c.

Ubaura, Michio, Junpei Nieda, and Masashi Miyakawa. 2016. “Building Reconstruction After Large-Scale Disasters: A Case Study of Ishinomaki City After the Great East Japan Earthquake.” Journal of Disaster Research 11: 780–88.

Varghese, Shainy B. 2010. “Cultural, Ethical, and Spiritual Implications of Natural Disasters from the Survivors’ Perspective.” Critical Care Nursing Clinics 22 (4): 515–22.

Wahlquist, Calla. 2021. “Inside the Hyper-local World of Facebook’s ‘Buy Nothing’ Groups.” Guardian, January 3, 2021. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/jan/04/inside-the-hyper-local-world-of-facebooks-buy-nothing-groups.

Downloads

Published

19. 01. 2022

How to Cite

Ji, Yao, and Heide Imai. 2022. “Creative Revitalization in Rural Japan: Lessons from Ishinomaki”. Asian Studies 10 (1): 211-40. https://doi.org/10.4312/as.2022.10.1.211-240.