The Asia-Pacific Journal | Japan Focus Volume 11 | Issue 26 | Number 1 | Article ID 3962 | Jun 30, 2013

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Training Women for Disasters: Gender, Crisis Management(Kiki Kanri) and Post-3.11 Nationalism in Japan 防災に向けて女性を養成　3.11以降のジェンダー、危機管理、ナショナリズム

Mire Koikari

Introduction

On September 2, 2011, Takarajimasha, apublisher known for its popular magazines,printed an oversized PR piece in the leadingnational newspapers in Japan. Splashed acrossthe pages of the Asahi, Yomiuri, Mainichi,Sankei, Nihon Keizai, and Nikkan Gendai wasthe 1945 black-and-white photograph ofGeneral Douglas MacArthur, the SupremeCommander for the Allied Powers, emergingfrom his plane, Bataan, at Atsugi Airportoutside Tokyo to commence his reign as headof the occupation forces in Japan.

In 2011, when the nation was barely recoveringfrom a 9.0-magnitude earthquake that had hitthe Tōhoku region, this iconic image ofMacArthur was combined with the caption, “Iikuni tsukurō, nando demo” (Let’s build andrebuild the country, however repeatedly),where “ii kuni” would invoke – through

Japanese wordplay (goroawase) –“1192,” thefounding year of the Kamakura shogunate.Adding more to this already heavily symbolicrepresentation, Takarajimasha chose to publishthe piece on September 2, the anniversary ofJapan’s official surrender to the Allied Powersand the inaugural day of the Noda Cabinetfollowing the demise of Prime Minister Kan as aresult of his failure in handling “3.11,” thenational crisis triggered by the triple disastersof earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear meltdown(Takarajishama 2011).

A few months later, Takarajimasha reprintedthe same image and caption on the front coverof its signature magazine, Bessatsu Takarajima,with a series of essays focused on “Japanesepride,” “Japanese strength,” and “Japanesetradition.” Criticizing Japanese politicians’inability to cope with the March 11 disaster,the magazine retraced Japanese history fromtime immemorial and praised Japanese peoplefor having encountered, but always overcome,numerous “national crises” (kokunan),including a series of epidemics in the ninthcentury, the Mongol Invasions of 1274 and1281, and the Great Kantō Earthquake in 1923.Among various “national crises” discussed inthe special issue was the US occupation ofJapan, out of which the Japanese people hademerged to lead the nation to its spectacularrebirth, recovery, and resurgence (BessatsuTakarajima Henshūbu 2011: 74 – 80).1

Takarajimasha is not alone in criticizingJapanese politicians’ ineptitude or in framingthe March 11 disaster within a larger historicalcontext. In an article published in The Japan

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Times, “3.11” was described as the “thirdopening” of the country, the first being thearrival of Commodore Perry and his BlackShips at Tokyo Bay in 1853, and the secondbeing the arrival of Douglas MacArthur atAtsugi Airport in 1945 (Murakami andKurokawa 2011). In a photo-documentary bookentitled ‘Japanese Power of Resiliency’: OneYear after the Great East Japan Earthquake,the Sankei Newspaper Company recountedJapanese people’s “struggles” (tatakai) throughand after the March 11 disaster with more thaneight hundred photographs. CriticizingJapanese politicians’ incompetence, it praisedthe leadership of the Imperial Household andcelebrated the unparalleled resiliency(sokojikara) expressed by the people of Japanfollowing the unprecedented calamity visitedupon the nation (Sankei Shinbunsha 2012).

In the post-3.11 nation where the power ofpoliticians’ traditional masculine authority hasbeen called into question, Japanese womenseem to embody the very spirit, resiliency andpride that are being called for in time of crisis.Once the initial shock subsided, women spranginto action, traveling to the disaster zones tovolunteer their time and labor, donatingeveryday household items to the disastervictims, and participating in local emergencyexercises and drills. A new group of expertscalled “crisis management advisers” (kiki kanriadobaizā), many of whom are women, havebegun to offer “women’s perspectives” ondisaster prevention and preparedness on radioand television, in books and articles, and atworkshops and public lectures. Femaleacademics, policy makers, and grassrootsactivists now demand “gender co-participation”(danjo kyōdō sankaku) in disaster planning andr e s p o n s e , c r i t i c i z i n g w o m e n ’ sunderrepresentation in various decision makingbodies and calling for their increasedparticipation in local and national affairs(Murata 2012; Sato 2012; Takenobu andAkaishi 2012). In the wake of the triple disasterthat has shaken the nation and of the numerous

failures of the male-dominant state apparatus,Japanese women seem ready to take charge to“build and rebuild the country, howeverrepeatedly.”

Such unleashing of “women power” in post-disaster Japan is complex, however, as seen in“reMake Japan,” an online volunteer projectwhere women assist disaster victims bydonating everyday domestic materials rangingfrom toys and kitchen utensils to clothing.Promoted by women in the beauty industry,“reMake Japan” sends cosmetics to the disastervictims in Tōhoku to facilitate their healing andto forge bonds (kizuna) across Japan. Declaringthat “women’s power” will “re-make” Japan,“reMake Japan” praises “women’s instinct asmothers” and extolls their ability to “producesomething out o f noth ing under anycircumstance.” Women’s “gentle yet strongpower” will surely facilitate the rebuilding ofpost-3.11 Japan. According to “reMake Japan,”the significance of beauty items and make-upcannot be overemphasized in this process, ascosmetics “assist women (in Tōhoku) inregaining their sense of selves” and thus helpthem take on the challenging task of recoveryand reconstruction. Articulating a link amongwomen, domesticity, and national recovery,Yoshida Chika, a member of “reMake Japan,”sent the following message to women inTōhoku with several jars of hand cream: “In thepast Japanese women have encountered andovercome numerous crises. Women havenurtured and protected our nation, Japan.Women have been spiritually trained to bestrong enough to overcome this or any othercrisis… Grandmothers, Mothers and Sisters,please continue to protect Japan. From afar Ijoin you in nurturing and protecting Japan”(reMake Japan 2012).

