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In this corner, we will have a Kesennuma citizen appear as a teacher.Rias Ark Museum of Art" is the director of the museum, Hiroyasu Yamauchi.
Thank you very much, Professor Yamauchi!
The theme this time is ...
As this is a "Tell me, Professor XX", I was thinking of what I should talk about regarding Kesennuma, but this time I would like to tell you about the good things about Kesennuma from the perspective of a "veteran immigrant" who has lived here for 27 years.
Kesennuma was a completely different world 27 years ago when I moved here, so I'll start by talking about the background, then about Kesennuma before the Great East Japan Earthquake, and then about Kesennuma today. Kesennuma has changed dramatically since the disaster. But what about the "good things about Kesennuma" that haven't changed... well, that's the main story.
Encounter with Kesennuma
Currently serving as the director of the Rias Ark Museum of Art, I am recognized as someone who knows a lot about the history and culture of my hometown, Kesennuma, but in reality I am an immigrant and what is known as an outsider. I originally had no relatives in Kesennuma, and was a young man who had literally come to a place with no ties or connections. At the time, I was just 23 years old and an outsider, and I was working in a profession that is not well known to the general public, that of a curator, so I was quite unusual and was loved by the inquisitive local ladies.
▲Rias Ark Museum of Art
The story of how I ended up in Kesennuma will be roughly explained. I was born and raised in Ishinomaki City, spent my student years in Sendai City, and then, while studying at the graduate school of Miyagi University of Education, I got a job working at a mysterious art museum called the Rias Ark Museum of Art, which was opening in Kesennuma. So I dropped out of graduate school and moved to Kesennuma.
In 1994, Kesennuma was considered a very remote area in Miyagi Prefecture, and was feared by students at the University of Education as a "port town at the edge of Miyagi" and a "place of trial for newly hired teachers." It was a remote location that took about three hours one way from Sendai, so Kesennuma was simply a "very far away town."
I had no real connection to this area, but I have an aunt on my mother's side who was a teacher, and in fact her first post was in Kesennuma Oshima. She lived alone in a boarding house on Oshima, a place she had no connection to, but she couldn't bear the environment and quit her job as a teacher after a few years, and there is a scary legend that has been passed down in my family.
▲The old Kesennuma Fish Market
That was the Kesennuma I knew, but as someone who was born and raised in the seaside town of Ishinomaki, also in Miyagi Prefecture, I didn't feel particularly uncomfortable with the local character of Kesennuma from the beginning, and I personally never found it to be an unpleasant place. But to be honest, it was a bit of a challenge to work there. Kesennuma is, above all, a town of fishing and marine products. For some reason, a plan to build an art museum was launched in such a town, and the huge and extremely unique Rias Ark Museum of Art was built.
However, while the facility was under construction, the bubble burst, and the museum plan was quickly driven into dire straits. From the local residents' perspective, with the local economy in a tailspin, it was no time to spend money on a "luxury" like a museum, and art would not fill their stomachs, so it was natural that they thought this was not the time to do so. This was common sense in Kesennuma at the time.
From the time it first opened, the Rias Ark Museum of Art has been subject to criticism such as "It's a waste of tax money, turn it into a welfare facility!" and there were great concerns about its future. For a young man who had dropped out of graduate school and risked his life to emigrate here, this was a harsh reality. However, I have taken a slightly unusual approach to this situation, as follows.
"My mission is to convey the importance of art to the local residents who say they don't need it! If they say it's unnecessary, then I'll change this town so that people will say it's necessary!" I thought to myself, which was a bit of a strange thought.
▲The view from Mt. Aba before the earthquake
I think I was sensible, but looking back now, I think it was a very brave way of thinking. However, it was by no means a wrong way of thinking, and as a curator in an educational position at an art museum (museum), which is an educational institution, my way of thinking was so reasonable it was almost ridiculous. I had no choice but to live with that belief. And there were a few unique "aunties and uncles" in Kesennuma who appreciated and supported me for thinking like that.
The caring and unique "aunties and uncles" who did some rather unusual things led me, who knew nothing about Kesennuma, into the deep, bottomless swamp. My relationship with Kesennuma deepened little by little from there, and eventually developed into an inseparable one.
(to be continued……)
This article will be divided into four parts.
"Good things about Kesennuma (from a veteran immigrant who has lived here for 27 years)"
Part 2: "The entrance to the deep world of Kesennuma"
Part 3: "Kesennuma's treasures, its unique people"
Part 4: "Conclusion: 10 years on, back to beloved Kesennuma"
We will have Kesennuma citizens appear as teachers.
You can view the "Teach me, Mr./Ms. XX!" series here.
https://kesennuma-kanko.jp/category/marumarusensei/
For the latest information, please contact the appropriate department.