A different story this time...
She became an idol after the disaster in her hometown of Kesennuma. Rikako Sasaki of Angerme and 3.11: Me since that day
March 11, 2011. Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, the city where she was born and raised, was hit by strong earthquakes that exceeded 6.0 Mw.
While she was desperately running up the hill to escape the tsunami, she looked back and saw an enormous wave swallowing the city she knew. Although her family was safe, she lost her home in the tsunami, and the 9 year old was so shocked, she began suffering from depression.
One day she became an idol, where her job is to put a smile on people's faces. It was the earthquake that gave her the opportunity to do so.
"This is something we should not forget. Maybe I should be the one to tell the story." Rikako herself thought as the city of Kesennuma was slowly recovering.
The Great East Japan Earthquake (as it is known in Japan), affected many people's lives. Tomorrow, March 11, will be the 10th anniversary of this disaster.
An earthquake in the middle of class... A black, muddy stream seen during evacuation
There is this picture.
Rikako Sasaki, visiting the remains of her home (the photo was taken on January 28, 2012 for Asahi Shimbun)
There is debris everywhere, and a small boat has been turned upside down. A girl in a light-colored coat is standing next to the boat, and looks at the camera with a sad expression. In January 2012, 10 months after the disaster, a photographer from the Asahi Shimbun, took photos in Kesennuma, for an article titled "Because I am an idol, I will make people smile". The photos showed the aftermath of the tsunami. The girl that the article was about had lost her home to the tsunami. Rikako Sasaki was only 10 years old when the picture was taken.
Although she was young, Rikako remembers being a happy girl. The shock of witnessing the tsunami and the aftershocks however, made her depressed. A few weeks later, when the water from the tsunami had receded, Kesennuma was not the city Rikako used to know.
The tsunami had reached the 2nd floor of her elementary school, but the building had remained intact. She entered the building, horrified, and went straight to the shoe box near the elevator. She opened it, and the pair of yellow and black (her favorite colors) New Balance shoes that her father had bought her, were still there. They are the only memory she has from before the tsunami.
How becoming an idol made Rikako happy again
About a month later, her family left the shelter, and moved to a rental apartment. Rikako however was still unable to adjust. About half a year later, her father, who couldn't bear seeing her being depressed anymore, told her: "I sent an application".
Rikako had heard that an idol group was being formed in Kesennuma, and her father secretly sent an application for the audition, hoping to make her smile again like she used to before the earthquake.
The group's name was SCK45 (now SCK GIRLS). Kesennuma is a fishing town, and the name stands for "sanchi" (origin), "chokuso" (direct delivery), and Kesennuma. 45 refers to Route 45, which runs through the city. The group was the idea of a local volunteer group, who wanted to do something to cheer up the children in the area that were affected by the earthquake.
SCK45 were formed in October 2011 with 6 members. Rikako, who was 10, was the youngest member. The group was looking for girls in junior high school or older, but Rikako was chosen, despite being only an elementary school student, for her ability to sing, as well as dance energetically, like "a fish out of water".
One month after the group's formation, they had their first performance. None of the members had mastered singing or dancing yet, but their courage to perform with very little time to prepare made the people of Kesennuma smile again.
From makeshift stages in her devastated city to Budokan
SCK45 performed at temporary housing areas and shopping streets in Kesennuma, as well as in Sendai, and Tokyo. The group had a laidback atmosphere, and Rikako, who was the center, stood out.
Groups such as E-girls, or AKB48, that Rikako would watch on tv, were dazzling. Before the earthquake she wanted to be an idol, but she never thought it could happen. When she found out that her father had applied for the audition she said in English: "Papa, nice!". It was as if a ray of light had shone on her.
As she continued performing, singing and dancing, she became more and more absorbed into being an idol. She knew that if she smiled, the audience would smile too. SCK45 were without a doubt a "disaster area idol group". The members felt they had a mission to cheer up the victims of the tsunami.
There was a lot of criticism too by people saying the group was taking advantage of the disaster to gain sympathy, but they didn't have time to worry about such comments when they saw the people who had suffered being happy again. The smiles of the people who came to see them, made the girls overcome the unkind words.
Rikako soon began saying: "One day, I will become the number 1 idol in the entire world!"
Her family was supporting her dreams, but she failed her audition to join Morning Musume. In March 2013 however, 2 years after the earthquake, she became a Hello! Project kenshuushei (trainee). A month later, she moved to Tokyo with her mother and sister, while her father remained in Kesennuma.
Fans supported her cinderella story, and after 1 year and 7 months, she joined Angerme (at the time known as S/mileage) in October 2014. Her dancing and positive attitude, immediately made her very popular.