Re-thinking Gender and Nation inPost-3.11 Japan

This essay explores how women anddomesticity are being mobilized in Japan’s

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“recovery” and “reconstruction” processfollowing the triple disasters of earthquake,tsunami, and nuclear meltdown. The Great EastJapan Disaster, or “3.11,” has causedunprecedented destruction in the Tōhokuregion, shaking Japanese society to its core,generating new social, political, and culturaldynamics, and opening up new space for peopleto (re)articulate their sense of selves in relationto the nation under duress. How to assess suchdynamics is a contentious matter, however, asit often leads to divergent and even opposingunderstandings of post-3.11 Japan. Forexample, Daniel P. Aldrich, a scholar and long-term observer of state-civil society relation inJapan’s nuclear energy politics, describes thetransformation of post-disaster Japan in thefollowing terms: “The crisis has raised andreinforced environmental concerns and healthfears, as well as skepticism about informationfrom government and corporate sources. A civilsociety that for decades has appeared weakand non-participatory has awakened andcitizens are carrying out bottom-up responsesto the accident, effecting change withgrassroots science and activism” (Aldrich2012a: 1) The disaster has blown the top off thestaid society, setting in motion new dynamics ofcitizen protest and mobilization. In post-disaster Japan, according to Aldrich, “[c]ivilsociety (is) rising” (Aldrich 2012b).

In contrast to this sanguine assessment offeredby Aldrich, Tomiyama Ichirō, whose scholarshiphas re-examined Japan’s modernity frommarginalized sites and spaces such as Okinawa,warns of a resurgence of nationalism in post-disaster Japan. Noting the similarities betweenthe currently circulating notion of “Rise up,Japan” (Ganbarou Nippon) and the World WarII-era slogan for general mobilization, “For thesake of the nation” (Okuni no tame ni), heobserves that the prevailing narrative ofdisaster, recovery, and reconstructionreinforces national unity and allegiance whilestifling differences and dissent. This narrativeemphasizes the readjustment of energy policies

and life styles as the chief means of recovery,depoliticizes Japanese and American militarymobilization in the name of “OperationTomodachi,” and glamorizes as “nationalheroes” those who volunteered to step in andcontain the nuclear crises at the FukushimaDaiichi Nuclear Power Plant. As this narrativeemphasizes a linear progress from disaster torecovery and finally to restoration, it steerspeople’s attentions toward the future whilesuppressing critical reflection on the past.Obscured in the process are a multitude offactors that have led up to the current crisis.Among them are the symbiotic relationbetween the government and the nuclearenergy industry, the complicity of universityintellectuals in sustaining the myth of nuclearsafety, and the “expendability” of marginalized,i.e., remote, economically-stagnant regionssuch as Tōhoku whose decline amidst Japan’spostwar “economic miracle” motivated localadministrations to solicit the construction ofnuclear power plants, as well as casuallaborers, or “nuclear gypsies,” entrapped in asubcontracting system, whose bodies havesustained the “science” of nuclear energyproduction while also absorbing dangerous andoften killing doses of radiation (Tomiyama2011).2

Although incessant calls for “women’sparticipation” in post-3.11 Japan seem positiveif rather unexpected “fallout” from the disasterat first glance, women’s mobilization amidst“Rise up, Japan” demands some criticalreflection. At the confluence of unprecedentedcrisis, bottom-up mobil ization, and aresurgence of nationalism, women’s eagerparticipation in national affairs cannot beassumed to be ent i re ly innocent oruncomplicated.

To explore the complex dynamics surroundingwomen and gender following the March11disaster, this essay examines a series ofinstructional discourses and practices that havecirculated in post-disaster Japan. The

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proliferating literature of disaster preparationand crisis management defines women as thechief agents of “crisis management” (kikikanri), casts their homes as the main theater ofdefense against real and potential dangers, andurges them to learn a series of skills andtechniques considered essential in managingvarious disasters. Far from facilitating criticalreflection on the social, political, and economicdynamics that led up to the current crisis andthat continue to threaten Japanese society, theemerging regime of crisis management directswomen’s attention to the interior space of homeand entices them to embody “disasterreadiness” through acquisition of the properdemeanors and disposition so as to createsafety and security against current and futureemergencies.

Despite its domesticating and de-historicizingfaçade, the post-3.11 regime of crisismanagement is deeply political. As Jan Bardsleyand Laura Miller point out in their study ofconduct literature, discourses that prescribe“proper” manners, etiquette, and demeanors towomen are always already political, as they“reinforce the power of particular interests,whether institutional, as evident in governmentand corporate manuals, or informally in thehousehold.” As they argue, the notion of “goodconduct” also has the effect of naturalizing“gender distinction both as a kind of commonsense and as an idealized view of the way theworld should work.” “Efforts to presentmanners as common sense and as naturallyembodied behavior,” they state, “disguise theinterest of the creators of conduct ideologies,and those who want to promote or sustain suchideologies recede from the picture.” (Bardsleyand Miller 2012: 2 – 3). Simultaneouslypoliticizing and depoliticizing, prescriptions for“good behavior,” especially those targetingwomen at home, reflect and reinforce thedominant workings of power, while disguisingand concealing their power-laden nature. Asdiscussed below, such dynamics are observedin post-3.11 Japan, where women are

instructed to embody a number of behavioralrepertoires for the sake of the safety of theirfamilies and the security of the nation.

Japan’s modern history is full of instanceswhere large-scale disasters and emergencieshave spawned a series of discourses that targetwomen and the ir homes. As Char lesSchencking observes, for example, the crisisprecipitated by the 1923 Great KantōEarthquake resulted in “the culture ofcatastrophe” where the cause of the disasterwas traced to “national regress” and “moraldegeneracy” and the chief means of recoveryfocused on racial-national “purification” and“moral restoration” (Schencking 2008: 296). Aseries of regulatory discourses and practicesemerged, instructing Japanese people toeliminate excess, observe frugality, valuesacrifice, pursue diligence, and practice“spiritual hygiene” for the purpose offac i l i ta t ing Japanese recovery andreconstruction (Schencking 2008: 311 – 316).The Ministry of Education was particularlyzealous in this endeavor, circulatinginstructional guidelines and urging youngpeople to become “ideal Japanese subjects” asa way to contribute to national recovery andreconstruction. (Borland 2005: 22).

