All images are from ROLLS TOHOKU.

I'm sure many of you have seen enough devastating imagery of the Tohoku disaster and I never meant to post any sad images here. But these, I simply could not help sharing. These are all taken by the people in the worst damaged areas, mostly by children who have lost their houses and their possessions. These are from their everyday life, a few weeks after the disaster.

A Japanese photographer Aichi Hirano went into the earthquake & tsunami-hit areas around Ishinomaki in Miyagi prefecture carrying lots of instant cameras with him. He handed the cameras to the people in the evacuation centres and asked them to photograph what they see, what they want to record or remember, people around them, the ones they love, or just anything they want to photograph. And he asked them to enjoy it as much as they can.

ROLLS TOHOKU 3/31 - 4/3 is the project Hirano set up, to showcase photographs of the disaster-stricken areas by the victims themselves to tell the world what's really there and the people's thoughts and views other than what have been brought to us through media hoping that people who thought and felt something from seeing these photographs will act to help for the recovery in the way and through what they can/want/believe, and most importantly "to continue doing it for as long as possible".

Most faces seen in the ROLLS TOHOKU are with smiles. They are not the sad photographs but are filled with lights of hope.
All so amazingly beautiful.

20 comments

  1. This is terrific & beautiful. But painful. Thanks to share.

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  2. Looking at the children's smiles makes me think that children might be the strongest after all. Thanks for sharing hiki, the rolls were very touching.

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  3. thanks for posting this hiki.
    have a lovely weekend :) x

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  4. That makes me feel sad :( But thanks for sharing

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  5. Dear Hiki,thankyou,I am grateful to see these.

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  6. I find the photos breath taking,,, so much destruction,, I live in ontario canada and have made a donation to japan throught the Red Cross, I wish there was more we could do but know that your country and people are in our prayers,, please be safe,,, by the way,, I LOVE the name of your blog,,, really goood!!

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  7. thanks for sharing the pictures. it's important i think to be reminded of how fragile life + everything we take for granted is...

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  8. thankyou for the wonderful window to your life

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  9. Children has such a fantastic way of dealing with things; both good and bad.

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  10. thanks for sharing. this must be very difficult. i also have a friend living in tokyo, and i get all the first-hand news from her. i wish you well! and lots of light in your life

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  11. these images are strong reminders of what happened, but at the same time, beautiful and hopeful photographic moments
    :-)

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  12. Thank you so much for sharing these Hiki.

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  13. Great post!
    I think it's important to see that the people in Japan, and Tohoku especially, are (no matter how slowly) recovering and looking optimistically towards the future.

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  14. Sad that it happened to that place but eventually I like the photos being shared here cause it shows the real what's going in that place. Thanks!

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  15. that makes me so sad.... I wish there was more we could do but know that your country and people are in our prayers,, please be safe.

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  16. That reminds me on japan earthquake that were lots of people died due to the impact of the tsunami. A kind scary to be but still their is hope.

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your kind words are always welcome and appreciated! arigato :)

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