The Asia-Pacific Journal | Japan Focus Volume 12 | Issue 5 | Number 2 | Article ID 4070 | Jan 30, 2014

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Are You Coming to the Matsuri?: Tsunami Recovery and FolkPerformance Culture on Iwate's Rikuch Coast 祭りにきませんか。岩手陸中海岸の津波復興と民衆芸能文化

Christopher Thompson

Introduction

Following the Great East Japan Earthquake onMarch 11th, 2011, on my first visit that fall tothe Rikuchū Coast of Iwate Prefecture, Japan,one of the first questions local residents askedme was, "Are you coming to the matsuri?"1

Three years and many subsequent visits later,this cheery inquiry, typically delivered upon myarrival - usually by friends but sometimes bystrangers - has not changed. Initially, I wasquite taken aback (even a little offended) bythis seemingly trivial query, as enjoying amatsuri seemed contrary to my "more serious"purpose for being there - to clear tsunamidebris, identify local residents' needs, and tohelp clean up or rebuild their houses andschools as requested. But quickly, I came torealize the sincere intent of this question as Iexperienced how matsuri, often described inEnglish as "folk festivals," are taking on aspecial new meaning and significance for theresidents of local communities on the tsunamiravaged Iwate coast. The study of matsuri ingeneral has been a mainstay of Japaneseethnology and folklore studies during the preand postwar periods, a literature and topic withwhich I am quite familiar (Yanagida 1946;Minakata 1951, and Miyamoto 1960). But neverdid I imagine that my own presence at a localmatsuri in a coastal Iwate town post 3.11 wouldbecome such an important way to build mutualtrust with coastal residents, delineate theirmost important priorities, or to learn about thepowerful historical ties that bind these

communities together. This experiencecontrasts sharply with the historical literatureon matsuri such as is cited above, which hasoften focused on its inherent ritual and beliefsystems, and considered folk festivities to be afairly static repository of the nation's (and thatparticular region's) historical beliefs andcustoms. While this monograph is informed bythis heritage, my ethnographic experience inIwate coastal communities post 3.11 revealsthe more dynamic role of local folk festivities asespoused by contemporary Japaneseethnologists such as Shinno (1993), Iijima(2001), and Naito (2007), who conceive localmatsuri to be fluid, malleable, reactive, andadaptive constructions – the products ofhistorical precedents but also of contemporarysocial and cultural values that reveal andreflect the many ongoing socioculturalprocesses in that locale.

The following narrative draws from mypersonal experiences in Iwate Prefecture as acultural anthropologist since 1988. Thisbackground, augmented by participation intsunami relief efforts via ties with colleagues atIwate Prefectural University (IPU) and contactsin the cities of Ōtsuchi, Yamada, and Miyakosince 3.11, has given me insights into thecultural underpinnings of Rikuchū communitiesvital to consider as recovery efforts moveforward. Portions of this account were loggedduring my second and third trips here as atsunami fukkō shien (recovery support)volunteer in 2012 and 2013 (following a firstouting in September of 2011)2 as part of a jointgroup of faculty, students, and staff from Ohio

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University (OHIO), where I am a facultymember, and IPU (Thompson 2012). Neitherthe tsunami relief trips nor access to thecoastal matsuri described herein would havebeen possible without this institutionalpartnership (Ogawa, Kumamoto, and Thompson2012). Ultimately, the purpose of this article isto focus a spotlight on tsunami survival on theRikuchū Coast (see note 1) from a local point ofview, using the unexpected insights regardingRikuchū culture and matsuri there gleaned onthese trips. For local residents here, matsuriare a highly valued and surprisingly dynamicmedium of local expression that has historicallyproven sociocultural benefits and potentialsocioeconomic capabilities they don't want toface the future without.

On The Way To Miyako

On the morning of Friday, September 21st,2012, almost exactly one-year to the day of the2011 OHIO-IPU Tsunami Recovery SupportVolunteer tour, I sat with a new group offaculty and staff, again in the same 50-passenger bus filled to capacity, headed fromMorioka - the prefectural capital - to Iwate'sPacific coast.

A map showing the larger towns on theRikuchū Coast of the Iwate Prefecture.

The year before, we spent time in Ōtsuchi, nearthe city of Kamaishi in the south centralquadrant of the Rikuchū region, at akindergarten where we read kamishibai(picture panel stories) to 3-5 year-old tsunamisurvivors and cleared debris from an importantlocal salmon stream. We had partnered on sitewith a nature preservation group from Naganofor the cleanup. At the farewell ceremonyconcluding the workday, both our parties wereinvited to a local matsuri (slated to begin thatnight) by members of the neighborhoodassociation in Sakuragi-chō, the district inwhich we had worked. The invitation was

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sincere, and as leader I wanted to accept, butour group, pressed for time, was just not ableto attend due to a commitment in another towntwo hours away. I will never forget thedisappointed look on the chōnaikaichō-san's(neighborhood association chairperson's) faceas we boarded our bus. I wasn't quite sure whyshe looked this way, until moments later whenwe watched from the bus windows as ourfriends from Nagano became enthusiasticallyengaged in watching a fascinating folkperformance (it was a shishi mai [lion dance])by a troupe from Sakuragi-chō in the obviouslyenjoyable company of the local men and women(including the neighborhood associationchairperson) we too had worked with there. Itappeared that some of our Sakuragi-chōcohorts were actually dancers in the troupe!What fun! Everyone was joking and laughing asonly those who spent the day working togethercould, and we were missing out! Howmeaningful the matsuri would have been! Aswe drove past the festival on our way out oftown, it was now the occupants of my bus wholooked disappointed.

In retrospect, not making time for the matsuriin Ōtsuchi had clearly been a mistake. The nextday, when I shared this realization with Iwatefolklorist Matsumoto Hiroaki, an IPU colleague,he smiled sympathetically and agreed that itwould definitely have been an enjoyableexper ience. 3 But more than that , heemphasized, this could have also been a goodopportunity to build mutual trust with localleaders in preparation for future visits, as thatwas probably what they wanted most. "They'llwant you to come back," he said. "This is theRikuchū way." Matsumoto sensei surmised thatwe could have also learned a lot more aboutlocal priorities for restoring Sakuragi-chō andthe coastal community of Ōtsuchi as well,because the leaders would have been present."The community leadership is always involvedin the matsuri, especially on the RikuchūCoast" he reminded me, "and some are evenperformers in the troupe, if you don't see them

helping with equipment or watching. And whenleaders gather, they talk ," he added(Matsumoto 2013). My suspicion had beenconf i rmed. At a t ime in the tsunamireconstruction process when well-meaning 3.11relief volunteers from outside the Tōhokuregion (northeastern Honshū) were beingcriticized for not being sensitive enough tolocal priorities (Okada 2012), this had been amissed opportunity.

These and other thoughts from conversationswith Matsumoto sensei and others who knowRikuchū culture well echoed inside my head asour bus motored past the dense forest thatstretches eastward on National Route 106 fromMorioka to the Pacific coast. This year, wewere headed first to the port city of Miyako(north of Ōtsuchi), for what was dubbed by IPUstudent leader Tanaka Kazuaki, as a series of"kokoro no kea~" (psychological and emotionalcare)4 opportunities. As Kazuaki, a social workmajor, explained, most of the rubble disposalwas now at a stage best left to the specialists.5

In Miyako, the local disaster volunteer officehad requested our services this time to meetwith 3.11 survivors, especially the children andelderly, who continue to live in hundreds oftemporary housing units distributed throughoutthe city. Our job would be to entertain them onSaturday, as on weekends the children have noschool and need more excitement to keep theirspirits up. Many seniors would also beinterested in meeting with us, Kazuaki wastold, as most didn't have enough to keep thembusy, even during the week. And we would bestaying at Greenpia Sanriku Miyako, a resorthotel complex in the suburb of Tarō, thatdesperately needed the business from groupslike ours to keep its bathing and laundryfacilities open for use by tsunami victims livingin a temporary housing village on the premises.

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The 2012 OHIO-IPU Tsunami RecoverySupport Volunteer group posing for aphoto at the front entrance of GreepiaSanriku Miyako on September 21st.

Our assistance was also sought at theNanohana (Canola) Project, a local volunteergardening group unable to afford the necessarylabor for maintaining several hectares ofrapeseed, planted to beautify the barrenlandscape left behind by the tsunami thatstruck there on 3.11. And finally, Kazuakireported, we had been invited "again" to theannual Ōtsuchi Aki Matsuri (Fall Festival) heldi n t h e K a m i c h ō a n d S a k u r a g i - c h ōneighborhoods our group had worked in theyear before. "Being invited is quite an honor,especially this year, because it will be the lasttime this festival will be celebrated in itspresent location. Due to tsunami damage, anew city center is being built on higher ground.Next year's festival will take place there."Kazuaki then added:

I'm glad we accepted this year. Iunderstand our group last yearcouldn't stay for the shishi maiperformance. As you know, theshishi mai troupe in Ōtsuchi is alocal cultural treasure outsiders(even Japanese outsiders) are not

often invited to watch. Eventhough I'm from Iwate, I've neverseen it either, so I'm glad to get achance with all of you. (Tanaka2012)

Matsumoto sensei's instincts had been correct.We would have another opportunity to becomeacquainted with Sakuragi-chō residents andtheir minzoku geinō tradition. This time Iwanted to maximize the chance.

Feeling the enthusiasm reflected in Kazuaki'svoice, I thought about the research I hadconducted over the past year to betterunderstand the matsuri tradition on theRikuchū Coast. This long and narrow track ofland, which alternates between beaches andcliffs interspersed with fishing towns, thatstretches from Kuji (a town north of Miyako onthe Iwate–Akita boarder), to Ōfunato andRikuzentakata (close to Miyagi on Iwate'ssouthern prefectural line), is indeed isolated.The rugged mountainous terrain, deep ravines,and lack of roads here greatly hampered rescueefforts from inland cities and towns following3.11. In this part of the prefecture, Route 106is the only direct road to Miyako and pointsnorth or south on the coast. From Morioka, thetrip to Miyako alone takes a good two hours bycar on a road that is only a modernized two-laner. Once out to the seashore, the Sanriku(coastal) Railway (a private line) used to be agood transportation option. However, since3.11, sections of track are still washed out,making travel by train, interrupted by bus ridesto forge the un-navigable sections of rail bycoastal highway, inconvenient and slow. Fullrestoration of the sections that existed prior to3.11 is expected by mid-April 2014. However,the Sanriku Railway doesn't run at all betweenKamaishi and Miyako. The degree of physicalisolation here is difficult to comprehend untilseeing it first-hand. But once on site, itbecomes easier to grasp why, as locals claim,the Rikuchū coastline has its own distinct

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culture. Some might even describe it as aJapanese coastal Brigadoon. It is this veryisolation that has historically had a profoundeffect on Miyako, the coastal economy here andon the Rikuchū region's illustrious matsuritradition.