The “culture of catastrophe” following the 1923earthquake-disaster was not an isolatedepisode, as it was very much part of the lifeimprovement movement (seikatsu kaizen undō)which began in the late nineteenth century andlasted well into the post-WWII decades. As welldocumented by Nakajima Kuni, KoyamaShizuko, Sheldon Garon, and Simon Partner,among others, the movement advocated“modernity,” “rationality,” and “efficiency,”mobilized bureaucrats, intellectuals, reformers,and educators, and disciplined people’severyday sentiments, habits, and practices athome. Simultaneously encoded in gender,racial, and national terms, the life improvementmovement especially targeted women andhome, urging mothers and wives to pursue

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thrift, saving, sanitation, hygiene, frugality, andpunctuality as the chief signs of Japaneseracial-national superiority. Far from reluctant,women proved to be eager participants.Demanding their part in Japan’s nation andempire building, female suffragists, educators,reformers, and activists became willingcollaborators, facilitating the state’s intrusiondeep into the domestic sphere while promotingwomen’s participation in public and nationaldomains (Nakajima 1973; Koyama 1999; Garon1997; Partner 2001). Reaching its peak duringWWII, the life improvement movementfacilitated Japanese women’s involvement ingeneral mobilization in which the Imperial RuleAssistant Association (Taisei Yokusankai)played the leading role. As feminist leaderssuch as Ichikawa Fusae, Yamataka Shigeri, andHani Motoko advocated women’s initiatives inthrift, saving, hygiene, rationalization, and soon, such domestic advocacy was inevitablylinked to the geopolitical interests of theJapanese nation-state, turning home into agendered site of national and imperialmobilization (Yoshimi 1997; Koyama 1999).

The links among women, domesticity, andnational exigencies were articulated not only inprewar and wartime Japan but elsewhere aswell. During the Cold War, the US witnessed anemergence of its own disciplinary regimewhere women’s everyday activities at homebecame the focal site of discipline andregulation in the face of possible nuclearholocaust. To contain nuclear anxieties andproduce its own “ideal subjects,” the US civildefense program disseminated a series ofdiscourses and practices such as “duck andcover,” “nuclear fallout shelters,” “grandma’spantry,” and other domestic skills andtechniques as the chief means of survival andcontainment vis-à-vis Soviet nuclear attacks(Roy 2010; Swedin 2011; Dean and Browning1981). As gender scholars of the Cold Warrepeatedly point out, domesticity was at thecenter of this containment culture (May 1999;McEnaney 2000). A civil defense poster

published in Athens, Ohio, declared, “Good,Clean Housekeeping is Civi l DefenseHousekeeping,” linking women, domesticity,and nuclear survivability in one sweep.Reducing a nuclear disaster to a bad case offire, it instructed women to clean their homesas a means of containment and survival(Reprinted in Scheibach 2009: 60). “Grandma’sPantry Belongs in Your Kitchen,” anotherposter issued by the Federal Civil DefenseAdministration and circulated in Battle Creek,Michigan, asked, “Is Your Pantry Ready in theEvent of Emergency?” and urged women tostock up emergency food supplies to preparefor nuclear attacks (Reprinted in Scheibach2009: 62). Yet another poster, “HomeProtection Exercises,” issued by the FederalCivil Defense Administration in 1953,emphasized the centrality of family in nuclearsurvival, as it illustrated various domesticchores each family member should pursue –stocking emergency food, cleaning the house,and assembling emergency aid kits – as part ofcivil defense (Reprinted in Scheibach 2009:159).

Similar to the “culture of catastrophe”following the 1923 Great Kantō Earthquake inJapan, the Cold War US civi l defensemobilization was an occasion for moralregulation and bodily discipline amidst nationalcrises. Its objective was to solidify morale,build ethics, and fortify the nation. Considereda “moral obligation of every household,” civildefense was part of “civil virtues indispensableto the American way of life in the nuclear age”(Oak 1994: 8). Repeatedly performed acrossdiverse sites and spaces, Cold War civil defenseaimed to “create the illusion that nationalnarratives (of containment and survival) wereknowable and unquestionable realities” and toconvince Americans, “by virtue of theirrepet i t ion,” that the idea of nuclearsurvivability was not only possible but also“natural” and even “common sense” (Nadel1995: 8). Many of the American women leadersturned out to be eager participants in this Cold

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War national mobilization, playing a centralrole in militarizing everyday lives at home(McEnaney 2000).

As discussed below, the gendered andgendering dynamics observed in prewar andwartime Japan and the Cold War United Statesare now being (re)circulated in post-3.11 Japan,where the containment of national crisesinvolving earthquake, tsunami and nuclearmeltdown is being linked to the containment ofwomen and home to articulate “disasternationalism” with its own unique contours. Inthe name of disaster prevention (bōsai) andcrisis management (kiki kanri), the post-3.11disciplinary regime instructs women to re-ordertheir homes, re-feminize their bodies, and re-stabilize their identities as mothers and wives.Urging women to acquire a series of skills andtechniques to ensure their own and theirfamilies’ security, the new regulatory regimeattempts to assuage women’s fears andanxieties by containing their bodies at homeand re-invoking the nation’s past. Far from top-down, this is a “bottom up” endeavor wherewomen eagerly participate to promote“women’s needs,” “women’s voices,” and“women’s perspectives” as indispensablecomponents in the politics of national recoveryand reconstruction in which other actors, suchas the Japanese Self Defense Force and the USmilitary, also play prominent roles.

As the essay explores the gendered andgendering dynamics of disaster prevention andcrisis management in post-3.11 Japan, it doesnot cover all the dynamics surrounding womenand home that have emerged since thedisaster. Nor the essay argue that the currentregime of crisis management constitutes anentirely new phenomenon, as the nationaldebates on disaster-induced emergencies dateback at least to the Great Hanshin-AwajiEarthquake in 1995 and even to other, priordisasters. Nevertheless, examining theproliferation of disciplinary discourses in Japansince March 11, 2011, especially their

persistent focus on women and home,constitutes an important analytical task. TheTōhoku disaster, unlike the 1995 earthquake inthe Hanshin and Awaji region, has become“nationalized” so as to urge the entire nation to“rise up” (Tomiyama 2011). Local and nationaldebates are now being framed by a new set ofvocabularies, including “national crisis”(kokunan), “bonds” (kizuna), and “beyondexpectations” (sōteigai) (Sand 2012: 314 –316), thereby creating a new discursivelandscape where the meanings of women,nation, crises, and so on are being re-articulated. Set within this context, themobilization of women and home since March11, 2011 constitutes a salient phenomenon thatmerits careful analysis.

