Masae (2020) is a story of a friend of mine Masae, living in the city of Ishinomaki, one of areas which suffered the most human casualties and physical damages from the earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011.

The project attempts to illustrate, in an intimate and empathetic way, what it is like to be a young woman back in her hometown, initially reluctantly but eventually with the fatalism and dignity often seen in Japanese people.

Masae came back to Ishinomaki from Kyushu nine years ago to help her parents with the family business. Through her daily routines, and perspectives on the disaster and the relationship with her family and community, she reveals the confinement of living in a rural town with limited social and economic opportunities, her appreciation for the small joys of life, and love and loyalty she has for her family.

While the city of Ishinomaki is recovering physically and psychologically from the aftermath of a tragic event, it is also struggling to survive the inexorable depopulation and economic decline the disaster only accelerated. The project reflects on the broader social context of economic disparity between metropolises and rural areas, and of a rapidly aging Japan society.