Machi to Kioku to Eigakan

投稿日:2021.04.29

ENGLISH

Machi to Kioku to Eigakan
In Retrospect: The tsunami triggered by the 1960 Valdivia Chile Earthquake
The day which forever changed Shiogama’s cityscape

昭和35年5月JR仙石線本塩釜駅前 撮影:馬場惣寿 フィルム修復:和賀耐互

 
 
At the start of the 1960s, the most powerful earthquake on record hit Southern Chile. The Valdivia Earthquake triggered powerful tsunamis across all countries lying on the Pacific Coast including Japan.

Shiogama, which was also on the Sanriku Coast facing the Pacific, was also severely hit when the earthquake-induced waves hit the city on the morning of May 24th 1960.

The Shiogama Sugimura Jun Museum’s annual historical photo exhibition – Machi to kioku to Eigakan – puts focus into preserving memories of Shiogama’s long-forgotten heritage. For this year’s edition, we look into showcasing digitally-restored documented visual imagery of how the 1960 tsunami struck and damaged the city’s infrastructure at that time, how it bears similarities with the tsunami caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, and how we can learn to protect ourselves and others from future natural disasters such as these.

This exhibit will also display photographs on the rapid changes that occurred surrounding Shiogama’s land and cityscape after the 1960 Valdivia Earthquake, as well as archived media and spoken word material from the people who were there at the time.

About the Machi to kioku to Eigakan
Roughly interpreted as “The city, the memories, and the movie theater”, this annual exhibition series is an ongoing collective memory preservation program by the museum. Its origins and namesake comes from Shiogama’s heritage and culture in the city’s downtown district in Showa-era Japan.

Owing to its many studio-owned movie houses which once dominated the city’s downtown district, the Eigakan was once revered as the gathering space for people from all walks of life – not only to watch a movie together but to also experience rare encounters, enriching conversations, and forge strong connections among fellow city residents. It was a place for them to learn about each other and to learn about the world around them.

In a bid to bring back that sense of euphoria, nostalgia, and enjoyment of discovering new things once experienced by residents in the past, this program aims to bring that endearing community-bound feeling of connectedness into the present – this time with the Sugimura Jun Museum of Art serving as the backdrop.
 
 
Date: Thursday April 29th through Sunday June 13th 2021
Hours: 10:00–17:00 (last admission 16:30)
Closed Mondays

At the special exhibition room of Sugimura Jun Museum of Art (Shiogama City), 30 minutes east of Sendai.
Map
 
 
Admission (incl. permanent collection)
Individuals
• Adults: 200 yen
• High school students: 100 yen
• Museum member, Junior high school students and under: Free
 
Groups (20 or more)
• Adults: 160 yen
• High school students: 80 yen
• Junior high school students and under: Free
 
 
Contact us: sugimurajun-museumm●shiomo.jp(●=@)
 
 
Translated by JUNBI Supporters