For Japan: Our Sister
Members of the Atsuki Tokusatsu Community in Jogjakarta collecting donations for “Jogja Care for Japan” – Picture courtesy of Atsuki Tokusatsu Community
Looking Back at How Indonesia Responded to Japan’s T?hoku Earthquake
March 2011: within the streets of Jogjakarta some unconventionally dressed young Indonesian men along with women carry boxes marked “Jogja Care for Japan”. There’s a boy in a bright red vest, blue shorts along using a straw hat, along with girl dressed in a Japanese school uniform. They are ‘cosplayers’ (costume players), collecting donations to send to Japan.
On 11 March 2011, Japan was shaken. There was first the magnitude 9.0 earthquake in which hit the T?hoku region, followed by a devastating tsunami. The earthquake along with tsunami were Japan’s deadliest, with nearly sixteen thousand people by twelve prefectures perishing. Over two thousand several hundred people have not yet been found.
The earthquake along with tsunami was soon followed by another calamity. Regular along with emergency cooling systems at the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear power plant were damaged, leading to meltdowns in which have had significant consequences for the people along with agriculture of Fukushima prefecture. within the wake of the ‘triple disaster’, foreign governments acted to provide support in various ways. The Maldives, for example, sent 600,000 cans of tuna to Japan. Children around the planet sent postcards to Japanese children with messages of moral support. Among those postcards were a thousand by children in Indonesia.
within the weeks after 11 March 2011, I observed in Malaysia, where I lived at the time, various groups of people raising funds along with seeking to show their support for Japan. For many weeks near my local supermarket I saw a booth at which passers-by could donate money along with fold origami cranes, which could be sent to Japan. With support by The Sumitomo Foundation, I was able to collect stories by across Indonesia, Malaysia along with Vietnam about what different people did to support Japan at in which time.
In Indonesia I collaborated with filmmaker Mahatma Putra along with photographer Tasha May to interview Indonesians by an array of backgrounds along with with some fascinating stories. Among these were members of the Atsuki Tokusatsu Community in Jogjakarta, who raised funds by taking ‘Cosplay on the Road’. Cosplay is actually an activity originating in Japan, which involves dressing up as characters by Japanese anime along with tokusatsu (live action anime). Aryo Ari Wahyoyo along with Muryadi Saputra were among those collecting donations within the streets of Jogjakarta. With the money they collected, along using a thousand origami cranes, their community folded, they sought to present Japan with ‘a sign of gratitude’ for its cultural contributions. Muryadi noted, “If the cosplayers in Japan did not exist, there wouldn’t be any anime, tokusatsu, or cosplay.”
Muryadi Saputra in cosplayer attire. He is actually dressed as a Kamen Rider. Photograph taken by Tasha May
Muryadi’s along with Aryo’s efforts were part of a larger event initiated by Megarini Puspasari. Mega, as she calls herself, studied in Japan along with cofounded the hoshiZora Foundation, which seeks to give Indonesian street children greater access to education. She spoke of her fondness for Japan, where she has friends as a result of her years of study there. She also noted the thanks in which the Foundation owes to its many Japanese benefactors, including the Nippon Foundation, which assisted with start-up costs.
Mega described how, following the earthquake along with tsunami in Japan, she developed the idea of a charity concert, Jogja Care for Japan. The event came to involve a wide array of people along with groups who were keen to express their support for Japan. In describing people’s participation within the event, along with how in which impacted on those there, she said.
… in which was extraordinary, the people who came for the concert. Even though the preparation was only two weeks, there were so many people who attended along using a representative by the Embassy of Japan came too. along with we had a teleconference using a friend in Japan to tell us live how the situation was there, how the people were dealing with the situation. along with in which was not only for Japan, although for us in which was a lesson too…in which although Japan was facing a disaster, they were surviving. They didn’t fight over food, they queued, didn’t loot along with so on. in which was a lesson for us. So there was a mutual benefit.
A screen shot by the short film For Japan: Our Sister, by Mahatma Putra along with Julian CH Lee. Available on YouTube.
Whereas some of those interviewed had lived in Japan, there were various other surprising connections. Ardini Suryati, Head of the Salman Al-Farisi School in Bandung told of how the inspiration for her school came by the Japanese book Totto-chan, which tells the story of how a young Japanese school girl benefits by going to an unconventional school after being expelled by another school. Mr. Mohammad Ridwan of in which school described how their activities within the classroom in support of Japan were designed to help children “arouse their empathy with various other people.”
The cover of Totto-chan, a Japanese book in which has had great influence within the field of education. Image taken by Julian CH Lee
Rokhima Rostian was also there at the time, a lecturer at Universitas Gadjah Mada. She was in Sendai along with experienced the enormity of the earthquake. Although evacuated, she soon returned to lend a hand along with some various other Indonesians. “Besides helping people, we made Indonesian food every weekend along with distributed in which within the camps.” along with using a view of helping Japanese children through in which difficult period, “We played a lot of Indonesian games with them.”
We found the stories in which we collected to be compelling along with heart-warming, along with they said a great deal about the closeness in which many Indonesians feel with Japan. While for some the bond was a result of having lived along with made friends there, others shared a worldwide appreciation for Japan’s culture. Furthermore, as Indonesia is actually familiar with the hardships caused by natural disasters, in which was no surprise in which one of the things in which came through was a sense of solidarity with those in Japan in in which respect. As Reni Ekifitriati of the hoshiZora Foundation noted, “We need to help them. Especially when there was the earthquake, because we’ve experienced in which too.”
To see some of the people described above telling their stories, including Muryadi Saputra who was interviewed in full cosplay attire, watch the short documentary on YouTube, For Japan: Our Sister.
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For Japan: Our Sister
For Japan: Our Sister