Training Women for Disasters

In post-3.11 Japan, talk of disaster preparationand crisis management has proliferated.Following the failure of the male-dominantstate and the equally or even more male-dominant scientific communities in firstpredicting and then later coping with theTōhoku disaster, it is now women across Japanwho are charged with responsibilities for crisismanagement at home where men are largelyabsent due to their obligations at work.Websites, instructional manuals, publiclectures, and training workshops instructwomen on how to prepare for, contend with,and survive unpredictable and unimaginabledisasters and catastrophes. Frequentlyauthored by “disaster prevention experts” and“crisis management advisers,” the instructionalmaterials currently circulating in Japan beartitles that mark the centrality of women,especially mothers, in crisis management:“Fifty Ways to Protect Children from GreatEarthquakes”; “Disaster Prevention andReduction Handbook: Building a Home toProtect Your Family from Magnitude 7Earthquakes”; “Women’s Disaster PreventionBook: Wisdoms and Tools for UnexpectedDisasters”; “Mothers’ Mission in Protecting

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Children from Nuclear Contamination”. Inaddition to print media, the instructionaldiscourses are further disseminated viawebsites, training sessions, lectures andworkshops, radio and television shows, anddisaster prevention fairs and events.

The basic tenet of disaster preparation andcrisis management is not “if” (moshimo) but“always” (itsumo), where women should be“ready” for any emergency at any moment atany location. Never should disasters andemergencies be approached as some sort of“accident” that might or might not happen. AsYamori Katsuya, a faculty member at KyotoUniversity and a leading authority on disasterprevent ion and cr is is management ,emphatically argues, in order to contend withlarge-scale disasters and crises, the “disasterprevention life style” (seikatsu bōsai) must becultivated, where disaster managementawareness and practice inform and transformevery aspect of daily life (Yamori 2011).Kunizaki Nobue, currently one of the mostpopular female “crisis management advisors,”also recommends an overall transformation ofpeople’s everyday lives by suggesting a seriesof simple practices to pursue at home. Urgingwomen to approach disaster preparation as a“hobby,” i.e., a preoccupation one regularlyattends to and pursues for a long period of time(Kunizaki 2012a: 68), she encourages women toset aside a small sum of money each month andgradually transform their homes in preparationfor unpredictable emergencies and unthinkablecrises. Far from an extraordinary orexceptional act, disaster preparation and crisismanagement should become a “normal” andeven “natural” part of women’s everydayroutines at home (Kunizaki 2011: 62 – 63).Some even argue that disaster preparation andcrisis management should be considered partof “common sense.” One of the advice bookletspublished recently on the “basic life style”provides a series of tips on cooking, cleaning,health care, and social etiquette as well astechniques of disaster management, all of

which, as its title implies, are too “basic” to askabout without embarrassing oneself (Sakaguchi2011).

Coupled with this call for women’s constant“readiness” for emergencies is the notion thatJapanese society is now permeated withcountless risks and crises. It is no longer anearthquake, tsunami, or nuclear meltdownalone that threatens and endangers women’slives. Women are surrounded by a multitude ofother risks, including robbery, stalking, sexualharassment at work, and viral computer attacks(Fujii 2013). According to a popular women’smagazine, an an, whose readership is primarilyyoung women in their twenties and thirties,Japanese women are constantly faced by“serious crises” (onna no jūdai kiki) such asunemployment, their parents’ i l lness,depression, cancer, and singlehood (an an2013). A textbook, Life and Risk, published bythe Open University of Japan (Hōsō Daigaku),consists of fifteen chapters, each of whichprovides detailed explanations on a type of riskor hazard people may encounter during theirlifetime, such as natural disasters, crime, trafficacc idents , food poisoning, d ivorce,unemployment, infectious diseases, and aging.To contend with these risks, the textbookargues, each individual should study the natureof risks and hazards and make necessarypreparations in advance (Nara 2009).

Notwithstanding the serious and pervasivenature of insecurity that permeates the society,it is first and foremost individuals’ awarenessand preparation, and to a lesser extent that ofneighborhoods and communities, that shouldplay a central role in contending with countlesspossible risks and disasters. Repeatedlyemphasized in the crisis management manuals,workshops, and lectures is the primacy of “self-assistance” (jijo) followed by “neighborhoodand community assistance” (kyōjo), over andabove “assistance provided by local andnational governmental entities” (kōjo). Giventhe lack of sufficient infrastructure, resources,

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and personnel on the part of the local andnational governments in the event of large-scale disasters, the argument goes, eachindividual, family, and neighborhood should beresponsible for coping with disasters and othertypes of emergencies, as the governmentcapacity for assistance is “naturally” limited(Naikakufu 2013). Utilizing (and re-tooling) theterminologies, “jijo,” “kyōjo,” and “kōjo,” thathave previously informed national debates onsocial security and social welfare, the currentregime of crisis management portrays a pictureof post-crisis society where individuals andtheir immediate families and communities areresponsible for coping with large-scaledisasters and cr ises , and where theresponsibilities and accountability of thenation-state recede into the background.

It is within these discursive contexts thatJapanese women are now urged to prepare,plan, and practice for a multitude of risks,disasters and emergencies. As seen below,instructional manuals, guidelines, lectures, andworkshops collectively articulate themes thatpertain to women, body, domesticity, race, andnation, shaping post-3.11 crisis managementculture in a deeply gendered and genderingmanner.

