People who convey the "spirit of Hiroshima";
Hiroshima Okonomiyaki: taking the fuel for post-war recovery to Tohoku
An interview with Hiroaki Kawakami (President, K2S K.K.) and head of the
Okonomiyaki Division of the Hiroshima Inshoku Seiei, Hiroshima City Chapter |
Hoping to put a smile on the faces of evacuees of the Great East Japan
Earthquake and provide them with hot-off-the-grill okonomiyaki, a local
specialty that contributed to the post-war recovery of the city, the Hiroshima
City Chapter of the Hiroshima Inshoku Seiei and the City of Hiroshima supplied
hot, freshly made okonomiyaki to evacuation centers in Sendai on April
12-13 with the cooperation of member businesses.
What was the inspiration for this project?
Just by chance, three of our employees were on a business trip to Tokyo
on March 11, the day the big earthquake struck. Tokyo shook pretty violently
as well. Somehow they managed to catch the last flight and returned to
neighboring Okayama. I went to retrieve them from Okayama and finally all
of our employees had made it safely back to Hiroshima. The next week we
held a company-wide meeting and since our employees had also experienced
the earthquake and understood the scope of the disaster, we started to
talk about what we could do for the victims. That's how all of this got
started.
How did you carry it out?
I am the head of the Okonomiyaki Division for the Hiroshima City Chapter of the Hiroshima Inshoku Seiei,
so I proposed this project to the City of Hiroshima and they were pleased to accept it.
I asked member businesses for donations and in just five days we managed to gather enough ingredients
to make 2000 servings of okonomiyaki and were even lent a refrigerated truck.
The City of Hiroshima made arrangements for us and on the morning of
April 11, one month after the disaster, we loaded the ingredients into
the truck and together with four okonomiyaki chefs and three city employees,
left from city hall. Using the expressways and taking naps along the way,
we arrived in the City of Sendai over 20 hours later.
Once there, what did you do?
On the first day, we went to Rokugo Junior High School in Sendai, one of
the evacuation centers, and made okonomiyaki. Hiroshima and Sendai cities
have a good relationship and thanks to the arrangements made in advance—like
where we were going to make the okonomiyaki—things went very smoothly.
At this facility, the JSDF, Japan Self-Defense Forces, were preparing and
providing meals, so we asked them to take a break (lunch) and allow us
to add okonomiyaki to the menu. We had to prepare about 800 meals in 90
minutes, but four employees from the Sendai and Tokyo branches of the Otafuku
Sauce Company lent a hand. So, with 15 people working we were able to finish
in time. |
After that, in the gymnasium, the head of the neighborhood association,
who was also staying there as a refugee, introduced us to everyone and
they all expressed their gratitude to us for coming such a long way to
help out. Then it was our turn to feel touched.
To us, the aftermath of the disaster-hit areas were reminiscent of Hiroshima
after the war. While we made okonomiyaki we imagined the feelings of those
Hiroshimans before us who provided support to Hiroshima's recovery with
okonomiyaki. The evacuees that day couldn't resist our Hiroshima okonomiyaki
and we were told how great it was. |
Volunteer activities at Rokugo Junior High School |
|
On the second day, we visited Okada Elementary School, also in Sendai.
The neighborhood association leader was also staying at the evacuation
center, and under the leader's direction evacuees gathered to help us.
They contacted the neighborhood evacuation centers for us and 600 meals
we had prepared were loaded onto pallets and delivered to all of the centers. |
|
Volunteer activities at Okada Elementary School |
Since it had been a month since the disaster struck, evacuation centers
had developed rules so that people could live together. Instead of having
everyone line up for food, meals were distributed by volunteers or by people
in turns. It really felt that people were working together to survive.
Okada Elementary School was just on the edge of the area devastated by
the tsunami and looking at the horrible destruction left us speechless.
With the large number of evacuees, it wasn't like we could just wish everyone
the best of luck, so we put all of our effort into preparing okonomiyaki
for them to enjoy. |
What kind of future activities are you considering?
We have been holding fundraisers since immediately following the disaster
and for now we would just like to continue with that. Despite our miniscule
abilities, we'd also like to think about what we can contribute to the
ongoing recovery efforts in the disaster-stricken area.
By visiting the disaster area, we were able to feel the power of the
evacuees while at the same time feel a sort of connection to the power
of our grandparents' generation which made post-war Hiroshima what it is
today. So, I was able to sense that the disaster area will also recover.
Also, I think that this project went so smoothly precisely because of the
connection felt between the volunteers and those accepting our aid. I felt
that we had to be careful not to let this volunteer project become one-sided.
Finally, being able to successfully complete this project was the result
of being blessed with great volunteers and I would like to express my gratitude
to them. If we do this kind of activity again, I would love to do it with
them
Thanks for your time today. |
| (Interviewed July 23, 2011) |
|
|
