A conversation with the architect, Osamu Tsukihashi

Arcade Submission, Issue 38.1: DEATH

Submission by: Robert Hutchison Interview w/ Osamu Tsukihashi: The Lost Homes Project

Following the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunamis that devastated the towns and villages along the coastal areas of the Fukushima region, architect Osamu Tsukihashi and students in his workshop at Kobe University began to create a series of models that documented the towns and villages prior to the disaster, in memory of the lives lost. To date, the Lost Homes project has created hundreds of models, each of which have been donated to a corresponding town or village affected by the disaster. The detailed white paper models, all delivered to the communities at 1:500 scale, are hand painted by the surviving community members, who also attach personal memory notes to specific buildings and places of reverence. While on a trip to Japan in March 2019 sponsored through a UW Rundstad fellowship, I had the privilege to meet and get to know Osamu Tsukihashi, and the two of us have remained in touch. The following is a transcription of my conversation with Tsukihashi san in March 2020 regarding his Lost Homes project.

Hutchison: Tsukihashi san, thank you so much for taking the time to talk with me about your Lost Homes project. Would you mind introducing yourself? Tsukihashi: Yes, of course. I am an architect, and I have been running my office Architects Teahouse for 18 years, and at the same time I have been teaching as a professor at several universities. From 2003 to 2009, I worked as a lecturer in Sendai at the Tohoku Institute of Technology, and it is in Sendai that I also started my office. In the middle of 2009, I moved to Kobe University as an associate professor, and so I also moved my office to Kobe. So just after one and a half years that I had moved to Kobe is when the big earthquake hit Tohoku. So I have a lot of friends and colleagues in Sendai and the Tohoku area. In Japan, it is common for some architects are professor architects, who run a laboratory in a University while they are also running their office. My teacher was the famous architect Hiroshi Hara, who I worked under as a doctorate student at Tokyo University. My research with Professor Hara was to research traditional villages in the world, and I visited over 20 countries in Africa, South America, Lapland, studying villages and housing typologies. We were especially interested in architecture that was created without architects.

Hutchison: Very interesting, I did not know that you studied under Hiroshi Hara! Yes, in Japan I understand that it is common for an architect to have their firm and to also have a workshop based at a university. Can you tell me about the 2011 earthquake and tsunami? Tsukihashi: Because earthquakes are so common in Japan, the communities are well trained, and people know that you must get to higher ground because of the possibility of a tsunami. In the small villages and communities along the coast, the elders know that a tsunami can happen once every 30 years, and they always tell the children that in the event of an earthquake, just run after an earthquake. So every kid knows this. But nobody imagined how big the 2011 tsunami would be. A total of 18,428 people are dead or missing. In addition, more than 3,700 people died in the evacuation and related conditions. So more than 22,000 people have died from the disaster. I cannot say the exact number of communities, it is difficult. But over 550 kilometers of coastline was affected.

Hutchison: Can you tell me about that day? Where were you when you found out?

Tsukihashi: The tsunami came approximately 30 minutes to 45 minutes after the earthquake, depending on the location of villages along the coast. I actually had visited the town of Kesennuma one week before. I was there to check on a project of mine, a large steel structure that was being fabricated by the Takahashi shipyard there, which is a very famous company known for their construction of the steel tube columns in Toyo Ito’s Sendai Mediatheque. Of course the shipyard is located right on the water. When the earthquake occurred at 2:46 pm, I was in my car driving to the University in Kobe, and I got the news by radio. So I stopped my car, and I made a phone call to my friend at the shipyard in Kesennuma to make sure they were ok. But because of the earthquake, my phone call would not go through, and in fact it was three days before phone service began to reconnect. But with Google Person Finder, people were able to get information regarding the towns and communities. Unfortunately one of the workers at the shipyard died after he was evacuated. But the rest of the workers are safe.

Hutchison: Let's talk more specifically about the Lost Homes project. Can you describe how this project started?

Tsukihashi: I was very moved by what happened to my friends in Kesennuma. As an architect I wanted to go to the affected areas to help, but at the same time as a teacher I wanted to include my students in some way. Two weeks after the tsunami we had a graduation ceremony at Kobe University. I had a celebration meal with my graduated students and young architects at a restaurant, and we started to discuss what we could do.

Hutchison: Interesting. So the idea of the Lost Homes project came out of a conversation with your students and young architects?

Tsukihashi: Yes! What we talked about is that nobody is a specialist for this kind of event. The disaster was so huge. So all we could do was talk about it as a group, to discuss how we might be able to help.

Hutchison: During this conversation over dinner, how did the idea of the project come up?

Tsukihashi: It was a very simple conversation. We all agreed that we wanted to support the affected areas and communities. But we only knew about the affected sites through TV shows and YouTube, and we did not know much about these sites before they had been affected by the disaster. We wanted to know what had existed before, and what had been lost; but more specifically, what images the people in the affected communities have of their happy town before the disaster. We wanted to connect with the people’s shared image of their community. In this very simple way, we came up with the idea that architecture students could make models of the communities to help the communities connect to this shared image.