Containing the Uncontainable

First and foremost, post-3.11 discourses ofdisaster preparation and crisis managementemphasize the notion that disasters andcalamities are containable, manageable, andsurvivable. Far from considering thesimultaneous occurrence of disasters, ashappened in the case of “3.11” whereearthquake, tsunami, and nuclear meltdownoccurred concurrently, the instructionalmanuals and guidelines treat emergencies andcrises as discrete and segmented, furtherbreaking each category of disaster into a seriesof well-demarcated scenes and scenarios wherewomen should apply a set of skills, techniques,knowledge, and tools to control and contain. To

reinforce the notion that disasters aremanageable as well as predictable, theinstructional manuals also often follow achronological order whereby discussions startwith “a year in advance” and then move to “sixmonths in advance,” “a month in advance,” and“a week in advance,” and finally reach “the dayof the disaster.” The post-disaster recovery andreconstruction are explained in a similarmanner, progressing from “a day after” to “aweek after” and then to “a month after” and soon. A set of instructions are offered for eachstage of disasters and crises so that womenknow exactly what skills to use, what tools toapply, and what actions to take (an an 2011;Kunizaki 2011; Ishikawa 2012; Sakamoto andSakamoto 2012). Unpredictable disasters andcrises are thus transformed into a series ofsegmented, predictable and knowable events orstages, with an understanding that after someduration and with women’s proper preparationand application of necessary skills, all criseswill be contained and “normal” life will return.

Keeping Orderly Homes

In post-3.11 Japan, such containmentnarratives are deeply gendered, as they focuson the domestic sphere as one of the centralsites of disaster preparation and crisismanagement. In preparing for, coping with,and surviving large-scale disasters, maintainingan orderly, well-maintained home is consideredmost crucial. In large-scale earthquakes, crisismanagement advisors argue, it is householditems that could turn into “killing weapons”(kyōki) (Fujii 2013: 35 – 37; Kunizaki 2012b:16; Kusano 2011: 19). Heavy furniture couldcome down and block escape routes. Worse,they could fall down to hurt or even kill people.To minimize potential dangers at home andensure family members’ safety, women mustsecure furniture to the floors, walls, andceilings with screws, hinges, and metal chains.

In order to truly prepare for disasters andprevent their harmful consequences, however,

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it is not sufficient to simply secure large-sizedhousehold objects. In addition, women are alsoinstructed to reduce the number of householditems and eliminate excess, which, if leftscattered about , could pose ser iousimpediments in the event of evacuation.Simplifying one’s life style and learning to livewith fewer items thus constitutes a crucial partof disaster preparation and crisis management.Turning domestic space into a “safe zone”requires women’s constant attention to detail.Every space inside one’s home, be it theentrance, hallway, bathroom, or toilet, must beinspected, cleaned, and made “disaster-proof.”It is not enough to check large householditems. Smaller items could also become asource of danger and therefore must beinspected, re-ordered, and properly contained(Kunizaki 2012a, 8 – 25, 44 - 66; Kunizaki2012b: 14 – 23, 21 – 23; Kunizaki 2011, 27 – 35;Kusano 2011, 18; Shōgakkan Bōsai Chīmu2011: 102 – 103;Tsunagaru.com 2012: 104 –105). Broken glasses and dishes flying out ofthe cupboards during earthquakes could be asdangerous as falling furniture, as their sharpedges could inflict serious and even fatal injury.Some disaster prevention and preparationmanuals thus suggest another cr is ismanagement strategy, i.e., placing liners with arough surface on the shelves and installinglocks and bars on the cupboards, all for thepurpose of preventing these “dangerous”household items from flying out and harmingpeople (Kunizaki 2012b: 16 – 17; Kusano 2011:19). Stacking up cups, plates, and bowls in a“disaster resistant” manner constitutes animportant safety measure to follow if womentruly desire to ensure their families’ andespecially children’s safety (Kunizaki 2012a: 21– 22). With excessive attention to the interiorhome space, the instructional discoursesdistracts one’s attention away from thecontroversial topic of nuclear meltdown andradiation contamination as happened in theMarch 11 disaster.

Excessive attention to domestic space as the

central site of resolution of the current andfuture “national crisis” (kokunan) reminds onenot only of the general mobilization in Japanduring WWII; it is also reminiscent ofdiscourses and practices in the civil defenseprograms in the Cold War US as mentionedabove. As seen in the 1954 documentary film,“The House in the Middle,” produced by theFederal Civil Defense Administration, it was the“house in the middle” – free of rubbish, cleanedand ordered, and painted white – that wouldwithstand the power of nuclear detonation,unlike the other two houses on the left andright, which were out of order, full of litter, andpainted black (New Video Group 2008). Inpost-3.11 Japan, an echo of US civil defensediscourse is also found in discussions of“shelters,” whereby constructing a “shelter” atone’s own home is highly recommended as ameans of disaster preparation. Converting asingle room into a “shelter” by strengtheningi t s s t ruc ture w i th wooden or meta lreinforcement is recommended as a financiallyreasonable option for many (Kunizaki 2012b:32 – 33; Kusano 2012: 43; Sakamoto andSakamoto 2012: 16 - 17). Yet, to truly ensureone’s family safety and avoid the undesirableeventuality of post-disaster evacuation, a newhouse must be built, according to Inoue Keiko,female architect, and other crisis managementadvisers. How would one go about doing this?Women are instructed to first identify, with thehelp of experts, areas and regions notsusceptible to earthquakes, tsunami, floods, orlandslides, etc. Once a plot of land firm enoughto resist all natural calamities has beenidentified, a disaster-proof house (bōsai hausu)should be built on it (Fujii 2013: 31 – 34;Kunizaki 2012a: 38 – 60; Kunizaki 2012b: 34 –46; Kunizaki 2011: 10 – 13; Inoue 2011).Although such recommendations are mostlymade in discussions of large-scale earthquakes,on a rare occasion reference is also made tonuclear crisis, as in the case of an instructionalmanual which recommends building a “nuclearshelter” as one of the last but not entirelyunimaginable options (Kusano 2012: 43).

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Training the Family for Disasters

Once a shelter is built, wastes removed, andhousehold items properly organized and stored,women must now proceed to mobilize theentire family, including pets, and train them tobe “disaster ready.” The importance of training,i.e., drills and exercises, is repeatedlyemphasized, with women in charge of thiscrucial task. Far from exceptional, suchactivities are normalized, integrated intoeveryday activities at home. As part of “parent-children disaster training” (oyako bōsai),women are encouraged to involve children andhusbands in a “disaster training picnic” (bōsaipikunikku), “disaster training camp” (bōsaikyampu), and “disaster training play” (bōsaigokko) where family members learn how tocook with emergency canned food, sleep in atent, make do without water and electricity,and so on (Kunizaki 2012b: 88 – 89; Kunizaki2011: 42;Tsunagaru.com 2012: 108 – 115). Tofacilitate children’s education about disastermanagement, various disaster research centers– located at universities or as part of city andprefectural government agencies – havecreated training devices, where traditionalJapanese games such as karuta and sugorokuare transformed into bosai karuta and bosaisugoroku, often with popular animationcharacters, to train children about disasterpreparation and prevention (Kōchi-ken 2012;Kyoto Daigaku Seikyō 2012; Shōbō BōsaiHakubutsukan 2012).