The next year, in May, she performed at Budokan. Two days before her 14th birthday, she went from the makeshift stages in her disaster-hit hometown, to the top of the idol world.
About 390 km north of Tokyo, her hometown is now a long way away. Her work as an idol only allows her to return home once a year, when her group is in Sendai for their tour. Kesennuma Bay is known for its intricate coastline. Two currents meet in the bay, which make it one of the top fishing grounds in the world for saury, bonito, and swordfish. Sea urchins and oysters are also local specialties.
Ever since she was little, her father would take her to Asahi Sushi, a local sushi restaurant, and she had learned to enjoy sushi. She still stops by every time she returns to her hometown. Rikako has a good relationship with Rikio Murakami, the owner of Asahi Sushi, who she calls by his nickname "The Master". Murakami remembers Rikako as a little girl eating sushi with her father. She is now a top idol representing Kesennuma.
"She does a great job promoting Kesennuma." he says. An autograph of hers is carefully displayed in the store.
Marika, the 3rd generation leader of SCK GIRLS, who knew Rikako in the early days of the group, recalls: "She had so much energy. She would always strike a pose when there was a camera. She was born to be an idol. Despite being the youngest in the group, she was always proposing choreographies, and recruited 5 of her classmates to join the group. She really enjoyed working as an idol." There was one more thing that has left an impression on Marika. SCK45 were born in an area hit by a disaster, and their songs shared that experience. But Rikako would never show her pain. "Rikako would never let what happened to us stop her. Seeing her make her dreams come true, one after another, made every girl in Kesennuma dream."
A message she has thought about sending many times
On the night of February 13, about a month before the 10th anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake, a magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck off the coast of Fukushima prefecture with a maximum seismic intensity of 6 on the Richter scale in both Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures. Rikako the next day posted the following message on Instagram:
"Good morning everyone! I hope everyone is doing well after last night's earthquake. There are some areas where the power has been cut off. The aftershocks are continuing. I know these are going to be difficult days ahead of us. First of all, we need to make sure everyone has their disaster prevention kits ready. It's going to continue being difficult, so it's the least we can do. It is better to be prepared, since we don't know what can follow, because if we are not ready, it will be too late. In the event of an emergency, please act calmly, and prioritize saving lives. I hope everyone has a good day!"
Born in Kesennuma, she then suffered a disaster in Kesennuma. And then, she went on to become a national idol. What could she do to explain how precious human life is? She had been thinking about that for a long time. On March 10, 2015, 13 year old Rikako, wrote in her blog: "Tomorrow, I will do my best. ＼(^o^)/ It will be 4 years." What she meant with that short sentence was that it was 4 years since that day. That was all she could say.
She had thought many times of how to use the memories of what she experienced. But she didn't know how to say what she was feeling, and was worried about hurting other people's feelings by writing about the disaster. She also felt that she hadn't fully sorted out the memories of the disaster herself.
3 years later on March 11, 2018, she wrote: "We can't let nature defeat us. Even if we are defeated, we must have the strength to stand up again." As a survivor herself, she wrote about how every day that we are alive is a miracle that we should enjoy.
Then in 2019 and 2020, as March 11 would approach, she expressed her determination to never forget the disaster, and her gratitude to everyone who had supported her.
This year, on the 10th anniversary of the disaster, she is for the first time accepting interview requests from newspapers, tv, and other media, to finally talk about that day. As time goes by and she is growing up, she feels it is her mission to share the memories of the disaster.
A place where she can be positive
Rikako has another place to return to when she goes to Kesennuma. Mt. Anba-san is 239 meters high. You can park your car in the middle of the mountain and easily reach the summit square by hiking. Kesennuma was forced to re-start after the tsunami. The view of the city from Anba-san is that of boats coming and going, and others anchored at the harbor. The people of Kesennuma have lived with the sea all their lives.
The scenery changes rapidly as new buildings and breakwaters are being constructed. Rikako doesn't think back to the days before the earthquake, nor does she feel sad about the changes in the cityscape. She says: "The rebirth of Kesennuma makes me happy, and I feel more positive when I come back".
It was the rebuilding city of Kesennuma, and the thoughts of its people that made Rikako Sasaki the idol she is, not the Great East Japan Earthquake. She says: "So much has happened, but I still love Kesennuma." And she adds: "I sometimes think, what does it mean being an idol? Being an idol was like a light that led me through the darkness. I hope I can pass that light on to others now."
Interview / text: Keita Kishi, Photo: Masashi Kurobane, Yukinobu Tano, Daisuke Shiohata, Video: Naoto Egusa, Editing: Masahiro Maeda
https://news.line.me/issue/premium-sasakirikako/2cb1ee4fd963
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