Guy Nordenson and Catherine Seavitt: River's Edge
This was a rather large article discussing
Hurricane Katrina and Superstorm Sandy; however, I was particularly interested
in the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
Whilst reading the article I came across a
section focused on the 2011 Japan disaster which mentioned tsunami stones: ‘the most poignant realisations in the
tragic aftermath’. Tsunami stones are ‘individual
stone markers that appear along the coastline of Japan, some almost six hundred
years old. A typical inscription reads: “High dwellings are the peace and
harmony of our descendants. Remember the calamity of the great tsunamis. Do not
build homes below this point.”
The large rock sculptures are now withered away
by the elements and have started to be engulfed by the surrounding nature similarly
to the remnants of the disaster locations and yet the message in these rocks
remains as clear as the destruction sites themselves. I think the message of
the rocks is just as or more powerful, as in-comparison to the destroyed towns
these sculptures are tiny yet they give the same message and will probably
create awareness for many centuries to come.
… Storms have battered them; they have lain,
sometimes for months on end, becalmed. There is a residue even if they fail- James
Salter