Created by the Kochi prefecturalgovernment

Even family pets, especially dogs, have to betrained and prepared, as they must behavethemselves in case of evacuation to andresettlement at temporary shelters (Kunizaki2012b: 136 – 137; Kunizaki 2011: 134; Kusano2011: 189).

Importantly, training families for crisismanagement cannot happen overnight; itrequires prior planning and repeated practice.Thus various instructional manuals, guidelines,and workshops recommend “family meetings”(kazoku kaigi) where parents and childrendiscuss evacuation procedures, identify rulesand procedures to follow in the event of acrisis, and create their own “family disasterpreparation manual” (wagaya no bōsaimanyuaru). The family manual should contain“essential” information such as details of bankaccounts, health and life insurance policies,passport numbers, and driver’s licensenumbers, as well as weekly schedules ofactivities for each family member so that theyhave sufficient information to find each other inthe event of a disaster (Kunizaki 2012a: 70 –71; Kunizaki 2012b: 78 – 87; 156 – 159;Kunizaki 2011: 40 – 41; Kusano 2011: 28 – 29,53, 57, 188; Shōgakkan Bōsai Chīmu 2011:116– 126; Tsunagaru.com 2012: 106 – 107).Various disaster manuals, booklets, andpamphlets contain templates for “familymanuals , ” and c i ty and pre fectura lgovernments also issue similar templates ontheir websites and in their publications(Yokohama-shi Danjo Kyōdō Sankaku SuishinKyōkai 2012). Once such a manual is created,family members should conduct a “practicerun” based on the agreed-upon rules andprocedures with the help of a “hazard map,” agovernment-issued map that offers informationconcerning evacuation routes and otheressential matters in disaster situations, in amanner similar to the Cold War civil defense

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exercises and drills (an an 2011: 28 – 29;Kunizaki 2012b: 80 – 81; Kunizaki 2011: 54;Odagiri 2011: 90 – 91; Shōgakkan Bōsai Chōmu2011: 100). Preparing for unknown andunforeseeable dangers and threats entailsembodied practice and requires mobilization ofthe entire family.

The process of transforming the home into asite of defense and cultivating proper bodilyhabits against potential threats and dangers isgreatly aided by disaster management fairs andevents, where parents (most frequentlymothers) learn and practice, often with theirchildren, various skills and techniques essentialfor d i sas ter preparat ion and cr i s i smanagement. Frequently advertised as “familyoriented” and “child friendly” affairs, theseevents involve all kinds of activities, some ofwhich suggest a not-so-subtle link betweencrisis management and the military. As RichardSamuels documents, in post-3.11 Japan, theJapanese Self Defense Force (JSDF) and the USmilitary have experienced a significant rise intheir popularity due to their joint OperationTomodachi (Samuels 2012: Chapter 4). Femalenarratives of “strong” and “heroic” deeds ofJSDF personnel play no small part in this, asseen in a ser ies of essays penned bySakurabayashi Misa, a JSDF publicist(Sakurabayashi 2011). Training sites andoccasions for crisis management and disasterpreparation have been increasingly infiltratedby military discourses and practices in amanner that may seem innocent and innocuousat first glance. At a 2012 disaster training fairin the city of Nagaoka, Niigata – a region hit bya major earthquake in 2004 – children wereenticed to ride Japan Self Defense Force (JSDF)vehicles and put on uniforms representingJSDF personnel, firefighters, and policemen totake pictures (Terebi Niigata 2012). A similarprogram involving children and JSDF vehiclesand uniforms was offered at a disasterprevention fair in the Aichi prefecture in thesame year (Anjō-shi 2012). On one weekend inJanuary 2013, at the Disaster Prevention

Experience-Learning Facility located in theTokyo Rinkai Disaster Prevention Park, a seriesof activities, programs, and exhibits included aphoto session for children accompanied bytheir mothers where the children put onuniforms of the Metropolitan Police Force andhad their pictures taken against a bannerwhich read in part, “Let’s Protect Our Townfrom Terrorism.” (Disaster PreventionExperience-Learning Facility 2012).

Creating “Grandma’s Pantry”

As crucial as creating family manuals,identifying evacuation routes, and trainingfamily members in disaster drills is stocking upemergency provisions at home. Women areurged to create a list of household itemsconsidered indispensable in disaster situationsand buy, stock, and replenish them, creatingtheir own version of “Grandma’s Pantry” inpost-3.11 Japan. Frequently the instructionalmanuals and guidelines provide a “check list,”specifying “essential” items such as a radio,flashlight, army knife, batteries, canned food,dry food, bottled water, first-aid kit, andmedicine. Women are responsible for stockingup enough quantities of food, water, and so onto last from three days to a month for an entirefamily in the event that no official assistancewould reach them following a disaster(Kunizaki 2012a: 26 – 37; Kunizaki 2012b: 48 –63; Kunizaki 2011: 36 – 37, 47 – 48, 51, 61 - 62;Kusano 2011:33 – 39; Odagiri 2011: 25;Shōgakkan Bōsai Chīmu 2011: 94 – 99;Sakamoto and Sakamoto 2012; Sakakmoto2011). Among various emergency canned anddry food items sold at stores and online shopsfor disaster preparation is JSDF ration food ormodified versions adapted for civilianconsumption. This is taking place against alarger cultural context where there has beensustained interest in so-called miri-meshi(military food, or the military diet), as reflectedin various publications that focus on militaryfood and food culture (Ozaki 2011; ShōgakkanShuppankyoku 2010). A link between disaster,

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domesticity, and the military is more thanimplicit.

"Military food" turned "emergency food"with a very gendered/sexualized image onthe package.

