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An interesting art project spearheaded by Japanese Canadian artist and film-maker Linda Ohama is currently being displayed at the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo.  The Canada-Tohoku Kids to Kids Cloth Letters is a response by Canadian young people from the ages of 3 to 17 to the earthquake and tsunami that rocked northern Japan on March 11.  The children painted messages on cloth squares to disaster victims in the Tohoku region to express their sympathy for them.  The letters were assembled into a giant quilt and sent to the area.  In response, children in Miyagi created their own quilt with squares donated to them by children in Onomichi in Hiroshima prefecture, the ancestral home of Linda Ohama’s grandmother.  Together the two quilts are now on display at the Canadian Embassy until the end of this year.  Plans are afoot to tour the quilts in Canada after the new year.  For more information about this interesting project, see Norm Ibuki’s interview of Linda Ohama on the Discover Nikkei website.

May is Asian Heritage Month in Canada and Asian Pacific American Month in the U.S.  In Japan, May is the month of Golden Week — a string of holidays at the beginning of the month that often results in a week off for some workers.  One of the Golden Week holidays is Children’s Day which is on May 5.  In Canada, our family usually celebrates the occasion by flying the koinobori carp flags and having a wiener roast for the boys on our street (if it’s warm enough!).

This year with us being in Japan and not having access to a flagpole, ironically means we have to celebrate a little differently.  Being in Japan, however, has allowed us to see the koinobori flown in various locations where we live.  We spotted farm fields and rice paddies with koinoboris flying from bamboo poles out of the train window last weekend and it was quite a colorful sight. 

In the city of Nishinomiya, where we live, Children’s Day is celebrated with koinobori flown over the Shukugawa River. The custom is seemingly new.  In 1995 after the great Kobe earthquake, a city in Shizuoka sent 500 koinobori to Nishinomiya to encourage the city’s children during their time of crisis.  Since then, the flags have been flown over the Shukugawa River every Children’s Day.  Some have become old and worn during that time, so citizens have donated flags so that the number is up to nearly 2000 flags.  This year, Nishinomiya has sent 100 flags to a city in Iwate-ken in the same spirit of generosity and sympathy shown to them by the city in Shizuoka — a beautiful and symbolic gesture to encourage the children of northern Japan.

I’ve been away from posting on the blog recently because of a temporary move … to Japan!  And now, having settled in a bit, I’m ready and roaring to go (appropriate for a PaperTiger blogger!) from my new location here in Nishinomiya City, Hyogo prefecture.   I’ll be in Japan for four months and hope to immerse myself in the wonderful world of childrens’ literature as it is experienced here by readers.  Japan has some great childrens’ book writers and illustrators and I’m eager to explore that world with my children as they attend the local elementary and junior high schools here.  With Japan being so much in the news, I feel in the unique position of being a reporter-of-sorts, in particular, of any activities related to children and the recent disaster in northern Japan.  Days after arriving, I heard about a childrens’ book donation program through Unicef; childrens’ books were being collected to be sent to children in the earthquake and tsunami-hit zones.  The program, running for only a short time, was very successful.   I was heartened and encouraged to see how the Japanese responded so swiftly to a request for books, knowing full well the transformative powers of story on the lives of children.   Even as the basic supplies were being sent out to the victims and survivors, here also was considered necessary, supplies for the hearts and minds of the most vulnerable.  Kodomo no tame ni — for the sake of the children — is a Japanese phrase I first encountered in Joy Kogawa’s novel Obasan.  How apt this phrase is for these times of trial and hardship for northern Japan!

A few days ago, in the wake of the earthquake disaster in Japan, I heard about a family acquaintance in Canada whose elderly grandmother in Yamagata had a very bad stroke.   Yamagata is in northern Japan and some of the services to that area were disrupted, exacerbating the situation for anyone needing medical care.   What did this family acquaintance do?  Well, she and her mother packed up their bags immediately and booked a flight to Japan to be with their loved one even amidst all the furor and panic around the nuclear power plant situation in Fukushima.  Hearing this story, I had an epiphany.  Love does not flee, it goes to whom it must attend, at all cost and without fear.

