KIZUNA

March 11, 2011, at 2:46PM the northeast coast of Japan’s Tohoku region was struck by an earthquake and tsunami of an unprecedented scale, ravaging approximately 217 square miles of land and claiming 19,300 lives. In the five years since the disaster, news coverage has waned and it is increasingly difficult to gain information on the disaster-areas and lives of the survivors. Every year on the anniversary of the disaster, the Osaka Committee of Chicago Sister Cities International opens a new commemorative photo exhibition of the disaster and its recovery, focusing on documenting the human connection born amid great hardship and bringing it halfway across the world to the Chicago audience. 

 

On this milestone fifth year of the project, Kizuna 5: Voices of the Youth features images of disaster-affected students in Tohoku taken by local photographer Kiyotaka Shishido together with links to a video message from each student capturing the disaster’s impact on their lives and their hopes for the future.

 

This commemorative exhibit also includes a sampling of photographs from the past Kizuna exhibitions. In Kizuna, photojournalists from the Nikkei, Inc captured the catastrophe unfolding and the and the immediate aftermath. Kizuna 2: The Bonds of Emotion illustrated the human element of the tragedy with portraits and personal accounts of Chicagoans connected to the disaster as well as photographs taken by everyday people rebuilding their lives. Kizuna 3: Unbroken Circle looked at exchange programs fostering friendship and mutual understanding between Tohoku and Chicago and featured survivors helping those affected by the 2013 Philippines super typhoon Haiyan. Kizuna 4: Through Our Eyes featured original photographs by Kiyotaka Shishido, Jamason Chen, and Wesley Julian of changing landscapes, individual stories, and vibrant communities. Each photo is a window into a personal story of a life which has forever changed and a region that has by some measures regained its dynamic liveliness yet by others faces a prolonged recovery. 

 

The name 絆 Kizuna expresses in Japanese the bonds of caring and outreach. These past five years of Kizuna commemorative photo exhibitions is Chicago’s message of continued support and connection to Japan.

 

This exhibition is presented by the Osaka Committee of Chicago Sister Cities International together with the Consulate-General of Japan in Chicago, the Japan America Society of Chicago, Japanese Chamber of Commerce & Industry of Chicago, and the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), Chicago Office. 

 

Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel serve as honorary chairs of Kizuna 5: Voices of the Youth. 

 

Special Thanks to our Sponsors:

Diamond: JCCC Foundation; All Nippon Airways; Sumitomo Corporation of Americas

Gold: Kikkoman Foods, Inc.; Masuda, Funai, Eifert & Mitchell, Ltd.,

Silver: NAMCO USA Inc.; UNIQLO; Garrett Popcorn Shops; OMRON Management Center of America; Tokyo Commodity Exchange, Inc.; Yaskawa America, Inc.; M Square Inc,

Bronze: Matsutani America Inc.; Grant Thornton LLP; Barnes & Thornton LLP; Kubota Engine America Corporation

 

Thank you also to Dena Khalafallah; Gudonin Buddhist Temple; Hekiun Oda, Henry Latkin and Maureen Bridges; Hideo Suzuki; Kaori Stearney; Kimiyo Naka; Kioto Aoki; Kiyotaka Shishido; Loyola University Chicago’s School of Communication; Mayumi Lake; Nagle Photography; Pacific Liaison Services, Inc.; Richard Robinson; Rie Sugai; Sachiko Peters; Shiho Akaike; Tatsu Aoki; Tomomi Hartung; Tsukasa Taiko. 

 

The Kizuna 5 photo exhibition is dedicated to Nikkei’s collection, “Memory: Things We Should Never Forget.” 

 

Everyone involved in making this exhibition also wishes to express grateful thanks to the people of Chicago who have shown friendship and hope to the Japanese people whose lives were forever changed by the earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011. This, too, will never be forgotten.