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Essay

Moving perceptions

By Kit Pancoast Nagamura


タクシーの中で感じた地震

11日に東日本を大震災が襲ったとき、筆者は仕事の打ち合わせに急ぐタクシーの中にいた。 車の揺れを感じたとき、筆者は運転手に「音楽に合わせて踊っているの?」と冗談を飛ばしたすぐ後で、周囲の建物や頭上の高速道路が揺れているのに気付いたのだった。

It is unavoidable that my subject should be the earthquake we have all just experienced. We each have a story, if we are lucky, of where we were and what we went through.

Mine started in the back of a taxi, trying to get to work in time for an important meeting. When the cab started rocking back and forth, I asked the driver what the heck was going on. "Are you dancing to music I can't hear?" I asked him. He shook his head. "Nah, I thought that was you back there, having some kind of fit," he said. We laughed, but soon grasped our terrifying and dizzying situation, our loss of bearing with the earth. The highway just overhead swayed and groaned, buildings on both sides went loose and wobbly, light posts swung back and forth. Time slowed and people on the streets dropped to all fours. Somehow, I vividly recall having what felt like valuable moments to imagine death and send thoughts of love to my family and friends.

By the time the initial quake had settled, I was inside my company building, milling around with fellow colleagues, trying to decide whether to go back to work or not. Worried about my co-workers on the 21st floor, and unable to reach them by cellphone, I began to climb the stairs. I was on the 10th floor when the aftershock hit, opening a hairline crack in the staircase. I flew like a cartoon character back down the stairs. My co-workers laughed nervously. "Back so soon?" they asked, as we all hugged a pillar we thought would give us protection during the long rolling tremors. I clearly remember being surprised at their calm and composure, and even sense of humor despite the threat. And to the north of us, in the face of TV cameras, despite mind-numbing cold and shock, rescue teams and victims didn't panic or sensationalize or rail against nature; they worked together. True grit, I thought.

I ended up walking the 21 kilometers home on the day of the quake, and because I often walk the city, I was able to guide many to the streets and stations they wanted to find. At one point, I had a group of teenagers and their moms in tow. We shared food and stories, punctuated by that nervous giggle of people who have survived. We carried each other's loads of books, lent each other sports shoes for the long trek and when we parted, waved goodbye quite literally until we could see each other no longer.

My story cannot convey the terrible burden of those up north who have lost lands, businesses, and most tragically, loved ones.My heart goes out to them, and like many, I will search avenues to help. But my personal account covers the Japanese friends and strangers around me, who, though afraid for their lives, were at their very best: generous, resourceful and calm at the core.It's a memory both moving and stirring.



Shukan ST: March 25, 2011

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