Hutchison: How did you decide what community or series of communities to start working with?

Tsukihashi: Right after our meal at the restaurant, I sent an email to many of my architecture friends regarding our idea. Many of them are very famous architects and professors. So many of them responded saying that they wanted to join in the collaboration, the response was incredible. So I realized that I needed to immediately start to organize the project. At the same time, as I said I had a connection to the Takahashi shipyard factory in Kesennuma. So three weeks after the tsunami, I went to Kesennuma with food and supplies. I discussed with Takahashi san about the reconstruction and regeneration of this area. I mentioned to him our idea to make models of the communities. Because it was so soon since the disaster, I think it was difficult for Takahashi and his workers understand how a model could help them. But I believed that over time they would start to understand. A few weeks later, I went back to Kesennuma again, and I spoke with several people from the city office. The people said they wanted to see their hometown again as a reconstructed model. I was very moved by this. Here is a video that documented my meeting with the city office.

Tsukihashi: “I am planning to make the model which reconstruct before tsunami with houses and landscapes. People need to live the life of reconstruction. Through the years, the model will help them keeping the good memories of the town they used to have before 3/11. It might be delicate for the people affected … remind their life in this place. I want to ask how do you think?”

City staff: “We have lost our hometown. I would feel glad if I could see our town again … even the models. Because we have lost everything.“

Hutchison: Wow, that is very moving.

Tsukihashi Yes. And so I believed that this project would be able to touch people. I shared this video with my students, and we all agreed we needed to work together to create a model of Kesennuma. This is a photograph of the first model that we made in Kobe, using existing maps and photographs. At the center of the model is the Minami Kesennuma railway station. The model is constructed at 1:500 scale, and the dimensions of the model are 1 meter by 1 meter. And so the model represents 500 meters by 500 meters of the center of the town. The model is all white, and of course since we are architects we found it very beautiful. (Laughter) But we thought it would be hard for the town’s people and children to understand that it was their own town. And at the same time, we found that the existing maps and photographs did not provide enough information for us to provide more detail. So we brought this white model to Kesennuma, and in just one week after it had been painted with the help of the local people. Do you see this pink line of color? These are the cherry blossom trees along the river. When we were building the model, we could not have known this just using maps and photographs. These cherry blossom trees are very important as a local landscape in the springtime. Only with the help of the locals were we able to record this on the model. We realized that these communities have thousands of episodes that are very important and loved by the local people. For example, this is a vacant lot, but we did not know that it was used by children as a playground. And across the station is a clocktower that was a very important landmark. We realized that every episode needs to be included on these models, because each episode, while small, when combined with the other tiny memories, the model becomes a memory landscape.

Hutchison: Amazing. So in only one week the model was painted with the locals. Can you explain how the students were involved?

Tsukihashi: We brought the white model to the city office of Kesennuma, and we placed it in the lobby. And suddenly lots of people started to gather around the model. One woman pointed at a house and she said “I lived here”, and then they all started talking about their memories of the town. So the city office gave us a dedicated room for one week to do a workshop. Over that entire week, lots of townspeople came to the room to paint the model with the students, they created lots of cars and trees, etc. And they enjoyed the experience. I think this is important … the process of painting the model and putting trees along the river, it is the process of rebuilding their memories of their town. But what was also interesting to me is that even just one month after the disaster, the local people told me that when they walk around their old town, it was very difficult for them to remember what it was like because the only remnants are trash and debris. The landscape was completely changed, and so they could not remember any details of where they live. In this way it is important that they be given tools to help remind them of their past. Without these tools, they will lose the memories of how they lived. So while it is just a model, it is a very important tool that allows the people to keep relive memories, and this helps them keep their local culture alive.

Hutchison: When did the small memory flags start to show up on the models?

Tsukihashi: The first memory flags were just small post-it notes!! But after the next workshop, lots of people came to the model with flags that they attached to the model, and there were so many that we could not see the shape of the town!!! (Laughter) The people want to talk about the happy culture that they had. This is the power of the model I think.

Hutchison: How many models have been made now?

Tsukihashi: Each model is always constructed at 1:500 scale, and the size is 1 meter by 1 meter square, representing 500 meters by 500 meters of a town. We call each one of these 1 meter x 1 meter models a pixel. Depending on the size of the town, sometimes we have to make more than one model, so sometimes a town might be represented as 3x3 or 4x5 pixels. In nine years, we made over 500 pixels of models.

Hutchison: Wow, 500?! That’s a lot!!

Tsukahashi: Yes! That’s a lot. But to address all towns affected by the Tohoku earthquake, we estimate that we have to construct approximately 1,000 pixels.

Hutchison: So you are still making models, correct? How many are you working on right now?

