Living with “Crises”

Disaster History in Tadaide Village, Otomo Town, Rikuzentakata City

Abstract

This paper aims to reexamine the previous studies that have evaluated the “rationality” of people in tsunami affected areas returning to their homes near the sea, from the perspective of the history of micro-disasters in these areas.

Previous studies in folklore and environmental sociology have revealed that measures taken to separate people from “risks,” such as the construction of seawalls and the designation of disaster risk zones, are out of touch with the actual living conditions of the people living there. However, it is important to note that the question of why people return to areas near the sea is also a question that people living in tsunami affected areas themselves have been asking.

This paper examines the past 100 years of disaster history in the community of Tadaide, Otomo-machi, Rikuzentakata City, Iwate Prefecture, and reveals that the relationship between tsunami and community is not supported by a consistent rationality, but is a process based on situation-dependent judgments.