Paper short abstract:

This analysis of the dynamics of social ties in Fukushima and Miyagi prefecture employs sociological institutionalism to investigate the role of cultural aspects for post 3.11 social recovery and challenge the understanding of "recovery" as a restoration of the pre-disaster state of communities.

Paper long abstract:

The triple disaster that hit the north-eastern coast of Japan in 2011 displaced several ten-thousand people. In 2017, many communities are still living dispersed across the country. This raises questions about how people try to strengthen communal ties, despite the disruption of their communities caused by forced migration.

Cultural institutions - such as festivals and events, concepts which explicitly relate to communal ties, and food culture - can provide a frame of stability and a basis for forming a common identity in a time when the physical frame of the community is literally washed way. The role of these cultural institutions has often been emphasized as a means to strengthen social ties among international migrant communities. Although there are clear similarities in the way domestic migrants, and in this case the survivors of the disasters, rely on cultural aspects, the case of domestic migration is still understudied.

By comparing Natori in Miyagi prefecture, which has been mainly affected by the Tsunami, with Namie in Fukushima prefecture, which has been mainly affected by the nuclear disaster, I hope to show how the type of disaster affects community building and the employment of local cultural aspects. I argue that in regions that have been mainly affected by the tsunami the employment of cultural institutions is helping the survivors to (re)build their communal bonds. Yet, they had to be changed and adapted partially to work in the new situation and thus are not as stable as often expected. In Namie, however, even the institutionalized aspects of everyday culture become subjects of discussion after the nuclear accident. While some people consider celebrating festivals a way to rescue their local culture, others see it as a threat to their children´s health. This study will hopefully contribute to a better understanding of the role of cultural institutions for community building and recovery, as well as the different impacts of natural disasters and nuclear disasters on communities and social ties.