Distribute information through various media and lectures while striving to reconstruct the local community.
Mr. Shitaeda, a native of Katsurao Village, was working at a company in Tokyo when the earthquake hit. He turned in his resignation letter in order to return to his hometown, and the Great East Japan Earthquake struck two hours after that. He returned to the prefecture and involved in volunteer work in transporting relief supplies, and was officially transferred to a transport company in Motomiya City in April. In that situation, Mr. Shitaeda established Katsuryoku Souzousya that is engaged in creating a sustainable local community in 2012, and went back to his hometown in 2016. Since then, he has worked on revitalizing the community in Katsurao Village up until now. While carrying out events and human resources development to reconstruct the community, he also distributes various information including the development of the village and community through various media. In order to build relationships with people with substantial interest by having them stay, he opened an accommodation ZICCA in 2019. While also having started offering internship programs and recruited students, those who participated became active in activities. Mr. Shitaeda analyzes this situation that they may have stepped up to level 1 from zero after other students gradually started activities. He believes that the activities are expanding.
The accommodation ZICCA annexed to Katsuryoku Souzousya. If people who are highly interested in the activities gather, it can create a place to distribute information and exchange opinions eventually.
Serve as a faculty member since 2023 to convey the earthquake and the nuclear accident to future generations.
Since 2016 when Mr. Shitaeda returned to his hometown village, interviews with people living in the village have been posted on the website of Katsuryoku Souzousya. He implemented it to build face-to-face relationships with residents, initially only with those who returned to the village. The interviews have already been conducted with all village residents at least once. He teaches students and also gives lectures at events, having conducted approx. 30 times in 2022 and approx. 20 times in 2023. Mr. Shitaeda has been interviewed by media, appeared on TV programs, and disseminated information on initiatives to reconstruct the local community. From 2023, he became a faculty member at Tohoku University of Art and Design in Yamagata Prefecture, and has communicated activities to rebuild the local community that he has been carried out to students. The basis of such activities to convey lies in the idea that the earthquake and the nuclear accident should be passed on to future generations the same as pollutions or the like. On the other hand, there is a concern that clear lessons have not been learned even 12 years after their occurrence. Mr. Shitaeda has mentioned about an issue in passing down to future generations that an answer to a question about what was the nuclear accident and suggestions to the next generation have not been provided yet.
Mr. Shitaeda says that activities to pass down the disasters do not make money and the students do not relocate. But he continues the activities because it is fun.
Potentials he felt in the way of conveying through vicarious experience with a play.
Work on creating the local community through art activities.
Mr. Shimoeda also mentioned a variety of ways to convey the disasters through activities. According to him, he has developed an interest in a way not only that leaves information but also that those who are told can experience it. He said that he thought the method of having them create a play and perform it was interesting, in particular. He also mentioned that the current students were still small when the earthquake occurred, and pointed out that in addition to providing the generation who would not remember the nuclear accident with information, it is necessary to let them imagine and perceive it as their own experience based on the information given to them. He says that it is also important to let them vicariously experience the incident by taking one step further than just disseminating information. Based on this idea, Mr. Shimoeda has conducted activities to shift the feelings of residents closer to the local community through festivals and art activities. At a junior high school in the village, staff members of Katsuryoku Souzousya are engaged in art activities. Mr. Shimoeda brought back a festival and joint rice-planting after returning to the village, but it is part of initiatives for vicarious experience of developing the village. He said with a smile that he will continue to reconstruct the community while continuing to consider disseminating ways to promote vicarious experience .
Mr. Kentaro Mori (left) and Ms. Rina Ohyama (right) from Katsuryoku Souzousya, who support creative activities at Katsurao Junior High School as a site of artists
Katsuryoku Souzousya
〒979-1603
118-2 Jurouchi, Nogawa Aza, Katsurao-mura, Futaba-gun, Fukushima Prefecture
TEL:0240-23-6820
HP:https://katsuryoku-s.com/
MAIL:info@katsuryoku-s.com