A Brief Introduction to Miyako

The city of Miyako (population 55,000) is thelargest of four major ports on Iwate's Pacificcoast. Most residents either fish for a living orreside in households that count on the fisheriesindustry for their main source of income(Miyako 2014). Located approximately midwaybetween Kuji and Ofunato in north centralIwate, the waters off the coast of Miyako ingeneral are known as one of the best fishinggrounds in the world - where mackerel, tuna,and sea bream are plentiful. The fishingindustry here has become increasinglycompetitive domestically and internationallyduring the postwar years, so consistently goodcatches have become hard to yield on a regularbasis, resulting in inconsistent profit marginsfrom year to year. Thus, individual incomes inthe region and the ratio of jobs to qualifiedapplicants have historically been much lower inMiyako and its vicinity than the prefecturalaverage. As the region has tried to diversify itsfishing and seafood industries, Miyako andIwate's coastal region as a whole had beenenjoying some success in developing anexpanded manufacturing base prior to 2011.This effort had produced a number ofcompetitive companies in the electricalconnectors, steel, and concrete industries. Butthe tsunami on 3.11 destroyed much of theinfrastructure that supported this progress.Even while small scale fisheries and seafoodcultivation have resumed on a limited scalesince October 18th, 2013 in all sectors of theSanriku coast (which includes the coastlines ofIwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima prefectures), thedifficulty of rebuilding needed replacementinfrastructure quickly, compromised existingfacilities, and ongoing environmental concerns

- radiation leakage from the damagedFukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant thatflows directly into the air overhead and into thesea close by (though over 160 kilometers southof Miyako) - has seriously l imited theproductivity of both local agriculture andfisheries (NHK 2013d). In a nutshell, on 3.11,Miyako's economy was dealt a devastating blowfrom which it may never fully recover.

3.11 Tsunami Damage to Businesses andIndustry on the Rikuchū Coast

The main docks at the Port of Miyako, justbeginning to be rebuilt, in September2012.

The extent of the tsunami damage in eachRikuchū community varied greatly at the city,town, and village levels (Tasso 2011). Yet, thedetailed damage reports of individualtownships are still being worked out. In theaftermath of 3.11, the prefectural authorities inIwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima collectivelyfocused their initial assessments on the overalllosses within several key business and industry-related categories agreed upon jointly (asopposed to estimating the damage in each townseparately) as calculations began. Thesecategories include agriculture, fisheries,forestry, manufacturing, commercial

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enterprises, and tourism, all for which generaldamage statistics are available. But not eventhe Miyako Higashi Nihon Daishinsai FukkōKeikaku (Miyako Great East Japan EarthquakeReconstruction Plan), first issued in October of2011 (Miyako 2011) lists the specific lossesincurred in its own municipality. As a MiyakoTown Hall official I spoke with explained, "Thedestruction was so bad across the region thatindividual damage tallies would have been awaste of time and practically meaningless forpurposes of assessing the enormity of the loss."(Kimura 2013) According to Iwate Prefecturalsources, industrial damage to the prefecturalcoastline including the fishing industry totals atleast ¥608.7 billion (at ¥80 to the US$), andlosses to public works is estimated at ¥257.3billion. As many viewers saw on networktelevision, cable stations and on the Internetfrom many parts of the world, the destructionto most of the Sanriku coastal region wascataclysmic (Tasso 2013). Iwate prefecturealone lost 14,000 fishing boats and the use of108 of it's 111 fishing port facilities, completelyshutting down the entire fisheries industry innortheast Japan until more than a year after thedisaster (Samuels 2013).

As indicated below, even small and medium-sized communities in the northern portion ofthe Iwate coastline from Tanohata to Kamaishiessentially lost all of their coastal businesscapacity located near fishing docks andcommercial piers, which typically form the hubof these townships. Their municipal buildingsand residential areas - all of which are usuallylocated in or very near these hubs - were alsodevastated. Important to remember also is that,in addition, Iwate's coastal residentsexperienced major losses to the auxiliaryindustries that have traditionally supplementedtheir fisheries income and/or providedadditional or alternative employment formembers of their households. For example,agriculture experienced losses of ¥54.4 billionin farmland and ¥2.8 billion in facilities. Otherlosses included ¥25.0 billion in forestry, 89.0

billion in industrial manufacturing, ¥44.5 billionin commercial manufacturing, and ¥32.6 billionin tourism (Tasso 2011). In effect, the entireeconomic capac i ty in each o f thesecommunities was totally lost. Fortunately,however, in some regions of the Sanriku Coast,backland urban districts removed far enoughfrom the seaside, survived. This has enabledmany Rikuchū communities like Miyako toregroup slowly over time.

3.11 Damage to Miyako and NeighboringSmall Communities on the Rikuchū Coast

The human toll caused by the Great East JapanEarthquake as of December, 2013 is nowestimated at 15,833 dead, 2,364 missing, and2,688 still unaccounted for. According to NHK,3,825 of the dead, missing, and unaccountedfor (or approximately 24%) were from the Iwatecoastline alone (Asahi 2011; NHK 2013b). Asthe figures below demonstrate, Miyako did nothave the highest death toll in Iwate's mid-coastal region.

However, the earthquake (Magnitude 9.0)6 andresulting tsunami claimed thousands ofresidences and produced a large number ofevacuees, seriously damaging the socialstability and human resource capability of thetown. The loss of Miyako's industrial hardwareand its displaced workforce following 3.11,coupled with its remote location, has hamperedcleanup activities, even in the present, furtherslowing the recovery process. The coastalregion's net industrial production in 2008 wasroughly 20% of Iwate Prefecture's total output.At the end of 2013, it had only recovered to amere 4% (IPBR 2011). It is important to notealso, however, that the Rikuchū Coast wasexperiencing serious socioeconomic challenges

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even before 3.11. The tsunami devastation notonly created new problems but exacerbated thehistorical factors contributing to the alreadydelicate economy, lack of jobs, and populationdecline that has plagued the region well knownand studied frequently during a majority of thepostwar years (Bailey 1991).

Post 3.11 Population Decline in theRikuchū Region

To fully comprehend the post 3.11 Rikuchūsocioeconomic predicament, it is also useful toconsider Miyako's post tsunami populationlosses in a broader national context. Japan'spopulation, which grew to almost 128 million in2006, has now begun what a steady process ofdecline. With a population of just over 127million in 2014, this figure is expected to fall toapproximately 120 million by 2015, and dipunder the 109 million mark by 2050 (KeizaiKoho Center 2014). The aging of the generalpopulation (Japan has the world's oldestpopulation, currently with a median age of 46and a life expectancy of 84) is one majorcontributing factor. By 2040, 36.1% ofresidents are expected to be over the age of 60(as compared to 13.1% in 2010). The deathsthat will increase as a result, the decliningfertility rate (currently 1.4%)7 and a variety ofsocietal factors such as more men and womenchoosing not to marry, and the lack of availablemarriage partners in some parts of the country,also contribute to the population's downwardspiral (Pearce 2014). In Japan's six Tōhokuprefectures (from north to south: Aomori, Akita,Yamagata, Iwate, Miyagi, Fukushima, andNiigata), these factors become magnified,combining to account for 16.2% of the nation'soverall population decline in 2013 alone(Pearce 2014; NHK 2013a).

The magnification of the Tōhoku region'spopulation decline during Japan's postwarperiod can be attributed to several endemicfactors. These include postwar outflow of youngpeople (ages 16-40) from the region in the

1960s and 1970s to the Tokyo-Osaka corridorfor employment, and socioeconomic declinecaused by the nation's changing agriculturalpolicies (gentan [hectare reduction] andtensaku [crop rotation] restrictions on rice) inthe 1980s and 1990s which made farming lessand less lucrative. (Bailey 1991). Furthermore,the State's continual cuts to regional subsidyfunding during the 1990s and 2000s neverallowed Tōhoku's local economy to recover,resulting ultimately in the Heisei Dai Gappei(the Heisei Era Great Consolidation)(Thompson 2008). Most recently, population inRikuchū communities continues to decline dueto post 3.11 deaths, movement out of the areaassociated with the shortage of sufficient long-term housing, untenable professions resultingfrom infrastructural impairment, and the lackof replacement jobs have reduced localpopulations even further (Pearce 2014; NHK2013a), producing the figures shown in thegraphic below. Due to the combined factorsaforementioned, according to the KokuritsuShakai Hoshō Jinkō Mondai Kenkyūsho (the[Japan] National Social Security PopulationProblem Research Institute), by 2040, theIwate municipalities in the tsunami zone listedbelow are among the Sanriku coastal townsexpected to experience levels of populationdecline even more drastic than in other parts ofthe Tōhoku region. Miyako and several of itsneighbors are in this group.

Japanese demographic specialists such asProfessor Emeritus Matsutani Akihiro of theSeisaku Kenkyu Daigaku Daigakuin (the [Japan]National Graduate Institute For Policy Studies)emphasize that depopulation is not just aregional anomaly, and bel ieves thatmunicipalities across Japan (not just those onthe Sanriku Coast directly affected by the 3.11

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disaster), need to prepare now to meet thesocial and financial adjustments that willquickly become necessary at the local level aspopulation decline accelerates. He warns thatbecause of the nation's changing demographictrends and the strong future likelihood ofnatural disasters in many parts of Japan, ALLmunicipalities nationwide (not just Sanrikucoastal communities) need to speed up theirplanning for new, different, and innovativeways to utilize the untapped ideas andresources that will enable local areas tocontinue the income generation necessary formaintaining health care and public services atnecessary levels – even if it means combiningpublic and private sector capabilities or tryingsomething completely new (NHK 2013a). Onthe Rikuchū Coast, the local matsuri culturemay offer depopulated municipalities here justthis kind of unique opportunity.

