[Sunday Culture] What "Suzume no Mundan-sok" Implies About Japan's Disaster History

Containing West Japan Heavy Rain and Hanshin Earthquake
Controversy Over Whitewashing Fukushima Nuclear Plant Issues

Daijin appearing in Suzume's Locking Up. (Photo by Suzume's Locking Up Official Website)

"Suzume, so kind. I like it!"

Makoto Shinkai's new animation film, Suzume no Tojimari (Suzume's Locking Up), is also a hit in Korea. The cumulative number of viewers has surpassed 4 million. In particular, the cat character "Daijin" seems to be very popular. Following the popularity of Slam Dunk, Japanese media are paying attention to the craze happening in Korea for Japanese animation.

Japanese reporters working in Seoul, while covering this craze, often ask the same question: "How and how deeply does this movie resonate in Korea?" This is because of the themes that Suzume no Tojimari deals with.

Since the film includes content about natural disasters such as earthquakes, many parts of the movie hint at Japan's major historical disasters.

Therefore, this week, to help Korean readers understand better, I will cover the major historical disasters in Japan that Suzume no Tojimari alludes to.

Still cut from Suzume's Door Lock. (Photo by Suzume's Door Lock official website)

Where Suzume’s footsteps lead... all disaster-stricken areas

All the places Suzume visits are regions in Japan that have experienced major historical disasters. Suzume leaves her hometown in Miyazaki Prefecture, Kyushu, and takes a boat to Ehime Prefecture in western Shikoku.

There, Suzume senses a foreboding atmosphere and asks, "Where is this place?" She is told, "It’s a place where a landslide occurred a few years ago, and no one lives there anymore." This is the area affected by the 2018 July "Western Japan Heavy Rain" flood disaster.

From June 28 to July 8, 2018, heavy rain poured mainly over western Japan. In the Shikoku region, where Ehime Prefecture is located, the total rainfall exceeded 1800mm. Rivers overflowed and landslides occurred in Ehime and surrounding areas, resulting in over 200 deaths. This is considered the worst damage since the 1985 "Nagasaki Great Flood," which caused nearly 300 deaths and missing persons.

After preventing another disaster in the flood-affected area, Suzume moves to Kobe City in Hyogo Prefecture, Kansai region. Kobe is known in Korea as a place where a major earthquake occurred?the 1995 Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake.

At that time, a fault moved off the coast of Hyogo Prefecture, causing a magnitude 7.2 earthquake, which severely damaged Kobe and the Kansai region. There were about 6,400 deaths, 27,000 injuries, and 200,000 displaced people. Until the Great East Japan Earthquake occurred, it was recorded as the worst earthquake in Japan.

The appearance of buildings collapsed during the Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake. (Photo by Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake Memorial Museum)

Especially since there had been no major earthquakes in the Kansai region since 1946, the lack of preparedness was pointed out as a factor that increased the scale of damage. Buildings, villas, hospitals, and train stations collapsed or were partially destroyed, worsening the damage.

However, Kobe is depicted in the film as a region that remembers and overcomes this earthquake. Scenes showing children being born and growing up, and people having company dinners are frequently shown. Director Shinkai stated in a media interview, "Although they experienced a major disaster, I wanted Suzume to meet people who have overcome it and are living ordinary lives."

Tokyo’s earthquake must be prevented... anxiety over the 'Capital Direct Earthquake'

After preventing the disaster in Kobe, Suzume moves to Tokyo. As the capital of Japan with many people, she shows firm determination, saying, "This place must be stopped." This can be seen as the climax scene where the conflict intensifies the most.

In Tokyo, the dark energy called "Mimizu," which predicts disaster, rises to the largest scale ever seen. This represents an earthquake that has not yet occurred but is expected in the future. It is the Capital Direct Earthquake, an earthquake with a magnitude of 7 or higher originating directly beneath Tokyo.

Tokyo Metropolitan Government predicted last year that if this earthquake occurs, there would be 6,100 deaths and more than 93,000 injuries. Building damage would reach 194,000 structures, and the number of displaced people is expected to exceed 2.99 million. Along with the Nankai Trough earthquake, a magnitude 9 earthquake likely to occur in the Nankai Canyon, it is one of the most feared earthquakes in Japan.

For this reason, Tokyo Metropolitan Government actually measures the "Capital Direct Earthquake Risk" every five years by assessing building collapse risk, fire risk, and rescue difficulty by administrative district in the event of a major earthquake.

Ultimately heading toward the Great East Japan Earthquake

According to Director Shinkai’s media interview, the Great East Japan Earthquake had the greatest influence on Suzume no Tojimari. The impact of disasters on Shinkai was so significant that his previous works, Your Name told a story about a displaced person and a student living in Tokyo swapping souls, and Weathering with You featured Tokyo being submerged in water as a recurring theme.

As Suzume returns to her hometown, a landscape completely different from the beautiful fishing village unfolds. She passes through an area fenced off as a "no-return zone" and sees piles of black bags scattered around. This depicts the decontamination work where residents of areas contaminated by the Fukushima nuclear power plant explosion are relocated, and contaminated soil is removed and placed in black bags.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Suzume’s hometown is Iwate Prefecture, which, along with Fukushima and Miyagi Prefectures, became one of the three major disaster areas due to the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011. In fact, Director Shinkai revealed at a film greeting event held in Morioka City, Iwate Prefecture, "Although not explicitly stated in the film, I have assumed Iwate Prefecture as Suzume’s hometown."

At that time, the Great East Japan Earthquake recorded the largest magnitude in Japan’s earthquake observation history at M9.1, and a tsunami caused about 15,000 deaths. Many people had to leave their hometowns due to the Fukushima nuclear power plant explosion, and the Japanese government is still working on recovery. Suzume confronts her past self who experienced the earthquake damage and heals with those left behind.

Thus, the film can be seen as dealing with the process of overcoming the anxious psychology and wounds caused by past earthquakes and those expected in the future. Since earthquakes do not occur as frequently in Korea as in Japan, it is natural to wonder how this film will be perceived in Korea.

In fact, this everyday anxiety is reflected in the protagonists’ lines. The male lead, Souta, says, "I don’t want to disappear. I want to live longer," and "I know life is fleeting. I know death is always nearby." These lines deeply reflect the psychology of Japan, which has experienced earthquakes and must endure disasters that could strike at any time.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Director Shinkai also said, "We will continue to experience such events. We live on a trembling country and live in fear of the ground shaking. I wanted to create a story that comes from such a country." He emphasized that the reason why the phrases "I’m off" and "I’m back" appear frequently in the film is because natural disasters interrupt these greetings.

However, since the Great East Japan Earthquake, issues such as the discharge of contaminated water from Fukushima have arisen, and there are ongoing criticisms about whether such a film is appropriate at this time. The Asahi Shimbun asked, "Even after 12 years, there are still many unresolved issues surrounding the nuclear power plant. Can glorification that covers social problems be allowed?"

Victims of the Great East Japan Earthquake have also criticized, saying, "Turning the incident into an animation makes it seem like it is treated lightly for entertainment." The judgment is up to the audience, but it is a thought-provoking matter.