The Japan Disasters Digital Archive JDA is an advanced search engine whose purpose is to collect, preserve, and make broadly accessible many forms of first-hand information and primary documentation of the events of 11 March 2011 and their aftermath. Launched in July of 2012 with the support of metaLAB and the Center for Geographic Analysis at Harvard, the project seeks to build digital repositories from materials from around the globe related to the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake.
Japan Digital Disasters Archive IntroductionEdwin O. Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies, Harvard University
Japan Digital Disasters ArchiveEdwin O. Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies, Harvard University
In March 2011, in response to the unprecedented series of disasters that occurred in Northeastern Japan on March 11, 2011 – the magnitude 9.0 earthquake, tsunami, and damage to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant – the Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies began at once to set up structures to provide immediate help, to aid in making sense of these events as they unfolded, and to enable later reflection and understanding for survivors, scholars, and the general public.
One of these initiatives was the Japan Disasters Digital Archive (JDA), an advanced search engine whose purpose is to collect, preserve, and make broadly accessible many forms of first-hand information and primary documentation of the events of 11 March 2011 and their aftermath. Launched in July of 2012 with the support of metaLAB and the Center for Geographic Analysis at Harvard, the project seeks to build digital repositories from materials from around the globe related to the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake.
March 11, 2018 Memorial in Ishinomaki, Miyagi PrefectureEdwin O. Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies, Harvard University
Through the archive, the project aims to provide a public space of information exchange, to establish innovative means of organization, access, and integration of materials, and to contribute to teaching, research, and policy analysis both now and in the future.
Most of all, the JDA hopes that the archive will serve as a site of shared memories and reflection for those most affected by these events and concerned about their consequences. As an interactive space that promotes and thrives on user participation, the JDA fosters new connections, both between items and among users, through the sharing and exchange of collections and presentations. This network of users is ever-expanding, from a major organization that submits thousands of location- and direction-tagged photographs, to fellow citizens who share their family’s experiences, to historians who seek to understand the interaction of public and private actors in the relief effort.
Windows were shattered in a Tokyo building when the 3.11 earthquake hit.Edwin O. Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies, Harvard University
"As users access archived materials, they will have an opportunity to give them greater meaning by adding new information such as keywords or explanations. This information becomes part of the archive and helps future users gain better access and understanding of the materials. Sorting by date and time, by place, or by topic, users can sift through materials located in multiple archives, ranging from blogs, to photographs, to sound recordings and moving pictures. They can contribute their own testimonials and photographs, propose new websites to be collected, and create annotated personal 'collections' of materials around their topics of interest and invite others to consult those collections."
– Professor Andrew Gordon
Aftermath of 3.11 TsunamiEdwin O. Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies, Harvard University
"I lost words when I saw the damaged town. I hesitated to take photos, but, at the same time, I thought it was our duty to tell other people about this disaster, so I took photos without hesitation.
This is the picture taken in USUISO town, which got huge damage from the tsunami with my family. At that time, searching for missing people was very difficult because of heaps of rubble on the road created by the tsunami. People were trying to recreate roads, moving away the rubble to the sidewalk to start rescue operations for the missing people. Cars were flipped over and lying on the sidewalk. The post office was destroyed and only its steel frame remained. Some houses seemed fine but inside were totally damaged and looked as if they were going to crumble. The road along the coast was washed away and we could not go further.
The town which was alive with many people was destroyed—everything in a moment."
- A-san testimonial
Professor Andrew Gordon visiting Fukushima #1 plantEdwin O. Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies, Harvard University
"In June 2018 I had the opportunity to join a visit usually for media, and other specialists, to view the Fukushima #1 plant (where the meltdown happened). The goal is to show progress in clean-up to the visitors, and via them, to a wider audience. The target is to bring in 10,000 such visitors annually by 2020, the year of the Olympics in Tokyo."
- Professor Andrew Gordon, 6/9/2018
Japan Disasters Digital Archive heatmapEdwin O. Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies, Harvard University
Its innovative map feature provides a visualization of all materials that are tagged with geographic information in real time.
