2023 Volume 29 Pages 104-122
This study aims to clarify the mechanism and structure of the various types of damage caused by the Fukushima nuclear disaster. It specifically focuses on a small-scale livelihood activity in a remote geographical area, more than 500km from the nuclear power plant, in order to shed light on an aspect of the wide scale damage caused by the disaster. The case study explores the repercussions on the use of wood ash among producers of tochi（Aesculus turbinata）rice cakes in Kutsuki, Takashima City, Shiga Prefecture. Traditionally, these producers have used wood ash in the making of rice cakes to remove the bitterness of tochi nuts. The majority of wood ash has been sourced from outside the region, sustaining the production of tochi rice cakes through a cross-regional resource network. Wood ash has not been traded in formal markets, rather the tochi rice cake producers in Kutsuki have privately negotiated with specific trading partners.
In 2012, the Forestry Agency issued a plea for restraint in using wood ash after discovering its contamination by the nuclear disaster. Consequently, the supply of ash from the majority of areas in eastern and northern Japan ceased. Essentially, the nuclear disaster resulted in the disconnection of one end of the cross-regional network for natural resource use, affecting the local livelihood in a location remote from Fukushima. The producers encountered at least two types of damage due to the ash contamination caused by the nuclear disaster : first, it became difficult to make tochi rice cakes with an ash shortage, and second, it created a “loss of pleasure” at home. However, it is difficult to fully envisage the comprehensive extent of the damage due to ash distribution being managed by a private network.
This study undertakes an in-depth analysis of the mechanism by which damage was caused, how the damage relates to the characteristics of ash as a material and as an item of trade. Furthermore, it focuses on the invisible damage stemming from the private exchange of raw materials.
