To send smiles.
This also is another outstanding volunteer aid

There is a performance group that got right back up after the Tohoku Earthquake. They are the members of ReSmile.

ReSmile project is where talented entertainers (magicians, dancers and so on) come together, and do activities.

Starting with Tokyo, they hold performances in streets of Tokyo, collecting donations from the audiences, and with the donations they make their way to the affected areas of Tohoku, and perform there, and are doing these activities to bring back smiles to everybody in the affected areas. They cooperate in reviving the area’s community, and their goal is for everyone in Tohoku to have a bright future for tomorrow.

This time, we had the opportunity to accompany their tour to Fukushima prefecture Soma city, so we will introduce the tour observations.

ReSmile Tohoku tour, holds a fierce tour every time.
They come together on Friday night, and make their way by car. In the morning they arrive and prepare right away. Saturday and Sunday they perform, and on Sunday night they leave, and come back to Tokyo the next morning.

This time Soma city we visit, is 40~50km north from the Fukushima nuclear plant that created an accident. Fukushima has a strong impression of nuclear accident but Iwate and Miyagi and those along the coast has been damaged disastrously. Soma city is the same.

This time the performance was held in a piloti next to a city gymnasium in the center part of Soma city.

Every Saturday and Sunday there is opened a “Haragama Asaichi” in Asaichi, we participated here as part of their program.

“Haragama Asaichi” is held by Soma city’s people that worked in the fishing, water, and processing industries, they all were affected by the disaster. Praying for the rebuilding of Soma, they strived to build a place for smiles to come together, and somehow managed to make this happen.

At Asaichi there are food and drinks booths, booths that provide aid goods, performances are held, citizens come together, and get to have fun.

A lady that sells vegetables and fresh foods.

This time those that participated in ReSmile were the two- a dance group “Ginza Honten”, and Yoyo performer “NiA”.

Ginza Honten is, a colorful dance group dancing in power ranger tights costumes, and in fact all girls.
They dance their choreography to popular songs you must have heard at least once, and do a performance that brought the whole place together.

NiA is a juggler whose specialty is a performance using yoyos. Because he himself is from Fukushima, his passion in this activity is twice as much as everyone else’s.

On Sunday’s event, a Japanese taiko group also participated. A deep sound vibrates the hall.

On Sunday evening,
We visited a temporarily housing in Soma city.

There was a performance made in the meeting area located in the center of the temporary housing.

In Soma city’s temporary housing other than those from Soma city, there are those from Iitatemura that was selected as an evacuation area as well living there as well.

From the evening, there was a sign language performance by “RIMI”, and with a singing picture book writer “Nijiiro Sorari”. Together they held a sign language and storytelling session.

The meeting place in the temprorary housing has little space, therefore the space between the performer and audience was short, and therefore you could feel togetherness.

Most of the audience is elderly and children.

At first the looks on their faces were rather gloomy, but by playing rock paper scissors together, and dancing, little by little smiles started to be seen.

A child that is looking into the window from outside.

At last we took a picture with the performers and those in the temporary housing.

After the earthquake, this is the 2nd time writers have visited the affected areas.
The last time we went we only gathered information based on the situation, however this time we had the opportunity to communicate with those that were affected. The appearance of seeing them smile and having fun although they have been through a lot, has left a big impression on us.