Geographic location of testimonialEdwin O. Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies, Harvard University
"On March 12th, the first plant exploded in the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. Then the third plant exploded on 14th of March. The TV showed us the moment they exploded; it looked like the explosion of a nuclear bomb which I have watched in history class before. When the third one exploded, I packed my luggage and left my home with my family. First, we visited my grandmother’s house located in southern Iwaki city, Fukushima. At midnight, I was woken up by my mother, and she said that we had to go out of Fukushima, otherwise we would not be able to get out from there because Fukushima would be closed by the government. At that time, we had to believe even the untrustworthy rumor, as we did not have enough information and we had no idea what is true and what is not. We left for Tsuchiura, Ibaraki, next to Fukushima and stayed there for 2 weeks...
Radiation meterEdwin O. Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies, Harvard University
...2 weeks later, we finally came back to my hometown. However, we could not shake the feeling that the invisible radiations were always around us. This picture is taken by my father when he measured the radiation rate around my home, a while after we came back home. The trucks from the high radiated area were washed at the truck wash behind my home so that the radiation rate behind my home was incredibly high. The HIGH meant it wasn’t so high to affect our health condition, but it still scared me a lot. Today, the radiation rate in Iwaki has been steady and we do not have to be scared about it, but I will never forget the fear of invisible dangers."
- Ms. K testimonial
Geographic location of C-san's testimonialEdwin O. Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies, Harvard University
"I lost my third-grade son in the Tsunami. I later heard that kids were saying, “Let’s escape to the mountain.” The children were always told to make your own individual decisions, but those who just waited for the teachers to give instructions, 74 students died due to the Tsunami. Those kids were raised to listen to the teachers and parents. The children simply trusted and listened to the grownups. I hope the children will learn from this lesson. I do not really wish to have the site remained as a Tsunami devastated area, but I would rather have the kids to learn from the site and the experiences. My son must have wished his parents came to pick him up like other parents. How come his mother did not come to pick him up?"
- Ms. C testimonial (2/6/2016)
Kamaishi doctorsEdwin O. Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies, Harvard University
"I was in 9th grade, and it was my graduation day when the disaster happened. I played a saxophone in the school band. There was a seasonal concert planned three days later, so we all went home saying “see you in three days” to each other. When I got home, the earthquakes came. My father, who usually was out for fishing on a fishing boat, happened to be home and said, “I know for sure a Tsunami is coming, let’s escape,” and we escaped together to the second floor of a building. There were about 20 people there. There were some emergency food items stored and I was given some instant rice. I was too afraid to look outside from the window but knew the water level was getting higher. I panicked and was crying the whole time. I am still afraid of earthquakes and even with a slight shake, my heart starts to pound.
We couldn’t get in touch with my sixth-grade sister which made us worried. We had tried to convince ourselves that she should be safe as she was at school. My sister later told us she felt safe because she was with her classmates. She also told us that she was not too worried about my father and me as we could swim, but she was for my mother who couldn’t. We wrapped our feet with plastic bags and walked home in the water the next day. The first floor of our house was damaged by the Tsunami, so we started our lives on the second floor. We ate snacks that were not soaked with water, and our neighborhood fish cake store gave us some fish cakes. When we visited the shelter on the fourth day, we were supplied with some bananas and fish cakes."
- Ms. T testimonial (06/2016)
Ishinomaki High School GraduationEdwin O. Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies, Harvard University
"In the three years that students attended a temporary school in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, following the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami, the landscape outside changed, as the rubble and debris gradually disappeared.
The construction of public housing for evacuees also made progress.
High school students at the temporary building set up on a hill proudly held their graduation ceremony on March 1, looking back on a difficult three years of change and perseverance."
- News article excerpt, written by Akiko Nagashima and Yusuke Hoshino (03/01/2015)
March 11, 2017 Memorial in Miyako, Iwate PrefectureEdwin O. Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies, Harvard University
"Heads bowed at 2:46 p.m. on March 11 around Japan as people paused for a moment of silence to remember the thousands who died in the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami six years ago.
Prayers were offered at the exact moment the magnitude-9.0 earthquake shook a wide swathe of northeastern Japan and generated a massive tsunami that swept away many residents...
In Miyako, Iwate Prefecture, about 500 people gathered for an event to remember those who lost their lives in the tsunami that devastated the city."
- News article excerpt (3/11/2017)
