WIT Life #189: Elizabeth Andoh’s 希望 project
Earthquake Tsunami, Food & Drink, Translating/Interpreting, WIT Life, Writers 
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WIT Life is a periodic series written by professional Writer/Interpreter/Translator Stacy Smith (Kumamoto-ken CIR, 2000-03). She starts her day by watching Fujisankei’s newscast in Japanese, and here she shares some of the interesting tidbits and trends together with her own observations.
I recently received an email newsletter from acclaimed Japanese food writer Elizabeth Andoh regarding her newest book project, 希望 (Kibo or “Brimming With Hope”). It will be released on February 28th and features recipes and stories from the Tohoku area, where last year’s earthquake and tsunami hit. Andoh wanted to do her part to help the region recover, and the creation of this book is what she came up with (click on the link below for purchase information). This March, she also plans to launch a new website called Kibo cooking which will be dedicated to Tohoku cookery. See below for a description of Andoh’s project in her own words.
It is HOPE… fused with, and fueled by, resolve.
Dogged determination.
It is a BOOK… a culinary tribute to Japan’s Tohoku.
Recipes and stories: to comfort, to share.
On the afternoon of March 11, 2011, triple disaster – earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear accident – assaulted Japan’s northeastern corridor, the Tohoku region, and to a lesser extent the Kanto Plains area that includes Tokyo and its environs. In the hours, days, and weeks that followed, the enormity of the toll became painfully clear. There was unprecedented loss of life, personal injury and property damage, entire communities and industries had been wiped out. Surreal.
Like many Tokyo residents who had been personally spared serious loss, I wondered what I could do. In the post-disaster barrage of media coverage, I found the plight of evacuees particularly poignant. Uprooted and transplanted to shelters far removed from their home, I wondered how traditional Tohoku culture could be preserved in the Diaspora.
I wanted to soothe survivors with comfort foods, help Tohoku residents prepare familiar dishes in unfamiliar places. By writing a book that celebrated the Tohoku’s culinary culture I thought to help preserve the region’s rich heritage while nourish the morale of displaced residents. By writing in English I could reach a wide, global readership enabling them to share in the pleasures of the Tohoku table while supporting recovery efforts through the purchase of KIBŌ. My publisher, Ten Speed Press, has pledged with me, to donate a portion of proceeds to Japan’s rebuilding and renewal efforts.
希望を持って、頑張ります
KIBŌ wo motte, gambarimasu
Brimming with hope, pushing forward…
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