to live? "Minamisanriku 311 Memorial"

The Minamisanriku 311 Memorial is a place to think and talk about what nature means and what it means to live.
It is a facility that we would like you to visit with your loved ones.

“What does it mean to live?” Boltanski asks the five senses

In the Memorial Hall, Christian Boltanski's "MEMORIAL" is installed before entering the learning program of the main content.

Boltanski is known for his numerous works on the theme of unjust death, the existence of the dead, and the dignity of life, and visited the Sanriku coast immediately after the earthquake.

◇Christian Boltanski
Born in Paris in 1944. In 1968, he released a short film, and in 1972 he participated in Documenta, an international contemporary art exhibition held in Kassel, Germany. Since the 1990s, he has been working on many large-scale installations. In 1990–91, held solo exhibitions at ICA, Nagoya and Art Tower Mito. Since then, he has built a close relationship with Japan, participating in the Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale (Niigata) from the first time, and in 2010 when the Setouchi Triennale (Kagawa) was held. opens Heartbeat Archive in Teshima. In 2001, he received the Kaiserling Prize in Germany, and in 2006, he received the Takamatsu Imperial Memorial World Cultural Prize. Known as a contemporary French writer.

Confronting Boltanski's installations makes us think about "life."

I feel like it reminds me of each person living and being there.

Boltanski's work will play a major role in the earthquake disaster lore facility.

What I felt in the art zone will lead to the next learning theater.

At the Learning Theater, the program begins with thinking about the many lives that were lost that day.

12 years after the disaster, asking questions based on residents' experiences

The Minamisanriku 311 Memorial, which opened in 2022, 12 years after the earthquake, differs from other disaster lore facilities in that it does not focus on the events that occurred in the disaster or disaster prevention, but rather on the feelings of the people who lived there. It is a big feature to focus and make you think for yourself.

The main content of the facility consists of videos of testimonials by residents called "Learning Programs," in which people of different genders, ages, and circumstances at the time look back on their "feelings" at the time of the earthquake.

From the time the earthquake hit until help arrived, stories of people sharing and eating the limited amount of food with care, and stories of conflicts and backgrounds when school teachers actually instructed them to evacuate, remind me of scenes from that time. You can hear stories like this.

In addition to watching videos, the learning program also provides time for discussion, which is an opportunity to think about “what if” questions.

Learning program usage fee

60 minute regular program

General individuals ・University students 800 yen Junior and senior high school students 700 yen Elementary school students 400 yen

Groups (10 or more) General 600 yen Junior high and high school students 500 yen Elementary school students 300 yen

30-minute short program

Individuals/University students 400 yen Junior high and high school students 400 yen Elementary school students 200 yen

Groups (10 people or more) General/university students 300 yen Junior high and high school students 300 yen Elementary school students 100 yen

*Preschool children are free.

Please think about this when you visit the question of "What is nature? What is life?"

Information

Minamisanriku 311 Memorial

200-1 Shizugawa Itsukamachi, Minamisanriku-cho, Motoyoshi-gun, Miyagi...

"Minamisanriku 311 Memorial" is a facility to pass on the Great East Japan Earthquake, which opened in October 2022. On March 11, 2011, this...