Matsuri On the Rikuchū Coast

Much has been written about pre- and postwarmatsuri culture in mainstream Japan (Ya-nagida1946; Miyamoto 1960; Robertson 1991;Ashkenazi 1993). In many modern Japanesecities and towns, a "matsuri" has come to meana large-scale public festival or celebration,often, but not always, based on a traditionaltheme. Most rural and urban municipalitieshave some kind of matsuri during their annualevent cycle, typically involving the activation ofa deity at a local shrine or temple, a paradewith dashi (floats), and/ or folk dancing - thesevarieties being the national default archetypes.The Tōhoku region itself boasts many well-known summer festivals of this variety, such asthe Nebuta Matsuri in Aomori, the KantoMatsuri in Akita, the Hanagasa Matsuri inYamagata, and the Sansa Matsuri in Morioka(capital of Iwate), all of which take place inAugust. But these examples do not adequatelyrepresent what Rikuchū residents mean by theterm. This kind of annual, regionally (and ofteneven nationally) promoted variety of seasonalfestival, sometimes referred to as shimin

matsuri (citizens' matsuri), the focus of muchcontemporary matsuri-related scholarship,tends to take place in urban or suburban areasaround the country and be sponsored by localshrine and/or temple parishes in conjunctionwith city hall.

Shimin matsuri typically represent the uniqueaspects of their communities for the purpose ofinducing positive associations to well-knownregional history, culture and traditions. Theyare often used by their sponsors as a tool toconstruct meaningful memories for localresidents that deepen their sense of belongingto that locale and promote the region's customsand traditions. This emphasis attracts local andregional visitors and tourists from away to thearea during festival time to watch and evenpartake in the festivities (Robertson, 1991;Kuraishi 1997). Unlike local folk festivals on theRikuchū Coast, many of which are hundreds ofyears old, many shimin matsuri (not all) werecreated in the postwar period and don't havehistories of more than 50 or 60 years. Some areeven more recent constructions. Theperformers are often a mixture of locals andvisitors who sign up to participate, mostly forfun, and are not necessarily dedicated to oreven regular practitioners of the folk arts theyjoin in on for the festival during other seasonsof the year. In this way, shimin matsuri aretypically folk celebrations focusing on themainstream culture of the city, prefecture, orregion where it is being celebrated anddesigned for public consumption, not engagedin for religious fulfillment, family pride, out ofrespect for ancestors, or as a tribute to areaprecursors.

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A Kuromori Kagura performance atYokoyama Hachimangū (Shrine) in Miyakoin September, 2013. The troupe performedto an audience of 6 members who can beseen sitting behind the performers to theright.

However, off the beaten path, in most ruralareas of Japan (especially in the nation'speriphery), local matsuri are not so public, aremuch more personal, and take on a variety oflocally prescribed forms. They are usuallyassociated closely with local folk traditions andbeliefs at the village or hamlet level, and areoften private events open only to locals or thoseto whom access is offered. Typically small inscale (there may be as few as 5 or 10 in theaudience at an event), very little literature isavailable, particularly in English, on folkgatherings such as these that can still be foundon the Rikuchū Coast and in other rural orisolated regions of Japan, which are oftenknown about and documented only locally. Thiskind of matsuri, which sometimes, but notalways, takes place at a shrine or templecompound, features a minzoku geinō(traditional folk art) performance as its mainattraction, designed either to express respectfor local history and tradition, to activate thelocal deities and spirits, to entertain them, orfor all three purposes (Thornbury 1997).

The study of minzoku geinō has historicallybeen the focus of rural sociologists andethnographers in the Japanese minzokugaku(folklore studies) tradition, a genre that isassociated closely with a community'straditional livelihood, folk beliefs, values, andhistory. This kind of minzoku geinō isperformed and perpetuated mainly for localconsumption at local matsuri venues unless thetroupe is invited to appear otherwise by specialinvitation at some other event. Minzoku geinōperformers tend to be individuals who wereborn in or are closely associated with thecommunity from which their performancegenre originates. Many are parishioners bybirth of their performance tradition's hometemple or shrine. They have committed theirtime and skills to the troupe by choice or familyexpectation, and devote themselves asamateurs to the perfection of the art form as aproud cultural expression of their localcommunity, performing for as long as they arephysically able. Some troupe members dancefor personal religious reasons. Many enjoy theartistic and athletic challenge. (Some dancesare physically strenuous.) But most performersare regarded as local heroes regardless of theirskill level, just for their commitment toupholding the local tradition. Dancers areusually men, but due to population decline inJapan during recent times, women are nowfairly common in all minzoku geinō nationwide.

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A shishi mai (lion dance) performance atthe Ōtsuchi Aki Matsuri (Fall Festival) inSeptember, 2012.

Troupe members in the most prestigioustraditions are expected to perform at theregular observances all-year-around, plus makethemselves available for any extra bookingsthroughout the year. Performers are neverpaid, but public performances of the well-known troupes elicit "ohana" - gift money, usedto cover expenses related to the performanceincluding equipment upkeep, plus a little extra.The most prestigious troupes have anuninterrupted performance history lasting (insome cases) hundreds of years (Yanagida1946). Minzokugaku scholars suggest thatstudying the long-term social cohesion oftroupes with the longest performance histories(the way in which troupes are integrated intotheir local communities, maintain theirmemberships, divide responsibilities, andrecruit and train dancers) provides one of thefew remaining windows, through which toobserve the foundations of Japanese cultureand society that form the essence ofJapaneseness – basic elements of Japanesepsychosocial behavior that have remainedremarkably constant over time (Kuraishi1997).8

When Iwate coastline locals ask, Omatsuri nikimasuka? ("Are you coming to a/ the[depending on context] matsuri?"), MOSTLIKELY, this question is actually an invitationto a minzoku geinō performance (possibly onetaking place in the interlocutor's very ownhamlet), known to be occurring sometime whileyou're in the area but not widely advertised; anevent like the "matsuri" at the Sakuragi-chōshrine festival described earlier. "Matsuri" inthis sense, means a folk performance - a music,dance, or drama presentation by practiced (andoften highly skilled) amateurs that is heldlocally for local residents by local residents.9

On the Rikuchū Coast, folk performances of

this type occur on a monthly (sometimes even aweekly) basis throughout the year at shrines,temples, and local kōminkan (citizens meetinghalls), sometimes in conjunction with a localdeity but even for commercial purposes in bothpublic and secular performance spaces – oftenin private homes. Troupes perform individually,paired with other local multiple genre formats.But regardless of the venue or the purpose of aperformance, for the performer and the localaudience, each minzoku geinō exhibition is ademonstration and reaffirmation of locallyshared cultural values, traditions, and a historyof which only they are fully aware. One'spresence at a performance demonstratespublically not only support for a troupe, but tiesthat individual geographically to a coastalcommunity and lifestyle, a local cultural andpolitical leadership, and in some cases even alocal deity (Thornbury 1997). In an age when3.11 has accelerated depopulation, aging, andsocioeconomic decline in the region, myobservation has been that minzoku geinōtroupes and their home communities havebecome more open than ever to outside guestsand are an affiliation to local Rikuchū culturemost locals have become happy and proud toshare with outsiders. Historically speaking, thishas usually NOT been the case (Yanagida1946).

Iwate ethnologist Neko Hideo explains thisnewfound desire of locals on the Rikuchū Coastto share their local culture with people andinstitutions outside the region as a psycho-emotional response to the multiple disaster. Hesuggests that matsuri, and particularly theregionally and locally distinct minzoku geinōtraditions that are a centerpiece of theseevents, give local residents something they canbe proud of from their coastal lifestyle to showthe rest of Japan and the world that has notbeen lost to the tsunami, the continuingearthquakes and aftershocks, or to theradiation levels which still sometimes registertoo high. The way in which folk traditions aretransmitted here - mostly through experiential

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means learnable only by those who live or growup in the area, makes this specializedknowledge and life experience particularlymeaningful and valuable to them now –especially after all they have lost. And sharingthis tradition with individuals and groups fromoutside the region who can enjoy it with themmakes for a meaningful relationship-buildingexperience, often culminating in the cultivationof a mutual trust, a better understanding ofeach other's ways, and a bonding experiencesometimes even resulting in long-term ties(Neko 2013). As many scholars have noted, theresidents of Iwate's periphery have neededthese kinds of connections for economicreasons for a majority of the postwar period,not just since 3.11 (Thompson 2003). However,the 3.11 disaster has provided a new wave ofopportunities (which until now have been fewand far between) to broaden their socioculturaland socioeconomic networks by putting them intouch with people and organizations from otherregions of Japan and around the world theymight never have otherwise met.

Neko thinks this kind of bonding is particularlyimportant in the post 3.11 context to counterwhat local residents on the Rikuchū Coast feeltowards the disaster recovery process; thatsupport personnel and organizations oftendon't seem to think its important to understand(or even try to understand) their local culture,points of view, or needs, in order to help them(Neko 2013). This has been my observation aswell. During my 2011, 2012, and 2013 TsunamiVolunteer visits, locals seemed to feel thatplans developed elsewhere without their inputto aid in their recovery, moved ahead onschedules they knew nothing about. Severallocals I spoke with claimed that this made themfeel as though they were thought of asignorant, unsophisticated people unable to helpthemselves and gave them a sense that theydidn't have any control modesover the detailsof their own recovery (Ito 2012; Kanayama2012; Kariya 2012).

Neko suggests that spending time togetherwith tsunami relief personnel at a local folkperformance event gives Rikuchū locals theability to bridge this perceived gap inunderstanding on their own terms movingforward by giving them a chance to share theirlocal knowledge with outsiders in ways thatthey can control. Neko argues that for thesereasons, for both folk performers and the localaudience, minzoku geinō has become thecontext in which, at least at present, manyresidents on the Rikuchū Coast feel mostcomfortable in representing themselves (Neko2013). "I feel proudest of myself and myhometown when I am dancing," said oneminzoku geinō performer I spoke with inMiyako. "Very few people can do what I do!"(Onodera 2013).

Minzoku Geinō on the Rikuchū Coast

A shishi odori (deer dancing) troupepreparing to perform at the Aki Matsuri in (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%8C)Ōtsuchiin September, 2012. (The shishi in thisdance are deer, not lions as is the case inthe shishi mai (lion dance).

