The new SO Rhode Island is out. We shot the cover the Friday before I left. Quick turn around on the shoot. Didn't get to scout (the brewery didn't even know to clean up their tanks - fast work all around). It all worked out.

There was a second setup that I thought was cool. Maybe it didn't quite hit the right tone. Anyway, I think I was paid in rum. Thankfully there were some designated drivers. All of us were feeling it a little bit - an odd feeling for 11 in the morning. They kept pouring for the models. I felt a little left out so I got a tasting in afterwards.

The crew from Providence Media did triple duty. They art directed, modeled, and designed the layout. Chris Motta kindly added some testosterone to the image (he was assisting me but he's so pretty I had to throw him in - right?).

I didn't even get to do any post processing on the photos (retouching).

On a Japan note:

I'm continuing the Japan work. I'm starting to realize the degree to which it is out of the hearts and minds of people here. Not for lack of love - just the natural news cycle. That and Japan is terrible at asking for help. More to come.

At this point in my trip I have seen many places and met many people. For many that I met there is no going home. For some that is because their town was destroyed. For some it is because their house was destroyed. But, for those from certain parts of Fukushima it is because they aren't allowed home.

I know in terms of chronological order this is going to throw off my blogging but it's on my mind. I have a lot of things from the Iwate and Miyagi area that I haven't even touched on. But, at this moment it is far from my mind.

I visited Fukushima, Japan with a closed mind. Nuclear disaster - geopolitics - and a story overshadowing the human tragedy up North - that was how I felt. Fukushima had wiped out the tsunami story from the western news; a primary reason for me trip. The nuclear disaster is the sexy news story - it is easy to rile people up over it. But, I had forgotten the people. Even with my own stated goal of putting a face to the stories from Japan; I had forgetting the people of Fukushima. They opened my eyes by being frank and blunt. Something that does not come naturally to them. They told me that they are no good at talking. But, they spoke and told me things that raised the hair on the back of my neck.

Hibakusha (which I suppose translates to Person Injured by Radiation) is a term that is not used lightly in Japan. When I was in college there was a guy who used to give me a hard time whenever I gave him a hard time by saying "Didn't we bomb you?" I could have punched him in the nose but it was so ignorant that I couldn't even be bothered.

Those who are Hibakusha from the war have a special legal status; as do their children. For better or worse they are separate and unequal. They are given different (and I gather better) medical care and I believe there are other considerations. But, it is a badge that you do not want to show. You are the undesirable. I'm not sure I understand it per se; but I know there is a stigma.

So, when my father mentioned the people of Fukushima being hibakusha I was offended. It was a term I had no intention of even thinking about before I went to meet these people. I am tempted to draw parallels with other things like racist names, et cetera but I think you get the idea. You don't call people you don't know Hibakusha lightly. It wouldn't be a term I would want to use.

What I could not anticipate was that the people themselves are hibakusha and call themselves such. I did not know that some had been covered by radiactive ash. I did not expect them to have to carry a slip of paper indicating that they are not radioctive (in effect - the paper says "the results of the tests were negative." It was your passport into the evacuation centers.

Sadly there are some terrible things going on with regards to discrimination against these people. Speaking to a realtor when they ask where you are from and hear "Fukushima" suddenly they don't have any apartments available.

But being from Fukushima is like being from Massachusetts. It is a wide area. There is ocean and there are mountains. But, they are all being painted with the same brush in the media. Businesses who rely on tourism hours away from the power plant are failing. They have no radiative fallout. They are in almost a different climate than the coastline.

Fukushima is a beloved place for everyone I met. No one has said they want to leave. But, in their heart of hearts some are starting to wonder. Will they ever go home?

For those who are unaware; the police are not permitting people to enter the mandatory evacuation zone. Money is tight. Lodgings are dubious and it has been over 3 months from the accident. Some, like Mr. Shiga from Namie, Fukushima, pictured near the barrier above, will never go home because his house was simply washed away. He barely escaped. Now with a 3 year old mortgage and no house to sell nor buyers for his land what does he have? His insurance would not cover a Tsunami. He is lucky - he still has a job. He can take care of his children. His company has not reduced salaries yet though the sales have been cut dramatically. As he told me; the bank needs him more than he needs the bank. (Ed: I met two Mr. Shiga's - unrelated - only one pictured here)

What then of Kaya? A 5th grader from Futaba who has already moved once during the school year. Her family brought nothing more than the clothes on their backs. She lived within 10km of the Fukushima plant that exploded. Many lost even the clothes they were wearing because they had been contaminated by radiation. Can you imagine what that would feel like. Stripping your clothes off as you stand in a medical line being metered by a stranger; it is a terrible thing. Only then to be handed a little slip of paper saying this person is safe. For Kaya the future is uncertain; she must move again within the next 2 months as her allowed primary evacuation center time runs out.

More to come

Mr. Ayukai's family has been in the Kesennuma area for over 300 years. His first name is Munefusa. His sons are Muneshige and Munetoshi. As the ancestral lords of Kesennuma they have a certain place within the community. Their garden is a public garden; their home is an evacuation area. The house overlooks their neighborhood in Kesennuma city.

In the pictures at the top of this page you can see the destruction. If you take his neighborhood and combine it with the adjacent neighborhood (just beyond the concrete building in the distant center of the photo) you have roughly 340 houses. Of the 340 homes you should be able to see; 320 homes are gone. The remaining homes are on the hillside like Mr. Ayukai's home. The neighborhood (or town) across the river decided to dissolve as a legal entity. There is nothing left.

While Munefusa was at work Makiko Ayukai (a former english teacher) was with their boys. When the earthquake struck she took them to the entrance of the house. She didn't go outside for fear of falling objects from the face of the house. It was a long quake, most people say over two minutes. Combined with the Magnitude of 9.0 - it was truly exceptional.

The tsunami came less than an hour later. No one knew that it would be so big. It came within a few vertical meters of their house - covering the lower garden by over a meter in height. She watched as the tsunami destroyed her neighborhood. But, like everyone else, she ran for higher ground when she realized this was like nothing she had ever experienced.

Muneshige and Munetoshi are little boys. Munetoshi is just a baby. Muneshige is still terrified of earthquakes. He told me we would have to go to high ground if a tsunami came. A sad truth for such a young boy to recognize (I believe he is 5?).

I inquired about their thoughts on moving and much more. But, that is a story for another day. The strange reality is that despite all the personal items on the empty foundations - they have nothing to do with the home beneath them. They just washed around and ended up on the concrete. The contents of a given house may be kilometers away.

more to come - including visiting Fukushima.