World Vision is one of those organizations that understands this notion and acts on it with conviction.  This week I was heartened by reading the blog posts of one of its workers in earthquake and tsunami ravaged northern Japan.  So, today I am focusing my post on one of its initiatives — books for children.   The World Vision Early Readers series are photo-illustrated picture books published by Tundra Books in conjunction with World Vision Canada.  The books are authored by Marla Stewart Konrad, a former World Vision communications professional.  PaperTigers recently did an interview with Marla and reviewed one of the books in the series: I Like to Play.   As mentioned in the interview, all royalties proceeding from the sales of the World Vision Early Reader books go to World Vision to help support their initiatives for children.   Marla’s own long career with the organization has helped cement her beliefs in the efficacy of its work in assisting children all over the world.

Right now, it is families in northern Japan that need the most assistance.  As you can see from its website and blog, World Vision is speedily making its way there as did my family acquaintance to her ailing grandmother in Yamagata.  Isn’t love truly the greatest thing?

That was a horrible earthquake, wasn’t it? I’m sure so many of you are very scared right now.

But please, don’t worry. Grown ups are working together as hard as they can to make things better. It may take a while, but eventually, everything is going to be safe and comfortable again, I promise.

If you feel even the tiniest bit afraid or lonely, try to think about your favorite story…

So begins Japanese children’s author Noriko Kudoh’s Message of Hope to the children of Japan who have been caught up in the earthquake and tsunami that caused such devastation ten days ago. It was translated into English by Sako Ikegami of the SCBWI Tokyo Translation listserv, which focuses on translation of Japanese children’s literature; and you can read the whole message over at the wonderful Here and There in Japan.

It’s a very moving, thought-provoking letter and I urge you all to read it…

I’ve already posted about the Authors for Japan auction, which started yesterday and runs for the rest of this week: there are some very tempting lots on offer, so take a look. All money raised will be paid directly to the British Red Cross Japan Tsunami Appeal.

Through one of the donors, Rachel J. Fenton, who is offering a Hand-made artist’s pamphlet of poetry and art work, I discovered another initiative that’s being set up to raise money for Japan: booksthathelp.org is proposing to create New Sun Rising: Stories for Japan, “a collection of stories and poems and art honoring and celebrating Japan”.

Here’s what they need:

your stories, poems, and artwork (see their submission page)
your tweets and blogs and vlogs and facebooks (see their helping out page)
your eyeballs and discerning literary and artistic judgement (see their helping out page)

They would welcome any submissions that are “relevant to or evocative of Japan” – including manga and microfiction… They will then be donating 100% of the proceeds to a charity working with the relief effort in Japan. And “they”, by the way, are authors Sessha Batto, Frankie Sachs (who would love to be able to include a wood-cut), Elle, Susan May James, Solange Noir and Michelle Goode.

Then, thanks to Playing by the Book, I’m able to pass on two more initiatives which have both put the call out for illustrators:

Art for Japan, set up by sisters Meg and Alice Hunt, is calling on any “cartoonist, illustrator, designer, animator, crafter, fine artist, etc.” for donations of work to be auctioned on eBay in early April. Anyone who can help is asked to email artforjapan2011ATgmailDOTcom; for full details go here.

And Illustration Rally has launched Ganbare Nippon: Don’t Give Up Japan, calling out for both original artwork to auction and submissions to their Rally for Japan, from which they plan to produce merchandise to sell – “so please give us your best imag

Authors for Japan, an on-line auction set up by author Keris Stainton to raise money for the British Red Cross Japan Tsunami Appeal begins tomorrow and runs until Saturday. Many authors and book professionals have generously donated a range of lots, from signed books to choosing character names to manuscript critiques. For full details, including how to bid, click here.

Thank you, Keris, for your initiative in setting up the auction and for giving us an area of focus as we attempt to comprehend the scale of the disaster in Japan.

On Friday, a large quake followed by a massive tsunami hit Japan.  The devastation and loss of life are great, and attempts are ongoing to assist survivors and victims.  Meanwhile, nuclear reactor plants are at risk.  If you’re in Japan or know Japanese people or others who are in the affected areas, feelings must verge on the apocalyptic.  Although Japan might be one of the best equipped countries to deal with earthquakes, this particular one was massive in the scale of its destruction.  At the moment, the best way to help is to donate to your local affiliate of the Red Cross.  And of course, if you have Japanese friends, call them up or e-mail them and show them your concern.   Social media is a great way to stay in touch; I have received regular updates from friends in Tokyo that are much appreciated.  News sources online are of course, diverse, but I have found the NHK English site to be most useful.  They carry stories and broadcasts in English as well as many other languages.  As with the victims of previous earthquakes like in Haiti and in Chile (and also New Zealand,) we here at PaperTigers want to express our support and extend sympathy for all those affected in Japan at this crucial time.