Aided by the region's geographical isolation,even in the modern era, the Rikuchū Coast has

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maintained a particularly rich array of minzokugeinō traditions. Local performances of the toramai (tiger dance), shishi mai (the lion dance asin Sakuragi-chō – but other communities havetroupes as well), and oni kenbai (demon danceusing swords) are common. Shishi odori (deerdance), teodori (local folk dance[s] withcomplex hand movements full of symbolism andmeaning) and countless other named, hamletspecific agriculture and fisheries-lifestyle-related performance traditions are alsoprevalent. Interestingly, these localperformance groups have a communitymaintenance function beyond machizukuri(town building – population maintenance) andqual i ty of l i fe issues that often goesunrecognized. Minzoku geinō helps to preservelocal history, perpetuate the social and culturalties between other neighboring communitieswith folk performance traditions from the sameera, and captures within their repertoires thecollective wisdom of the communities they haveserved. Even today, active troupes draftpopular and professionally successful localresidents and those with relevant special skillsas leaders, they maintain support organizationsthat make the performances possible, andactively recruit performers from outside theirtowns using these connections, some of whichwere originally established hundreds of yearseaarlier. These practices cut across shrine andtemple parish boundaries, and family,neighborhood, and hamlet organization,solidifying local social, political and economicrelationships in quite complex ways.

It is these local ties and this local culture,established, maintained, and supportedhistorically through the Rikuchū folkperformance community and the customs andlifestyle associated with them, that many localobservers such as Matsumoto, Neko, Kariya(who will be discussed later) and Ueda (quotedbelow) - specialists of Iwate's history andculture, all of whom are Iwate-based educators,two of whom are Miyako residents, and twowho have Rikuchū business interests - feel

could and should be used more effectivelyduring this current post-tsunami recoveryperiod for the good of the region. Morespecifically, the proponents of this perspectivethink that the Rikuchū folk heritage should beused more aggressively by town hall and thelocal board of education leaders to reinforceregional unity, solidarity, and even for modesteconomic development purposes while waitingon the large scale reconstruction measuresbeing planned and implemented by theprefecture, the State and public and privateagencies (some of which will not benefitresidents for five more years)10 to take effect(Matsumoto 2013; Neko 2013; Kariya 2013;Ueda 2013).

Ueda Masahiro, Dean of IPU's Miyako campus,a management professor, and director of thisuniversity's Regional Manufacturing ResearchCenter charged with finding ways to helpMiyako's devastated manufacturing andfisheries industries to recover, explains:

People in Miyako don't have muchhope right now. Jobs and housingare our two biggest problems. Thecity government says publichousing is 3-5 years away. Thosewho want to build themselves onaffordable high ground may haveto wait 5 years or more for land tobe cleared. The city doesn't knowhow long creating new jobs willtake. For both jobs and housing,this is much too long! Finding waysto maintain our fighting spirit is athird priority. Our infrastructure isstill broken so there is very littleemployment. Without employment,without permanent places to live,and without ways to energize ourspirit, young people and theirfamilies will continue to moveaway, leaving only the elderly. Butthe elderly know our history. Our

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city and our region have a rich folktradition to draw on. The elderlycan help us capitalize on that. Weneed our local matsuri andminzoku geinō traditions to returnto full activity. For the vitality theybring, the youth they require,community organization theyfacilitate, for the local identity theypreserve , and even for thecommercial potential they have,our folk traditions are among ouronly remaining local assets thatare immediately usable! (Ueda2012)

Community Development In Iwate UsingLocal Cultural Assets

As scholars familiar with Japanese communitydevelopment literature and the sociology ofregional Japan know well, local residents inIwate already have quite a history of utilizinglocal traditional social and cultural networks toattract outside interests for producing small-scale economic opportunities where they live.In many of these cases, economic developmentbecomes possible, not necessarily by selling thelocal culture itself (though, for example, localfolk matsuri do have the capacity to generatesome revenue), but by local leaders using localcultural capital as a means by which toestablish friendships with those outside thecommunity that help them to bypass regional,prefectural, and even national bureaucraticstructures that hold back local progress,enabling them to cultivate local economicopportunity directly with potential consumersthere by themselves. This is the model and howit works. Outsiders from an economicallyprosperous city (such as Tokyo) are introducedto the local people and culture in a remote areaof Japan, in the hopes that they will develop aninterest in both. The outsiders arrange to visitthe remote area. During the visit, locals usetheir hometown networks to give the outsiders

a detailed inside view of their cultural capital –customs, traditions and local food or otherproducts that are unique to the area and whichmay have marketing potential. The outsiders,impressed with the quality of the experienceand sincerity of the people, reciprocate theinside view by providing access to their ownnetworks and contacts in the city, that wouldnot otherwise have been accessible from theremote locale to market the cultural capitalintroduced during the visit. Finally, theoutsiders and locals develop regular long-termcultural and economic interaction in areas ofmutual interest, resulting in the enrichment ofboth communities. At least this is the idealoutcome of this local economic developmentmodel (Thompson 2003).

Several Iwate communities already haveexperience with this approach. In inland Iwate,the ways in which townships such as Hiraizumi(which has emphasized its World Heritage sitessuch as Chūsonji and Mōtsūji temples)11 andTōno (of Yanagida Kunio fame) 1 2 havecapitalized on their local cultural heritage topromote local economic development on alarge-scale by attracting cultural and businessties using personal networks from Japan'slargest cities and many countries around theworld are well known. On Iwate's Pacific coast,the late Jackson Bailey's work in the village ofTanohata (just north of Miyako), for example,shows how during Japan's postwar period, localMayor Hayano Sempei was able to fund localinfrastructural development, internationaleducation, and local business developmentopportunities through state and private sectorties he established in person directly in Tokyo(bypassing the Iwate Prefectural government)through friendships at Waseda University andwith Bailey himself. These contacts gave theMayor access to individuals and institutions inhis nation's capital and in the United Statesinterested in involving themselves with Rikuchūculture and life, which led ultimately toTanohata's economic advancement (Bailey1991).

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Combining regional municipal resources toattract business from the city to the peripheryis another variation of the local economicdevelopment model. The case of local economicdevelopment in Tōwa-chō, another small inlandIwate town, during the 1980s and 1990s, is alsoinstructive in this regard. Inspired by Hayano,local mayor Obara Hideo utilized state fundingfrom the furusato sōsei undō (Movement tocreate hometown identity) and chihō kōfu zei(provincial support funds which paid regionaltowns subsidies based on local populationfigures) to join forces with three other towns inJapan with the same name to open a TōwaTokyo Office.13 Through this office, eachmunicipal partner marketed its own localagricultural products directly to consumers inthe Tokyo metropolitan area (Thompson 2003;2004). For Iwate Tōwa, this eventually resultedin an "Antenna Shop" in Kawasaki (a suburb ofTokyo) which housed a grocery store that soldTōwa's local products, a restaurant that servedTōwa's local dishes, meeting space where artclasses promoting Tōwa crafts were taught,and where periodic tours to Tōwa werepromoted, organized and launched incoordination with the Tōwa Town Hall and thefolk culture based social and cultural networksback home (Thompson 2004).

Kamaishi (a coastal town south of Miyakoreferred to earlier in the population declinedata) also has a history of approaching localdevelopment in similar ways, most recentlydetailed in a four-volume book series about thestudy of hope in Kamaishi by Genda Yuji andNakamura Naofumi of Tokyo University,published in 2009. These volumes highlightKamaishi's various self-initiated economicdevelopment projects. Similarly, the city ofMiyako itself has experience with this approachon a smaller scale as demonstrated by itsmanju (sweet cake) production and salescollaboration with Miyakojima City in Okinawa(Miyakojima-shi in Miyakojima) that dates backto a friendship between residents in these twocities that began in the early 1980s. Also, the

use of the Sanriku Railway in the recent NHKasa-dora (morning [15 minute] drama)'Amachan' to promote its reconstruction coastaltourism is well-known (NHK 2014). With noother realistic short-term economic options torely on for income generation, a growingnumber of Rikuchū residents I've spoken withthink it's time to bring this kind of creativethinking back using some of Rikuchū Iwate'sfolk culture assets, for which Miyako is the hub(Ito 2013; Kariya 2013; Neko 2013; Ueda2013).

As an 80 year-old male owner of a ryokan(traditional Japanese inn) in Miyako that hasbeen in operation for over 150 years suggested:

Our local cultural history and inparticular, our minzoku geinōtradition and associated lifestyle, isone of our greatest h iddentreasures. It's a wonder we haven'tutilized it seriously for economicdevelopment before! Not manyouts iders know about ourKuromori Kagura tradition. Weneed to bring in some youngpeople with some PR savvy to helpus market our local traditions likethis to the mass market. Themanufactur ing and f ishingindustries may come back slowlyover time, but will take a lot offinancial support. But tourismdevelopment focusing on our localfolk traditions and even ourtsunami story could happen fairlyquickly and inexpensively. Itsalready all here. I could even offermy inn (which survived 3.11because of its location on a hill) asa historical place to stay, as itdates back to the end of the MeijiPeriod (the early 1900s)!14 Thiswould certainly help fill my rooms.This would enable us to establish a

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more stable economic base inMiyako quickly! (Matsuda 2013)

When asked what approach she would like tosee used to help the Rikuchū coastalcommunities recover socially, culturally, andeconomically from the 3.11 disaster, a 60 year-old veteran employee of a canning operation inOtsuchi destroyed by the tsunami volunteered:

Building back what we had won'tdo much good. The fisheries didn'treally work that well before. Weneed to try something different…Something we haven't attemptedbefore. Besides the beauty of ourcoastl ine and our del iciousseafood, our local assets includeour ability to adopt ideas from thepast and apply them to thepresent, our creativity, ourperseverance, and our minzokugeinō tradition, which embodies allof these qualities. Maybe it's timeto ask our relatives who relocatedto Tokyo and Osaka in the 1970sand 1980s - and since the tsunamithis time - to help us bring incustomers from central Japan toeat seafood and watch ourKuromori Kagura performancesand events. (Kumagai 2013).

However, a male 73 year-old shrine associationadministrator in Miyako felt more protective ofhis local traditions. "I don't think we should sellour local culture to tourists," he said. "I'm surethat there are others in this town that value theprivacy and integrity of not using our religiousand folk traditions for commercial purposes."(Kuwahara 2012).

