By MIKAKO OTSUBO/ Staff Writer
March 9, 2023 at 17:18 JST
A lumpsucker sits on top of a sea squirt. (Provided by Yasuaki Kagii)
Over the 12 years he has been visiting the Tohoku region, underwater photographer Yasuaki Kagii’s focus has shifted from recording debris from the Great East Japan Earthquake to capturing the natural beauty found off the coast.
His change of heart came six or seven years after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. The more Kagii dove, the more he realized there were fewer signs of changes taking place in the environment than he had anticipated.
At first, Kagii--who lives in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture--made it a point of shooting debris and rubble from the twin disasters alongside the underwater wildlife.
However, he increasingly came to feel that few people would still be interested in such photos.
Then, when he took a flash photo of a rocky area, Kagii captured the brilliant red, orange and yellow of sponges and sea anemones, and he realized the sea off the Tohoku region held a variety of colors matching that of any southern island, with no need to Photoshop the images.
That was the moment Kagii found a new theme for his photo journeys to Iwate and Miyagi prefectures: Capturing the natural beauty of the Sanriku region rather than simply recording the damage from the earthquake and tsunami.
About 10 days after the twin disasters on March 11, 2011, a weekly magazine called Kagii for photos off the coast of the Tohoku prefectures hardest hit.
Initially, he shot photos of items from life on land that the tsunami had swept out to sea, such as a child’s school bag and a piano. Later, however, he found that plants and animals continued to live and even grow amid the damage around them.
A major turning point for his outlook was capturing the hatching of a small fish--a “dangouo” (lumpsucker)—about a year after the disasters.
He also took shots of krill and sea urchins living among a sunken car.
In the 12 years since the disaster, Kagii has traveled to the Sanriku region while being helped by locals. Just meeting with them for drinks and conversation may now be a bigger draw for the photographer.
Brother of tsunami victim cannot shake feelings of guilt
March 5, 2023
Iwate museum destroyed in 3/11 tsunami reopens after 11 years
November 15, 2022
Rare species in Fukushima raise hopes for end to radiation rumors
September 24, 2021
Disaster images shot by 49 top photographers compiled in book
April 15, 2021
Volunteer keeps searching in sea to help survivors move forward
March 17, 2021
After reluctant return to Japan, diver restores life off Iwate coast
March 16, 2021
Here is a collection of first-hand accounts by “hibakusha” atomic bomb survivors.
A peek through the music industry’s curtain at the producers who harnessed social media to help their idols go global.
Cooking experts, chefs and others involved in the field of food introduce their special recipes intertwined with their paths in life.
A series based on diplomatic documents declassified by Japan’s Foreign Ministry
A series about Japanese-Americans and their memories of World War II
