In 2011, the Great East Japan Earthquake left more than 20,000 people dead or missing. On 11 March 2011, shortly after taking office as mayor, Futoshi Toba, mayor of Rikuzentakata in Iwate Prefecture, experienced firsthand the earthquake and tsunami which destroyed city hall and killed many of his subordinates. His wife was also missing, but despite the pain, he struggled to carry out his duties as mayor, leaving his two children with relatives, only to find his wife’s body on April 5.

Mayor Toba, in order to rebuild his town, had to face down the government which was slow in making decisions. He tried to work with the residents who were opposed to his bold actions and measures. This non-fiction book focuses on the 10-year journey of the mayor of a city hit by an unprecedented tsunami. Mayor Toba’s account of the pain and trauma involved to rebuild his town is like no other story from the front lines. Toba built a professional working relationship with an American woman, Amya Miller, who showed up to volunteer. Together, they learn from, push and support each other as they traverse the roads that hopefully will lead to recovery.

The book is unique in that it is told alternately from the perspectives of Mayor Toba (the insider) and his supporter Miller (the outsider). But that is not all. Their viewpoints represent men and women, Japanese and Americans, mayors and volunteers; those who remain in the town and those who leave it. These multiple perspectives combine to create a documentary that offers a multifaceted view of a disaster of unprecedented scale.

About Editors and Authors

Futoshi Toba, the previous mayor of Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture, was born in 1965 and spent his youth in the City of Machida, a suburb of Tokyo. A graduate of Machida High School, he studied in the US for several years, moving to his father’s hometown of Rikuzentakata in his twenties. From April 1995 to March 2007 he was a city council member in Rikuzentakata. In March 2007 he became a deputy mayor, running for and winning the seat of mayor in February 2011. He served three terms as mayor.

Amya Miller was a US-Japan business consultant and interpreter with over 35 years experience specializing in US-Japan relations. Born and raised in Japan, she attended both Japanese public schools as well as international boarding schools.
Miller co-authored a bilingual children’s book, The Extraordinary Voyage of Kamome: A Tsunami Boat Comes Home. She currently lives in Seattle, Washington with her husband. Miller and her husband are parents to one child.

Table of contents

About the Authors

Part I - Our Shock

Part II - Our Pain

Part III - Our Resilience