These comments were interesting, particularlyin light of the festival banners I noticed liningthe edge of the hundreds of steps that lead up

from the main road in Miyako to YokoyamaHachimangū (Shrine), constructed on top of ahill. During a matsuri procession I observed inearly September of 2013, clearly marked oneach festival banner was the name of a localcorporate sponsor, which was probably also acorporate patron of the shrine associationpromoting the event. Ties between the localshrine and the business community wereclearly already in existence.

From the perspective of scholars familiar withpublic sector local development in Japan, thestudy of how residents in the remote outpostslike the Rikuchū Coast might utilize localcultural assets and existing networks of socialrelations for economic development has longbeen a domestic field of study. Harnessing localcultural and economic assets using approachessuch as Jimotogaku (hometown studies), andchiiki gaku (local region studies), first began togarner national attention in the 1980s and1990s in the social education (shakai kyōiku)and lifelong learning (shōgai gakushū) divisionsof town halls in peripheral areas all across thenation and have continued to remain popular(Okamoto 1989; Yoshimoto 2001; Yuki 2001).But these approaches, which advocate usinglocal public institutional resources to activateprivate sector ties, have yet to be utilized to fullpotential where they may be needed most.However, where these hometown developmentideas have been implemented, examples ofsuccess stories abound, not just in northeastJapan.

The way in which the village of Asuke in themountains of Aichi Prefecture (in central Japannear Nagoya) achieved successful localeconomic development through its creation ofAsuke Yashiki (Asuke Homestead), a workinghistorical mountain farm using local expertiseand connections in Nagoya is a famous exampleof "jisaku shuen" ([an economic developmentplan] "created and starred in by one's self").This is a technique in which a locally identifiedasset is defined as being valuable and becomes

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the focus of an economic development plan thatfeatures it as its centerpiece. The media is thenmobilized to cover the event, providing theadvertising and public exposure that makes itpopular. (Thompson 2009). This approach,which requires only public sector support atthe outset, is well suited to Miyako's currentpredicament, but requires the cooperation ofthe local town hall.

As a town hall employee in Ōtsuchi mused:"Remember that former mayor of Asuke namedOzawa Shōichi in Aichi Prefecture who becamechairman of the local tourism board after heretired? He was in the papers quite a lot backin the 1980s." (Kino 2013) Kino continued:

Chairman Ozawa recreated, inAsuke, a working mountainhomestead typical in the areaduring the Edo period (1603-1867)using traditional materials andbuilding methods, through whichto market local agriculturalproducts directly to customers inNagoya without middlemen.Customers were willing to travelfrom Nagoya all the way to Asuke,which has no train service,because they were ab le topurchase high quality speciallymade tofu, bamboo delicacies, andsoba (buckwheat noodles) andactually get to know the farmersw h o s e r i c e a n d m o u n t a i nvegetab les they regu lar lypurchased at the homestead store.Ozawa even introduced Asuke'shistorical local craft and folktraditions to visitors in venues hecreated within the homesteadcompound during their stay.Visitors could even take lessons,spend the night, and learn moreabout traditional approaches toliving a healthy lifestyle at special

rates in the local inns that servedtraditional local dishes using thesame ingredients. He regularlyinvited the regional and nationalmedia to cover and report on it all,putting the town on the map!Ozawa pro longed Asuke ' seconomic independence for a goodfive years before the inevitableconsolidation into Toyota City, buthis ideas worked and AsukeYashiki is still going strong! It allstarted when a friend of Ozawa'sfrom Toyota City expressedinterest in Asuke culture. We needto try something ingenious like thisin Miyako right now! MaybeKuromori Kagura could be thefocus of some kind of similar jisakushuen approach! (Kino 2013).

Miyako and Kuromori Kagura

The OHIO-IPU bus arrived in Miyako in theearly afternoon. Our first stop was at MiyakoTanki Daigaku (Miyako Junior College), orMiyatan, as locals call it, part of the IPU branchcampus system, where we received a briefupdate on Miyako's post tsunami prognosisfrom Dean Ueda (cited previously), our officialhost. It is no surprise to Matsumoto sensei thatDean Ueda and others in the region considerlocal minzoku geinō to be an important localasset that can help Rikuchū residents throughthe tsunami recovery process culturally andeconomically (Matsumoto 2013). After all,Rikuchū residents have a long history ofdrawing on their folk traditions for mourning,inspiration, guidance, and protection whenevera natural disaster has devastated the area(Kanda 2008; Hayashi 2012). There have beenthree tsunami here just in the last one hundredyears (Dengler and Smits 2011).15 Historically,the minzoku geinō network that binds the folktraditions together on the Rikuchū Coast has asystem of sharing the region's resources with

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the communities that needed it most. The hubof this system is the Kuromori Kagura traditionheadquartered in Miyako.

Takeda Junichi, a 45 year-old Miyako smallbusiness (liquor store) owner and Rikuchūminzoku geinō supporter, was very clear whyKuromori Kagura is a cultural asset with greatjusaku shuen potential. "I believe," said Takeda,"Kuromori Kagura has great potential fortourism both culturally from a minzoku geinōperspective, and from an economic standpoint.Rikuchū food culture, folk traditions, and theKuromori Kagura style integration of coastalcustoms and matsuri would probably interest alot of people in Morioka, Sendai (Miyagiprefecture) and Tokyo!" (Takeda 2013)

Arihara Hiroshi, a member of the Miyako-shiSeikatsu Fukkō Shien Senta ([the] Miyako[Daily] Life Revitalization Support Center)agreed. "Kuromori Kagura is definitely anunderutilized resource for cultural outreachand economic development on the RikuchūCoast." (Arihara 2013) Arihara thinks theMiyako Town Hall should utilize their Tokyoconnections and media ties to bring tourists in.

Similarly, "There are many aspects of theKuromori tradition that would be impressivenot just to folk religion scholars," says Neko,"but also to the general public.

Fans of folk culture, or people justinterested in the history andl i f e s t y l e a s s o c i a t e d w i t hagriculture and the f ishingindustry anywhere would befascinated with Kuromori Kagura,its rituals, it's practices and how iti s c o n n e c t e d t o t h e f o l kperformance traditions on theRikuchū Coast. But many Japaneseoutside the region and even insidethe region didn't even know of itsexistence until 3.11, and still don'tknow much about it. Kuromori

Kagura should be used at this pointin time more deliberately foreconomic development as theultimate purpose of any folktradition is to help its constituents!(Neko 2003)

Kuromori Kagura, a major Shinto shamanicdance tradition based in Miyako, has indeedplayed a major role over the centuries infacilitating the welfare of local residents on theRikuchū Coast socially, culturally, andeconomically, though not yet commercially.Technically it is a folk religion that evolved outof the shugendō tradit ion (mountainaestheticism derived from esoteric Shingon andTendai Buddhism) and has served as the overallorganizational catalyst of Rikuchū folk cultureand has been a highly respected symbol of theRikuchū lifestyle for over six hundred years(since the 3rd year Ōan [1370]) (MBA 2008). Itis a folk religion that is part of the shishikagura tradition, in which a specialized shishimask (thought of as a mountain beast [not as alion as the term seems to imply]), known asgongen-sama, said to be a manifestation ofYamanokami - the great kami (a Shinto god-likespirit) of Mt. Hayachine in central Iwate, istaken in this format house-to-house byperformers within its established territory tooffer prayers and blessing to local residentsduring annual visits.16 Visually, KuromoriKagura costumes, rituals, and performancesare quite striking. "The performers look and actlike powerful spiritual leaders – one of thereasons this tradition commands so much localrespect." (Kumagai 2013)

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A display of Kuromori Kagura artifactsincluding two sets of twin shishi kagura(double "beast heads" - a trademark of thishistoric folk tradition) at the YamaguchiKōminkan (Public Citizens' Hall) innorthwest Miyako near Kuromori Shrine,the headquarters of the Kuromori KaguraPreservation Association.

There is no literature on Kuromori Kagura inEnglish. Besides two publications on the historyand practices of Kuromori Kagura by KariyaYūichirō (2008; MBA 2008) and a third byKanda Yoriko on its jungyō(touring) tradition(2008) - all in Japanese - there is no detailedscholarly analysis of Kuromori rituals, symbolsor its annual observances in any other languageat the present time. However, in 1995, IritAverbuch (an Israeli scholar) produced adetailed analysis in English of HayachineKagura (based at Mt. Hayachine) a relatedYamabushi (mountain priest) Kagura tradition,which is quite useful for understanding thegeneric meanings within the mountain kaguratraditions in Iwate of which the Kuromorivariety is a significant example. Other writingson Kuromori Kagura in Japanese can be foundin Miyako at the Yamaguchi Kōminkan (PublicCitizens' Hall) at the foot of Mt. Kuromori, butare locally published, quite colloquial andunpolished, intended only to preserve thehistorical record for a local audience. A full

account of Kuromori Kagura is not possiblehere, but a few of its characteristics thought tobe important to the residents of the RikuchūCoast – and which make it such a goodpotential jisaku shuen tool, introduced to me byIwate residents knowledgeable about Rikuchūculture and post 3.11 life here - will bediscussed (Kumagai 2013; Matsuda 2013;Matsumoto 2013).

First, Kuromori Kagura has historically servednot only inland agriculturalists, but the coastalfishing communities on the Rikuchū as well.Service to two distinct demographics is unusualamong similar kagura traditions and therespect this garners from the tradition'sconstituents gives Kuromori Kagura asociopolitical and folk religious influence in itsterritory greater than any other folk tradition inthe region. Second, Kuromori Kagura hasalways been inclusive, encouraging itsconstituents both inland and on the coast tocontinue to practice their local folk traditions,incorporating them into its larger all-encompassing folk religious theology. This isunusual in a shugendō-related folk tradition(Kanda 2008). A third dist inguishingcharacteristic is the annual jungyō(touring)tradition in Kuromori Kagura, which hascontinued uninterrupted for the last 345 years– since at least the 6th year of Genroku (1668).This is unprecedented in the Tōhoku region.Furthermore, this jungyō tradition has beenperpetuated in an unusually large territory fora shugendō faith that reaches north of Miyakoto present day Kuji, and south of Miyako to adistr ict c lose to the city of Kamaishi(approximately the same geographical range aswhat today comprises the Rikuchū Coast).Kuromori Kagura is still relatively unknownoutside of its home region. However, it is aworthy representative of the Rikuchū minzokugeinō culture, and has many unique attributessuch as those described that make i tmarketable in a variety of ways. KuromoriKagura would plug in nicely to a jisaku shuenmodel (Kumagai 2013; Matsuda 2013;

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Matsumoto 2013).