Food and food preparation constitute centraltopics in the crisis management manuals andguidelines. They frequently provide instructionson various “disaster prevention kitchentechniques” (daidokoro bōsai jutsu), offering“sample menus” and “sample recipes” as wellas various tips and suggestions about how toimprovise pots, pans, and other basic kitchenutensils in the aftermath of disasters. Rarely dothese instructions target men as their mainaudience; food preparation remains one of themain responsibilities for women (even) in thecontext of disasters and emergencies (Ishikawa2012; Nosinger 2011; Kunizaki 2012b: 58 – 63;Kusano 2011: 134 – 141; Xknowledge 2011;Sakamoto and Sakamoto 2012; Sakamoto 2011;Sawai 2011). “The kitchen” constitutes one ofthe central sites of crisis management wherewomen’s successful performance plays a keyrole in facilitating recovery and reconstruction

and restoring the “normal,” i.e., pre-disaster,life style.

In post 3.11 Japan, however, stocking up foodand sharpening one’s culinary skills is notsufficient. Selecting truly essential items andstuffing them into an emergency bag or “hinanbukuro” constitutes yet another crucial task. Asthese manuals frequently recommend, eachfamily member should have his or her ownemergency bag carefully prepared andstrategically placed so that it would be easy tograb when disasters hits. Naturalizing“biological differences” between men andwomen, the manuals and guidelines frequentlyrecommend different weights based on gender.According to one manual, an emergency bagfor men should weigh no more than 15kilograms, and for women no more than 10kilograms (Shōgakkan Bōsai Chīmu 2011: 96).

The gender politics surrounding emergencybags are not subtle. With more and morewomen demanding “women’s perspectives” and“women’s participation” in disaster preparationand crisis management, some instructionalmanuals suggest that emergency items andbags should reflect “women’s (special) needs.”What items should women carry in theiremergency bags then? The popular women’smagazine, an an, dedicates an entire specialissue, titled partly in English “Girl’s Life Skill,”to discussions of what women should havewhen large-scale disasters and emergenciesstrike.

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From this page.

Priority items recommended by the magazineinclude sanitary napkins, disposable lingerie, aportable washlet (“bidet”), deodorant sheets,disposable zip lock bags, cosmetics and make-up, and hand mirrors (an an 2011). In definingwomen’s “special needs” and “specialconcerns,” the emphasis is on maintainingbodily hygiene, eliminating odors, and caringfor one’s complexion. Concerns with women’sfacial appearance are so paramount that an aneven instructs women to keep a hat and a maskin their emergency bags – these items couldbecome handy when women have no access tocosmetics and thus want to cover up their“bare faces” (suppin no kao) at evacuationshelters (an an 2011: 13). Repeatedly, “all inone cream” or “multi cream” is recommendedas essential and indeed indispensable. Usefulfor more than one purpose, it could help cutdown the number of cosmetic items women

must carry in their emergency bags (an an2011: 25).

As an an further explains, “all in one cream”could be used in combination with plastic wrap,another essential item for women to carry inthe emergency bags, as the latter could beplaced over women’s faces to help rehydrate(an an 2011: 45). To reinforce genderdistinctions even further, various websites andonline shops sell emergency bags specificallydesigned for women, often pink in color andbearing flower names such as tsubaki,shakuyaku, and nadeshiko.

Regulating Bodies, Disciplining Minds

In post-3.11 Japan, then, managing disastersgoes hand-in-hand with regulating women’s

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bodies where proper – clean, clear, andcarefully groomed – bodies are carefullymaintained and regularly checked with handmirrors. Women are twice contained, firstinside their well-ordered homes and then intheir self-regulated bodies. Disciplining ofbodies, moreover, must be accompanied bydisciplining of hearts and minds. Theinstructional manuals, pamphlets, andhandbooks offer all sorts of methods,techniques, and tools to maintain emotionalequilibrium amidst disasters and crises. Thecosmetics and hand mirrors in women’semergency bags are not simply about femalevanity; they are also indispensable tools forwomen to rely on to calm their emotions andma in ta in composure i n the f ace o funfathomable crises (an an 2011: 62 – 63; NHK2012; Tsunagaru.com 2012: 68 - 69).Regulating one’s emotions is consideredespecially important in the case of nuclearcrises. Large-scale nuclear accidents such as atthe Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plantwould invariably induce fears, anxieties anduncertainties. However, such emotionalchallenges could be overcome by crying, acrucial technique of “cleaning one’s heart”(kokoro no osōji), whose gendered, domesticreference to cleaning (“osōji”) immediatelyinvokes another method of disaster preparationdiscussed earlier, i.e., house cleaning (Kusano2011: 176). Emotional overreactions to anuclear crisis are not only consideredunnecessary but problematic; above all, oneshould strive to control feelings of “panic” andmaintain a balanced state of mind no matterwhat, the instructional manuals and guidelinesargue (Odagiri 2011: 108; Shōgakkan BōsaiChīmu 2011: 67). “Disasters of hearts andminds” (kokoro no shinsai) need to be carefullymonitored as part of overal l disasterpreparation and prevention. Developingfriendships with neighbors, stretching andexercising, or simply gazing into a mirror andsmiling and feeling happy are all useful for thispurpose (Kusano 2011: 168 - 177) Managementof hearts and minds (kokorono kanri) is a

crucial part of crisis management (kiki kanri)where the proper regulation of emotions leadsto successful containment and survival in theface of earthquakes, tsunami, and even nuclearcrisis (Maeda 2011). Such practice for disasterpreparation obviously involves children whoseemotions are susceptible to stress, anxieties,and other “negative feelings” during and afterdisasters. Needless to say, mothers are alsoresponsible for managing and monitoring theirchildren’s emotions (Utsumi 2011).

A newspaper article that appeared as earlyas April 26, 2011, advertising "canned"cosmet ics des igned by a team of"researchers" from RitsumeikanUniversity, Kochi University, and severalcosmetic companies.

