Essays

Thousands perished in the March 11, 2011 Great Tohoku Disaster. Many thousands more who survived, abandoned the coastal towns, many unwillingly, to live away from the sea. Given Japan’s gradual decline in general population, we can imagine a less inhabited stretch along the Sanriku coastline. Yet with a bold vision and disaster-resilient planning a transformed society true to its scale and locality may blossom from the people who have always found value in living in this region.

Beyond 2020_nx portrays the image of one hypothetical reality – an attainable potential given the right mindset and concerted initiative. A small 21st century town may yet emerge. Self-reliant and dynamic, its aggregate morphology integrated to the natural landscape and sea which surrounds, characterized by an identity of a place that one can call my native home.