Particularly interesting to those from outsidethe Rikuchū Coast may be a Kuromori Kagura'sjungyō - inf luenced regional resourcedistribution system associated with it's jungyō.Even today, the jungyō operates on a yado(lodge) system in which particularly wealthyhouseholds in the Kuromori Kagura territoryinvite the troupe to perform in their hamlet ona systematic annual basis. The troupe thentravels to the village where these yado arelocated according to a historically prescribedroute, staying overnight at each residencealong the way. The established route loopsnorth of Miyako inland first, returning toMiyako on the coast, then proceeds south alongan inland course to yado there, then loops backto Miyako by way of yado along the shoreline.During the day, at each stop, a variety of ritualsare performed with the gongen-sama at theyado and in the surrounding hamlet to protectconstituents from illness, to wish for goodfortune, and to secure a bountiful harvest. Atnight, performances of kagura whichincorporate local folk performance traditionscontinue late into the night. According to adocument from 1758, troupes typically begantheir jungyō in November, making about twentystops on the Kita Mawari (northern loop) tour.This tour was followed by a Minami Mawari(southern loop) jungyō that had about the samenumber of stops. Two hundred years ago itwasn't unusual for the jungyō to last untilMarch. At a yado stay, everyone in the localcommunity is invited to observe and participatein performances, eat, drink and be merry. Atthe same time, information, goods, and gifts(often rice, but financial as well) were shared,hamlet business between the practitioners andlocal residents was conducted, and local talentwas recruited for the Kuromori performanceand for its leadership. These practices continuewith only slight modifications even today –though the jungyō season is much shorter.

It is this jungyō, which continued over such a

long period of time in such a wide territoryintertwined so intimately with local practiceswithin the territory that has created the socialnetworks, economic connections, and culturalties that local residents have relied on in goodtimes and bad that make the linkages withinRikuchū folk performance communities trulyunique. During prosperous times, yado andtheir communities gave material goods, rice,and even money to the Kuromori Kaguracontingent for its coffers. When hardshipstruck, the jungyō brought both spiritual andmaterial relief. Validating the quality andsignificance of this historic tradition, based atKuromori Shrine located in Yamaguchi, awestern district of Miyako, Kuromori Kagurawas designated as a Kuni shitei MukeiBunkazai (a National Intangible Cultural Asset)in 2006 (MBA 2008) – prestigious in its ownright but another characteristic making thistroupe a worthy jisaku shuen tool.

A shared local folk history is the reason itmeant so much to residents of the RikuchūCoast when on June 25th, 2011, only three-and-a-half months after 3.11, Kuromori Kaguraperformed a public kuyō (memorial ceremonyfor the dead) at Greenpia Sanriku Miyako inTarō, the site of the tallest tsunami wave, forthe lives lost there and the spirits of all victimsalong the Sanriku Coast (Kariya 2012).17 Thisperformance was regarded as a heroic act bylocals because it took place at a time when thecoastal area including the Port of Miyako wasstill a pile of rubble. Though no troupemembers died as a result of 3.11, many of themlost loved ones, livelihoods, and homes, yetthey performed, taking on a cultural leadershiprole that will not be forgotten anytime soon(Kariya 2012). Kuromori Kagura then exceededpublic expectations when, that December, thetroupe resumed its normal jungyō route – firsttraveling to its northern yado, then in the newyear going south to yado there. This speaks notonly to the commitment of Kuromori Kagura toits constituents, but to the dedication of theyado owners to this tradition and their

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willingness to host the troupe and serve itsconstituents even during this time of greatdevastation, certainly a venerable quality thatany kind of visitor traveling to the RikuchūCoast to experience Kuromori Kagura couldeasily respect (Kariya 2011; Yagi 2011).

These are some of the reasons why Iwateculture specialists such as Neko, Matsumoto,and Kariya (see the end of the Ōtsuchi AkiMatsuri section below) and those familiar withthe Rikuchū culture and continuing tsunamirevitalization efforts here such as Kino, Kuma-gai, Matsuda, Takeda, and Ueda think thatthere is more that can be done to harnessKuromori Kagura through it's supportorganization (called the Kuromori KaguraHozonkai [Preservation Association]) toenhance the region's revival and development.Kuromori Kagura's cultural role as folkreligious support mechanism on the RikuchūCoast is clear. But how exactly KuromoriKagura and its Preservation Association candevelop local opportunities to benefit Rikuchūcommunities commercially is yet to be seen –but is under study. The annual fall matsuri inMiyako (in which Kuromori Kagura is a majorparticipant) planned for early September of2014 may include some jisaku shuen-styleentrepreneurship (Arihara 2013: Takeda 2013).But regardless of the Preservation Society'sdecision about an economic developmentagenda, the troupe will continue its normallocal seasonal performance activitiesuninterrupted. According to members of thePreservation Association, the troupe's mostimportant activity - no matter what – is tocont inue encouraging Rikuchū fo lkpractitioners and their troupes recovering from3.11 to reorganize, reconfigure, and practicetheir performance traditions at the local levelso coastal residents can continue the recoveryprocess energized by full folk-religion inspiredemotional and psychological support (Kariya2013; Neko 2013). According to many Rikuchūresidents I spoke with, this is KuromoriKagura's greatest appeal "Its not a resurrected

tradition but a real folk practice that hascontinued uninterrupted since 1669." (Matsuda2013)

Something Good out of Something Bad

The 2012 OHIO-IPU Tsunami RecoverySupport Volunteer group with KanayamaBunzō-san after several hours of weedingcanola.

Over the course of our three days on theRikuchū Coast, the OHIO-IPU TsunamiRecovery Volunteer personnel listened tolocals' horrifying tsunami experiences, touredtemporary housing villages built on tenniscourts, in school yards, and on numeroushillsides just high enough above sea level orsufficiently distant from the ocean to be safe.We made crafts and sang karaoke with seniors,helped elementary school-aged boys and girlswith their homework, and played soccer withthem for hours. Wherever we went, we couldcount on eventually being asked two questions– 1) if we would be coming back for anothervisit, and 2) whether we had plans to see one oftheir matsuri. Thankfully, to both questions,our group could answer, yes – due mostly toour IPU advisors who had prepared us well.Prior to our 2011 trip, we had learned that thelack of return visits and matsuri participation

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were two areas in which 3.11 volunteers oftendisappointed locals. Therefore, even before ourfirst visit, we had planned our project as amulti-year endeavor so we could returnregularly to the tsunami zone. Following themissed experience during the 2011 visit,matsuri participation also became a mandatorycommitment.

The more residents we met on the RikuchūCoast, the more we began to understand howmuch locals valued our commitment to returnon subsequent visits. For locals, a return meantwe valued the contact with them beyond justthe tsunami disaster and were serious aboutgetting to know them better for mutual benefitover the long haul. Our commitment to attend amatsuri showed coastal residents that we caredenough to participate in a local cultural activitythat residents felt proud of through which theycould show us a bit about themselves. I hadnever realized how much these coastalresidents relied on their local folk practices forpsychological and emotional support. In thisregard, it was very instructive to observe thatin almost every tsunami-related emergencyvenue our OHIO-IPU Tsunami RecoveryVolunteer group visited during this Septemberweekend in 2012, a variety of charms, amulets,talismans, and prayer stickers from KuromoriShrine (home of Kuromori Kagura) weredisplayed.18 Not too surprisingly, we felt thestrong presence of Kuromori Kagurathroughout the remainder of the visit.

On Sunday morning, we helped KanayamaBunzō and his wife weed their expansivenanohana gardens, planted on several hectaresof former rice paddies located next to the riverin central Ōtsuchi. These fields had beenflooded by seawater from the tsunami,rendering them useless for growing rice. Icouldn't help but notice the Yamaguchi Chiku(district) towel one of their helpers waswearing on her head. She later told me she wasa Kuromori Kagura Preservation Associationmember and that some of the canola seeds

planted here had been provided by the troupe.We learned that the nanohana, planted here byBunzō-san and his wife, not only producebeautiful yellow flowers when they bloom, buthelp to desalinate the soil and can be convertedinto biodiesel. "From the flowers, we'll befueling local school buses in the future,"commented Bunzō-san, a former truck driver,"and maybe even grow rice again. We'll bemaking something good out of something bad."(Kanayama 2012)

The view of Ōtsuchi from Mt. Shiroyama.The Ōtsuchi Town Hall can be seen justabove the green fencing built to containsome toxic rubble in the area in the middleof the photo.

As a final activity on Sunday morning, we wereled up the hill behind the riverbed, known asMt. Shiroyama, Ito Tatsuya, a young manrepresenting the Ōtsuchi Volunteer Center,acted as our guide. He took us to a small parknext to Shiroyama Chūō Kominkan (ShiroyamaCentral Citizens Hall), which overlooks the city,where many Ōtsuchi residents from Sakuragi-chō fled to escape the tsunami on 3.11.Ironically, the lookout was situated on a sectionof the hill that looked out over a cemetery. Itwas an eerie contrast to look past the gravemarkers below to sections of the city in the

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distance that had been washed way. Huge pilesof rubble could still be seen here and there. Ito-san pointed out the remnants of the ŌtsuchiTown Hall where Mayor Ikarigawa Yutakaperished, warning his employees to flee. Fortyresidents in this neighborhood lost their livesbecause the seawall blocked their view of therising ocean, he told us. The seawall, we couldsee now, was completely washed away. (Ilearned later that Kuromori Kagura hadperformed a kuyō here on their southernjungyō during the winter of 2011.) "The lessonhere," Ito-san reminded us, "is to evacuate assoon as you hear there is danger. When youthink of Ōtsuchi, please take this lesson toheart and apply it to your lives." (Ito 2012) Withthese words, Ito-san – a local resident –demonstrated what was clearly an importantkey to recovery in the minds of locals here. "Wecan't change the past, but we can use thistragedy in Ōtsuchi as a lesson to teach othershow NOT to suffer the same fate." Coming fromIto-san, this was a lesson we were likelyNEVER to forget.

The Ōtsuchi Aki Matsuri

It was now about 1pm. Following a dramaticpause as we looked out over the destructionthat was Ōtsuchi, Ito-san continued. "Thisyear's Ōtsuchi Aki Matsuri, he said, "will becelebrated down there. This is the last time wewill be celebrating our fall matsuri at thelocation of our present downtown area," headded. "A new main street is being cleared onhigher ground. And after today, all future fallmatsuri will be celebrated there," (Ito 2012).

