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Paper short abstract:

I would like to examine Onagawa-chō in Miyagi Prefecture, Tohoku, and discuss new events developed by young residents, focusing on how they try to pass their memories and experiences on to the next generations, and share information about the disaster with others.

Paper long abstract:

Major earthquakes have occurred all across Japan. In the process of recovery, it is important not only to rebuild facilities and roads, but also to incorporate the residents' wishes into the reconstruction process. Listening to their concerns and acting in accordance with them are very important in order for residents to acclimate themselves to their lives after the earthquake. We should consider how residents handle their situation and how they try to rebuild their lives, and we need to understand their oral history and their efforts to reconstruct.

I would like to examine Onagawa-chō in Miyagi Prefecture, Tohoku, and discuss new events developed by young residents, focusing on how they preserve memories and pass on personal experiences. When the processes of reconstruction are discussed, there is a tendency to look only at the big picture. However, we need to consider the intangible things in the process of rebuilding; the experience of losing family members, losing one's home, the hopes of the residents who remain, and local shared experiences. This means the process of recovering emotionally. The six years it took for residents of Onagawa to reconstruct facilities may seem like a long time, but it is a short time for them to come to terms with the disaster. It is difficult to cope with sadness and loss alone, and so I would like to look at how they share these experiences and deal with them as a community.

People in Onagawa are trying to pass their memories and experiences on to the next generations, and share information about the disaster with others. They have not been able to come to terms with what happened, and so they try to transform their sorrow and pain into something they can share with other residents of Onagawa. These are "common memories": memories created by the young people of Onagawa, based on their cultural and social background, that go beyond individual memories and experiences. They are attempting to pass their culture and history on to the next generations.