Turning to Japanese Wisdom and Tradition

As women are urged to mobilize every aspect,facet, and phase of their daily lives for disasterpreparation and prevention, it is people’singenuity, creativity, and inventiveness thatoffers crucial and perhaps the most reliableresources in crisis management. In the wake of3.11 where scientific knowledge failedspectacularly in predicting the disaster,Japanese tradition and folkways have indeed(re)emerged as a vital source of knowledge incontaining the disaster, sustaining lives, andrestoring the nation. A return to the wisdom

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and knowledge possessed by older generationsof Japanese (senjin no chie) is highlyrecommended in disaster prevention andpreparation. Thus, the instructional manualsand guidelines repeatedly point out that atraditional domestic item such as a Japanesewashcloth (tenugui) can be used for multiplepurposes and is therefore essential in alldisaster situations (Kusano 2011: 124). At atraining session at the Disaster PreventionExperience-Learning Facility in Tokyodiscussed earlier, one of the speakersemphasized the importance of traditional child-rearing practices as key to protecting childrenfrom disasters, demonstrating how to hold aninfant on a woman’s back with a traditionallong cloth (sarashi), as done in the past, andurging the audience to seek wisdom on properchild rearing from older women. Clearlypost-3.11 nationalism is deeply gendered,whereby an image of traditional mother ispresented as a key to containing nationaldisasters and crises (Disaster PreventionExperience-Learning Facility 2012).

Traditional Japanese food culture (washokubunka) constitutes yet another source ofwisdom women could tap into whenever theyare faced with large-scale disasters andemergencies. A “traditional” method of foodpreparation called “yudekoboshi,” wherewomen first boil produce but later discard thewater is recommended as an effective methodin dealing with nuclear radiation andcontamination. Women are advised to followthis traditional cooking method even morethoroughly than usual (Kusano 2011: 184;Odagiri 2011: 121). Traditional food waysconstitute a key element in coping with nuclearcrisis, some argue, as Japanese bodies are“naturally” resilient to radiation after so muchintake of seaweed as part of the basic diet forgenerations (Shōgakkan Bōsai Chīmu 2011:67).

Indeed, as Sakamaki and Sakamaki argue inthe book, Disaster Prevention Kitchen

Technologies, published by the Rural CulturalAssociation of Japan, an institution that has hadmuch to do with the l i fe improvementmovement, to cultivate culinary skills andtechniques necessary for disaster situations,one should simply “return to the past.” In orderto prepare for disasters and emergencies, theysuggest, women should look back into thedomestic life style of bygone days (mukashi nokurashi), when modern domestic convenienceswere not yet available and yet women managedwith whatever they had. As they cheerfullypoint out, “recalling what it was like merelyforty years ago” in Japan is more than asufficient measure in preparing for large-scaledisasters and emergencies (Sakamoto andSakamoto 2012: 143). Cultivating a “bond”(kizuna) with rural farming families is anotherstrategy, as food is abundant in agriculturalcommunities. Japanese women must recoverand rediscover a “home away from home”(furusato) as a way to prepare for unknown andunpredictable disasters (Sakamoto andSakamoto 2012: 136 – 137). In post-3.11 Japan,“Grandma’s Pantry” is fused with a nostalgiclook back to Japan’s long lost past, whoserecuperation is considered crucial as the nationmobilizes itself for crisis management anddisaster preparation.

Conclusion

This essay has explored the complex andconvoluted ways in which women, domesticity,and national recovery are being linked togetherto articulate post-3.11 disaster nationalism inJapan. Faced with the triple disasters ofearthquakes, tsunami, and nuclear crisis sinceMarch 11, 2011, Japan has pursued its ownstrategies of “containment,” whereby fears,anxieties, and uncertainties unleashed by theseunprecedented crises are being partiallyresolved, or at least “contained,” by mobilizingwomen and home as the central site of nationalrecovery and restoration. Japanese women arenow saddled with responsibilities for fortifyingdomestic space, running disaster drills,

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stocking emergency provis ions, anddisciplining bodies and minds, their own as wellas their family members’. Notwithstanding itsdomesticating and depoliticizing façade, thepost-disaster disciplinary regime is deeplypolitical, as seen in its similarities to theprewar and wartime life improvementmovements in Japan and the Cold War civildefense programs in the US. As Japan tries to“remake” itself, post-3.11 national recovery andreconstruction proceeds in a deeply unsettlingmanner, in which gender plays a convolutedrole to entice women to participate in nationalaffairs while simultaneously containing themwithin their own bodies and homes.

Mire Koikari is Associate Professor ofWomen’s Studies Department at the Universityof Hawaii. Her recent publications includePedagogy of Democracy: Feminism and theCold War in the US Occupation of Japan(Temple University Press, 2008). She iscurrently working on a research project,“Making Homes, Building Bases: Women,Militarism, and Cold War Transnationalism inthe US Occupation of Okinawa,” in which sheexamines the link between domesticity,militarization, and post-war empire building inCold War Okinawa.

The author thanks Tomiyama Ichirō, MatsudaMotoji, and Gwyn Kirk for their insights,comments, and conversations.

Recommended citation: Mire Koikari, "TrainingWomen for Disasters: Gender, CrisisManagement (Kiki Kanri) and Post-3.11Nationalism in Japan," The Asia-Pacific Journal,Vol. 11, Issue 26, No. 1. July 1, 2013."

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Notes

1 In this special issue, Takarajimasha offers agendered narrative of MacArthur’s landing atthe Atsugi Airport, a former training ground forJapanese Kamikaze f ighters. ThoughMacArthur seemed to exude confidence at thetime, this was in fact a “pretense,” the issuepoints out, as MacArthur was not sure aboutwhat he would encounter in Japan followingviolent confrontations with the US throughoutthe Pacific War. In effect, the special issue de-masculinized MacArthur and instead praisedJapanese people for their power and strengthwhich in turn resurrected the country out ofdefeat, surrender and foreign occupation.(Bessatsu Takarajima Henshūbu 2011: 75).

2 Yet another strand of the arguments emergingin post-3.11 Japan highlights historicalsimilarities, indeed shared patterns, amongperipheral sites and places such as Fukushima,Okinawa, and Minamata, which have beenmarginalized in relation to Japan’s “center.”See for example Tanaka (2012), Takahashi(2012), and Maeda (2012). Tōbaru Kazuhiko, anOkinawan scholar, points to a tangible,militarized link between Fukushima andOkinawa, as he alludes to the role played by the31st Expeditionary Unit of the US Marine Corpsin Operation Tomodachi. The unit, which isbased at Camp Hansen in Okinawa, also playeda central role in Operation Phantom Fury inFallujah, Iraq, in 2004 (Tōbaru 2012: 188 –189).