We were several hundred meters above the cityin elevation, but sure enough, if you lookedcarefully down to the streets below, groups oflocal residents, dressed in various kinds ofmatsuri wear – some in flashy looking happi(happy coats), others in yukata (thin summercotton kimono), and some in their folkperformance attire, while others wore festivesummer street clothes – could be seen lining up

for a folk parade. It different than the typicalshimin matsuri . Instead of dozens ofparticipants dressed in the same performanceattire, there were many, many individualtroupes from each of the oceanfrontneighborhoods close by, lining up in formation,headed to a central performance area, eachsporting different festival clothing, colors, andaccessories. Unfortunately, it then began torain. It was a gentle misty rain. But nobodyseemed disheartened. Participants just took outthe rain gear they had brought along, put it on,covered their equipment with plastic sheetsthey had also prepared for this purpose, andcontinued toward the old city center, neverconsidering that they wouldn't perform.

Men from the Matsushita district of Ō(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%8C)tsuchi(as indicated on their happi), waiting withtheir dashi (festival cart) to enter the fallfestival performance space with theirdance troupe standing just ahead (out ofsight) in September, 2012.

From close up, the array of minzoku geinōtroupes gathered together in full costume wereeven more impressive than when seen fromafar. The fast-paced performance music anddancing was invigorating. The way in which theaudience responded to the performers,

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persevering with their festival despite the greattragedy, despite the rain (which was now morethan a mist), was highly inspiring. Ito-san ledus down from Mt. Shiroyama to what had oncebeen the central thoroughfare in Ōtsuchi. Thestreet was still there, but now, only thefoundations of the buildings remained. Most ofthe rubble here had been cleared away. Insome of the empty lots, little folk altarsmemorializing the dead could be observed,made from groupings of empty beverage cansconfigured tastefully as offerings, some bottlesand cans held wild flowers picked from thehillside nearby. These seemed to be impromptumemorials, erected probably by matsuriparticipants who knew those who resided andperished in the buildings that previously stoodthere. Ito-san confirmed this theory by quicklyerecting his own makeshift memorial, beforeour eyes. "My high school classmate livedhere," Ito-san said. "We think he and his familydied, but we aren't completely sure. Theirbodies were never found." (Ito 2013)

Every neighborhood association (it seemed)was represented by some kind of dashi (festivalcart), mikoshi (portable shrine), or folkperformance troupe that performed one afterthe other in a designated "presentation area." Icounted eighteen distinct groups, each led byindividuals who looked to be neighborhoodleaders guiding their members, dressed incolorful design-coordinated happi and mompe(matching baggy traditional Japanese-stylecot ton shorts ) , to the midd le o f theperformance space, and when their turn came,signaled their troupes to begin. As the liondancers, deer dancers, and demon dancersperformed their numbers, local residentscrowded around them to watch and cheer inrhythm to the music. Ohhh… oh, oh, oh, wentone refrain. The performances includeddrumming, chanting, flute playing, and in manycases elaborate dance choreography,depending on the genre. It was quite anexpression of the Ōtsuchi diehard spirit.

An impromptu memorial at the Ōtsuchi AkiMatsuri in September, 2012 similar to theone created by Ito-san for his classmateand family.

The crowd and the matsuri participants bothseemed really glad we were there, but whatwas most noticeable, was that many of thetroupes sported brand-new-looking equipment,and many included very, very young dancers(boys and girls not more than 7 or 8 years-old),coached from the sidelines by senior citizenswho stood (some seated in wheelchairs) on theperimeter of the performance space. I only sawone "seasoned" looking mikoshi. The rest weremade from recently culled wood and weremuch smaller in scale than the older lookingones, which looked to be twice or three timesthe size. Ito-san explained that the newer andsmaller-looking mikoshi replaced the originalsthat had been nagasareta (washed away) (Ito2013). It seemed that as the rain came downharder, the dancing and chanting became moreintense. At the conclusion of each performance,each troupe would march off, replaced by thenext group which would assemble, gatherthemselves, and begin. The troupes that hadfinished would process along a designatedparade route that I later learned led to thelocation where the new downtown would bebuilt. The mood was festive, but also reverent.Ito-san sensed I was reflecting, so he

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volunteered. "Sometime before our fall matsurinext year, we're going to have to get KuromoriKagura to come and bless our new festivalspace." (Ito 2013)

During the hour-and-a-half of performances wewatched in Ōtsuchi's old downtown, I don'tknow how many times I was asked (by locals, Ipresume) whether I was enjoying theafternoon, and what I thought of the localperformances. I repeatedly said, "Mochirontanoshindemasu. Taihen kandō saseraremasu,"(Of course I am enjoying myself. [The folkperformances] move me deeply). In most cases,I received a beaming smile in return. But as Ireflect back on this experience now, I reallyWAS moved and felt strongly myself (alongwith the audience), the powerful emotionalcharge that reverberated through the crowdthat afternoon! I was most surprised, however,when looking out over at the cracked concretedocks lining the shoreline of Ōtsuchi harborduring a performance, I asked Ito-san if hethought he could ever enjoy the sea again afterall of the pain it has caused. "I don't blame thesea at all for what happened," he replied (Ito2012).

Why? I asked.

Megumi no umi dammono !(Because the sea is benevolent!)The sea didn't cause the tsunami,the earthquake did. The sea is thesource of our livelihood and ourinspiration. The sea didn't causeour suffering, the earthquake did.The matsuri helps us rememberthis. The sea is our life! (Ito 2013)

Ōtsuchi folk performance troupesproceeding toward their new city center onhigher ground in September, 2012. Thetsunami on 3.11 washed completely overthe top of the home on the right, locatedapproximately 800 meters from ŌtsuchiHarbor to the left.

I had never thought about it this way before.Now I understood much better the reason forthe spirited festivities here today. The tsunamihad caused major destruction and loss in localresident's lives. However, local residents' didn'thate the sea. The matsuri was helping all whoexperienced it to get back on track with theirlives by reminding them that the lifestyle andthe customs they were so proud of werepossible BECAUSE of the sea and were not lost.The local spirit lived on through the matsuri! AsI watched the local residents bid farewell totheir festival space and prepare to embrace anew location, many with new dancers and newequipment, many groups still missing membersof their troupe, I had a new appreciation for thepurpose o f th i s event . But th i s newunderstanding didn't make any of the deathseasier to fathom. I later learned that becauseŌtsuchi is largely a community of fisheries,many of the most experienced folk performerswere at the docks with their fishing boats whenthe tsunami hit. Many fisherman lost their livesonly a few hundred meters away from the

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performance space.

Several days later, I was back in Miyako to dosome interviews as a follow-up to the OHIO-IPUweekend visit. "Word has reached me that youand your student group participated in theŌtsuchi Fall Festival," said Kariya Yūichirō, afolk preservation official at the Miyako Board ofEducation. I was introduced to Kariya-san, alsothe chairperson of the Kuromori KaguraPreservation Association, by an anthropologycolleague as someone I should meet to learnmore about how to contextualize the recentŌtsuchi Matsuri experience. Kariya-sancontinued.

This is a very good thing, youknow. Now you have credibilitywith Miyako locals and with me.You have been back to the RikuchūCoast for two years now and planto come back for a third. You haveinteracted with our seniors andwith our children. And because youexperienced the Ōtsuchi AkiMatsuri with us, we feel like weknow you. We know now that youare seriously interested in learningabout the local traditions here.This will open doors both for youand for us. Despite our difficultsituation in Miyako, we believe ourlocal traditions hold the key tofiguring out the future. We don'twant to abandon our traditionalways because of the tsunami; wethink our traditional ways will helpus survive despite it. Finding thisconnection is our priority. I lookforward to seeing you again.(Kariya 2012)

Final Thoughts

On my second trip to the Rikuchū coast, severalpatterns were beginning to emerge that are

crucial to understanding the 3.11 tsunamidisaster on the Rikuchū Coast from a localpoint of view. These patterns became evenmore evident during my third OHIO-IPUVolunteer trip in 2013. First, Rikuchū residentshave a genuine attachment to their localmatsuri traditions. This might be true to acertain extent in any Japanese community, butfor the reasons already articulated, folkperformance traditions in the post tsunamicontext take on a special new meaning fortsunami survivors that is not always recognizedby those of us who come to help. Second,tsunami survivors place an extremely highimportance on long-term ties with individualsand groups from outside the region. Theserelationships have the potential for a variety ofoutcomes mutually enriching and beneficial toboth local resident and the visitor from away.Furthermore, return visits by outsiders like theOHIO-IPU Volunteer Group are welcomed andactually preferred to one-time visits both on theinstitutional and individual levels. Outsidersneed to realize also that return visits to theRikuchū Coast - for interactions that remindlocals that they are not alone – are (accordingto counselors [see footnote 4]) not only greatlyappreciated but are (more importantly) acrucial link in the chain of kokoro no kea~(psychological and emotional care) necessary tobring about healing by giving local residentssomething constant in their lives (see Footnote4). The post 3.11 resumption of matsuri on theRikuchū Coast has been important on manylevels for similar reasons.

A third emerging pattern seems to be thatthere is a need to balance the short- and long-term needs and priorities of Rikuchū residents.While government bureaucrats and public andprivate sector aid agencies are working onlarge-scale solutions for replacing local housingand creating jobs that will take time, Rikuchūresidents want to share their local traditionswith outsiders, and are interested in exploringgrassroots style economic development modelswhi le they wait . J isaku shuen – sty le

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approaches might be one way for Rikuchūresidents to proceed with this interest as it hasbeen attempted successfully in several Iwatecities, towns, and villages over the years.However, the reality is that 3.11 or not, not allIwate communi t ies wi l l surv ive thesocioeconomic challenges of the next 25 years.Therefore, any possible untried strategy acommunity has at its disposal at this stage(even cultural tourism) is worth a try as acomplement to other solutions that may or maynot be coming. As indicated by cultural expertsknowledgeable about the tradition and amongRikuchū folk practitioners in the region,Kuromori Kagura is a leading candidate to be afocal point for this kind of local effort. But,balancing even this popular priority with therealities of Miyako's current socioeconomiccrisis could be a complex challenge.