Tsukihashi: From 2013 to 2015, we collaborated with the NHK television series, making models and workshops for over 40 towns in the three prefectures affected. Almost one every month! The students were traveling to each town. For students, this is a very interesting opportunity to communicate with the local people directly. They can hear about the community’s memories regarding their town. After three years with the tv show, the program became popular, and other local communities started to ask us to make a model and workshop. For example, the Okawa elementary school in Ishinomaki lost over 70 children. The community really struggled with this as you can imagine. We made a model and workshop with that local community. From 2016 to 2018, we answered requests from other local communities. Last year, in 2019, in the area where reconstruction processes have progressed, the reconstruction models have come to be used as a memory inheritance program. We started workshops with the next generation. We made models for over 65 communities.

Hutchison: So are you saying that the workshops are also helping communities to think about how they might rebuild?

Tsukihashi: Yes, but the rebuilding process is very rushed because housing and infrastructure must be implemented immediately. So it is not easy to use the reconstruction model directly for such purposes. But some communities in Kesennuma have used their models as a way for the townspeople, the government and a consultant to come together to discuss how to rebuild. It has helped discussion to be more productive, and has allowed for better communication between the community and the government.

Hutchison: Next year is the ten year anniversary of the disaster. Are there any special things being planned?

Tsukihashi: Yes. Of course we are continuing working with local communities. We are also collaborating with NHK for a large exhibition in Tokyo. In local communities, they never forget the disaster. But in Tokyo and other places outside of the area affected, it is more difficult for the next generation to remember. We are also planning on making an exhibition of some of the models in Vancouver at the Museum of Anthropology at University of British Columbia. We will be sending a large model there for an exhibition. It is the model for the town of Ofunato. After the tsunami, some of the small fishing vessels from the town washed up in British Columbia. For this reason the museum wants to display the model. It will be in the museum from November 2020 to April 2021.

Hutchison: Perhaps the model could come to Seattle too?

Tsukihashi: Yes, that would be fantastic!! It is big though, 8 boxes of 1m x 1m! But that would be wonderful, thank you.

Hutchison: Briefly I would like to change the topic to infrastructure. As you know, during my trip to Sendai last year, I was overwhelmed by the amount of physical infrastructure that had been constructed to prevent a future disaster. But much of the infrastructure did not seem to connect to the daily lives of the residents, and in many ways it disconnects the towns from the sea. I’ve been wondering how we can design infrastructure to become more integrated with community, and how can that infrastructure help connect communities more to the sea rather than disconnect? Do you have any thoughts about this?

Tsukihashi: Yes, there have been many arguments regarding the big sea walls that you talk about. The big sea walls are very easy to construct, it is the same section along its length. So it is easy to put a lot of money and people working on it. It is a Japanese infrastructure culture that allows for it to be constructed very quickly. But you are right, it changes the landscape so much … nobody can see the ocean anymore! It’s interesting, when we interviewed the local community of Kesennuma, we found out that many women and older people were in their houses when the tsunami hit, and so they experienced this directly, and so they agree with the sea wall. But because it was in the afternoon when the tsunami hit, most of the younger men were working outside of the homes, and so they returned to the town after the tsunami. So only the women and older people and children actually experienced the tsunami directly. So in the community, the opinions differ depending on how individuals experienced the tsunami. Personally I think it is very important that placemaking be interconnected with the creation of safe community. But for the city and prefecture government, the challenge is that they have to develop a solution for every community. In Japan, we don’t have the communication infrastructure for small villages to work with the government. And so the decision is not so easy I think. The great seawall is a very general solution.

Hutchison: A general solution that is trying to work for all communities.

Tsukihashi: Yes. But we have to be conscious about local communities. We can only help to make safe communities through placemaking. I agree with your project. For example, evacuation towers should be useful not just for a tsunami, but for every day things also. Perhaps for festivals, other things.

Hutchison: In Japan, you have an earthquake and tsunami every 30 years. And so you live with it, and the older people make sure the children know about it. But in Seattle and the pacific northwest, we have not had this experience and understanding. Do you have any thoughts regarding how we can convince our government and the general public to be better prepared and to invest without having that experience?

Tsukihashi: I think that local history and people’s memory is the seed for human resource and development. But most important is coexisting history and making the discussion and generating culture. What is interesting about the memory models is that they only embody the memories of the inhabitants who are were living there recently, although the communities have been around for hundreds of years. In Japanese communities, the elders are typically the leaders of the community. But now young people don’t have time to connect with the older generations. But with the models, the old people put their memories on the model, which allows for the younger generation to understand. What is so important is communication between generations. The question is how this can happen in your communities.

Hutchison: Tsukihashi san, I so appreciate your time to talk with me. Thank you for sharing with me your beautiful project. Tsukihashi: Doitashimashite!!!

All images courtesy Osamu Tsukihashi