Picture book to read with children "Icchan" The Great East Japan Earthquake, around 2011

Picture book to read with children "Icchan" The Great East Japan Earthquake, around 2011

In the confusion and anxiety that immediately followed the earthquake, children's perceptions of the world and how they sorted out their feelings were even more sensitive and difficult to see than for adults. The fear of aftershocks, the evacuation, and the sudden changes in their lives were quietly accumulating in children's minds and not readily apparent to adults. Picture books played an important role in helping children to feel safe and comfortable in the world of stories during such a period.

The picture book "Icchan" tells the story of Icchan, a boy with one eye, who is confused in human society and learns to understand how to see others with the eyes of his heart. The children who were affected by the earthquake naturally understood the importance of understanding the invisible feelings of others through their own insecurities and loneliness. Through the main character in the story, the children were able to safely project and organize their own feelings.

At that time, picture books were actively used for emotional care at schools, libraries, and community storytelling sessions. The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) and local disaster archives have records of children regaining their language and their facial expressions softening and changing as a result of the stories. Picture books served as an emotional tool for children to distance themselves from reality, which was difficult for them to understand, and to reassess their feelings.

Reading "Icchan" together became a precious time for adults and children to return to the same perspective, bringing warmth and renewal to their daily lives that had been shaken by the disaster. Through the story, the children's hearts gradually regained their composure and a sense of faith in the world was nurtured.