Finally, the overall role and value of local folktraditions on the Rikuchū Coast in the recoveryprocess needs to be considered morethoughtfully by planners from the prefecture,the State, and the private sector as localadvocates point out that this is a major localasset that is not being utilized to its fullpotential. It may be especially important tothink "outside the box" now, at a time whenpopulation decline nationally is alreadybeginning to stretch necessary local public andprivate services in municipalities far from theTōhoku region, the state has decided to end thefukkō tokubetsu hōjinzei (special corporate taxfor [Grea t Eas t J apan Ear thquake ]Reconstruction) in the public sector one yearearly in lieu of alternative funding yet to befully articulated (NHK 2013d), and hasannounced publically the phase-out of itspostwar gentan (rice cultivation restriction)policies within the next five years (NHK 2013c).This is particularly important because all threefactors are certain to affect post 3.11 recoveryon the Rikuchū coast in significant financialways. For this reason, a closer examination oflocal matsuri traditions - in particular, thestructure, function, and practice of Kuromori

Kagura and its associated folk beliefs – mightprovide important insights that could beutilized to complement or even help in thedesign of a viable regional economic model forthe future - even if only in the Rikuchū region -sustainable over the long haul. This may not bea high priority consideration for the architectsof the permanent large-scale tsunami recoveryinitiatives currently underway in the region.But from a local point of view, the key to thefuture for the residents of Miyako and theRikuchū Coast is not in building a totally newkind of 21st century Rikuchū society but infinding a way to adapt the best practices fromtheir past and apply them to the present. Muchwas lost in 3.11, but Rikuchū culture remainsalive and well through its local matsuritradition. Kuromori Kagura could be one key toactivating the full socioeconomic potential ofthe Rikuchū Coast.

Christopher S. Thompson is AssociateProfessor of Japanese Language and Cultureand Chair of the Department of Linguistics atOhio University. He is co-editor of WearingCultural Styles In Japan: Concepts of Traditiona n d M o d e r n i t y i n P r a c t i c e(http://amzn.com/0791466973/?tag=theasipacjo0b-20) and numerous articles on Tōhokuculture and traditions.

Christopher S Thompson, "Are you Coming tothe Matsuri?: Tsunami Recovery and FolkPerformance Culture on Iwate's RikuchūCoast," The Asia-Pacific Journal, Vol. 12, Issue5, No. 2, February 3, 2014.

Related Articles

See the complete file of articles on the 3.11triple disaster organized topically here(https://apjjf.org/Japans-3.11-Earthquake-Tsunami-Atomic-Meltdown).

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Notes

1 An explanation of why I use the term Rikuchūinstead of Sanriku to refer to the Iwatecoastline in this narrative is warranted. Thoughthe Japanese and foreign media often describethe 3.11 tsunami as having devastated theSanriku Coast of northeast Japan, localresidents living on the Iwate coastline think ofthemselves not as residents belonging to ageographical region known as the RikuchūKaigan (Coast). Technically, the Sanriku Coaststretches 280 km from the southeast of AomoriPrefecture to the Ojika Peninsula in MiyagiPrefecture, so the media's use of this term isaccurate. However, due in part to its ruggedscenic beauty, a large section of the SanrikuCoast that stretches south from northern Iwate(from a point just north of Kuji) to Kesennuma(in extreme southern Iwate) is designated bythe State as a national park called the RikuchūKaigan Kokuritsu Koen. (Rikuchū CoastNational Park). The park (and name) wasestablished in 1955. This name is a huge point

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of pride among local residents who live alongthis portion of the coast not only because of thebeauti ful scenery but because theseparameters also mark a culturally distinct zonecontaining what are thought of by Iwate folkculture specialists as unique folk religiouspractices that evolved during the feudal era ina territory that was once controlled by theNambu Clan. The residents of the towns alongthis stretch of coastline, self-identifythemselves as distinct from their counterpartsin Miyagi and Fukushima and refer to theirgeographical region as the Rikuchū Coast.Road signs, street names and billboards alongcoastal highway Route 45 attest to thisethnocentric bent. Therefore, I have chosen touse the naming that they prefer (Japan Guide2014a).

2 This account complements but is independentof the first "field report" that appeared in theMarch 5th, 2012 edition of the Asia-PacificJourna l , wh ich descr ibed what wasencountered, and what was learned inSeptember of 2011. (Thompson 2012)

3 Pseudonyms are noted in the bibliography.Occasionally, titles such as "sensei" (teacher)and –san (polite tag approximating Mr., Mrs. orMs.) are used to indicate respect and myrelationship with that person.

4 All people struggle in the immediateaftermath of a disaster because extremesituations bring out many kinds of stress thatc a u s e p h y s i c a l a n d p s y c h o l o g i c a lvulnerabilities. As the disaster recedes andrebuilding begins, survivors can becomedepressed or psychologically vulnerable tovarious stresses. In Japan, mental health (or"kokoro no kea~," care for the heart) has beenon rescuers' radar since the Kobe quake. Thus,most medical psychologists in and outside ofJapan believe that the most enduringconsequence of the ongoing crisis in Japan willnot be medical, financial or environmental: itwill be psychological. The crisis in Japan is both

natural and technological, which suggests thatsome PTSD can be expected. In addition tocounseling, PTSD symptoms can be addressedin children and adults through regularengagement in meaningful and pleasurableactivity (Jabr 2011). The purpose behind theactivities that the OHIO-IPU and volunteerteam were advised to engage in with localresidents on the Iwate coast by disasterrecovery experts at volunteer centers in Miyakoand Otsuchi as described in the monographwere meaningful joint activities designed tohelp alleviate any such negative symptomsresulting from the disaster.

5 NHK News 7 reported on December 11th, 2013that 86% of tsunami rubble in Iwate Prefecturehad been removed (NHK 2013e).

6 (Asahi Shimbun 2012, p 74)

7 Fertility rates of less than 2.0 don't replacethe parents when they die. Japan's populationfell by almost a quarter of a million in 2013 –the fifth consecutive annual fall – broughtwarnings that the country may be in terminaldecline (Pearce 2014).

8 Cultural anthropologists would call thisGeertzian "deep culture." (Geertz 1973)

9 Readers many wonder why I use standardJapanese in my quotation here. It has been myexperience that in Iwate, unlike what I haveencountered in Japan, local residents relatingto visitors in an official capacity don't usuallyuse the local dialect. First of all, locals in themost isolated hamlets use their dialect onlyamong themselves until they get used to you.Even then, unlike my experience in other partsof Japan, outsiders are discouraged from usingthe local dialect for more than a word or phraseeven when spoken to in that dialect. My theoryis that this is because the use of dialect by thisoutsider (a university professor with seriousintent) is incongruent with my status and theserious of the purpose for the visit.

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10 See quote from Ueda (2013) in this paper.

11 Hiraizumi was the seat of the northernbranch of the Fujiwara clan that ruled what isnow Iwate during the Heian period (794-1185)and most of the Kamakura period (118501333)that followed. Many temples and shrines werebuilt here including the two mentioned herethat have been designated as UNESCO WorldHeritage sites.

12 Yanagida Kunio is the father of modernJapanese folklore. Among his many famouspublications are Tono Monogatari (theLedgends of Tono), first published in 1908, abook, which records the ghost stories andmyths of Mt. Hayachine and the surroundingterritory including those from the nearby(Yanagida 1908).

13 The three other Tōwa's are in Miyagi,Fukushima, and Yamaguchi prefectures(Thompson 2002).

14 The Meiji Period lasted from 1868-1912(Japan Guide 2014b)

15 The tsunami on 3.11.11 was far from beingthe first in northeast Japan. Since the late 19th

century, there have been three. The most oftencited are the tsunami caused by the MeijiSanriku Earthquake on June 15 th, 1886,followed by the Showa Sanriku Earthquake onMarch 2nd, 1933. The latest is The Great EastJapan Earthquake on March 11th, 2011. TheMeiji Sanriku Earthquake produced wavesreaching the height of 38.2 meters (125ft),about a meter higher than those created by theGreat East Japan Earthquake. Iwate saw waveso f 3 8 m e t e r s(http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn201104 0 4 a 6 . h t m l ) , T h e J a p a n T i m e s(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Japan_Times)( K y o d o N e w s(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyodo_News)), 4April 2011.

16 Kuromori Kagura is one of four varieties of

Shinto shamanic dance and is known as shishi(lion) kagura in which a kami (a Shinto god-likespirit) is thought to inhabit a large lion maskworn by dancers who perform to drive awayevil spirits and quell the spirits of the dead. Inthe Tōhoku region, many styles of shishi kaguraexist, which were transmitted to the regionthrough the centuries by mountain asceticsknown as yamabushi. In the shishi kaguratradition, the lion mask, known as gongen-sama, is said to be a manifestation of the greatkami of Mt. Hayachine in central Iwate knownas Yamanokami (mountain kami) and is taken inthis format by the performers house-to house inthe village and towns within the territory tooffer prayers and blessings to local residentsduring annual visits. Hayachine Kagura, basedin central Iwate at the foot of Mt. Hayachine, isa well-known variety of shishi kagura in Japan.Kuromori Kagura, however, which shares thesame shugendō (mountain aestheticism derivedfrom esoteric Shingon and Tendai Buddhism)tradition in association with Mt. Hayachine, hasbeen less known by those outside of Iwate untilafter 3.11.

1 7 A study by the University of Tokyo'sEarthquake Research Institute revealed thatthe tsunami in Tarō, a northern suburb ofMiyako, had reached at least 37.9 meters(124ft) above sea level, almost equaling the38.2 meters (125ft) meter record of the 1896M e i j i - S a n r i k u e a r t h q u a k e(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1896_Meiji-Sanriku_earthquake) tsunami. This wave at Tarō wasthe highest recorded from the 3.11 tsunami.T h e J a p a n T i m e s(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Japan_Times).Iwate Saw Wave Test 38 meters. (Kyodo News(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyodo_News)), 4April 2011.

1 8 Interest ingly , in the nat ional andinternational realm, The Japan Foundation wasquick to pick up on Kuromori Kagura's goodwill and PR potential following the June 25th

2011 kuyō in Miyako by sending the troupe to

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Moscow as cultural ambassadors for severalperformances that October to thank Russiansfor their financial support immediatelyfollowing 3.11 (Kitagawa 2011). A series ofperformances at the Japan Society in New York

City followed one year later (The New YorkTimes 2012). Though these invitations and theperformances have been inspirational toRikuchū residents, they were not commercialventures.