Please join us for a special conversation with Seietsu Sato, a survivor of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami. During the tragedy, he was an assistant fire chief of Kesennuma (気仙沼市) in Miyagi Prefecture. He lost his wife due to the disasters that occurred on March 11, 2011, when he was directing teams of firefighters to put out massive blazes taking over the city.
He will talk about his mission as a kataribe, storyteller in Japanese, and “Saving Lives” with his message about the value of human life. The earthquake and tsunami claimed nearly 20,000 lives, destroyed 200,000 houses, and forced the evacuation of 400,000 people. We encourage you to take this opportunity to learn from Mr. Sato and that the memory of the earthquake should not be forgotten.
Our guest will speak in Japanese and there will be consecutive interpretation into English.
This 3-program series commemorates a decade since the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami. Programs will demonstrate the resolve of people in Tohoku and how the region has recovered since 2011. The Japan-America Society of Dallas/Fort Worth came to the region’s aid by raising over $187,000 for relief, which supported the Mori no sato nursing home in Sendai. The metropolises of Dallas and Sendai have also been International Friendship Cities since 1997. This series is presented by the Japan-America Society of Dallas/Fort Worth with support from the Consulate-General of Japan in Houston. Please also see our Program 2: “Voices in the Wind (風の電話)” Film Screening and the Program 3: A Resurgent Region – Tohoku’s Recovery Since 2011.
Guest Speaker
Seietsu Sato Survivor and Kataribe (storyteller) of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami
Seietsu was an assistant fire chief of Kesennuma city in 2011. He is now retired and devotes his time to tell his story about the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami in different cities in Japan.