For a 60-something woman living in temporary housing in Noto Hanto, Japan, tears began to flow as she heard a certain song we were singing. She immediately left the room and needed a moment in the hallway to compose herself.

“My house was completely destroyed,” she said, referring to the Jan. 1, 2024 earthquake that devastated much of the Noto region in Ishikawa prefecture. “It collapsed, there was a fire, and I lost three people. I had been planning to renovate and spend my retirement years there peacefully, but everything crumbled away, and now I can’t see any future.”

But through her sadness, a song — sung by a group of Japanese Americans who were in Noto to offer friendship and support — touched her heart, and provided a release of all she’s been holding in — loss, pain, grief, anger…it all came out in those tears, and through song and the emotions and memories that certain songs can bring — we hope it gave her some healing as well.

***
On Oct. 20, 2025, our theater group, the Grateful Crane Ensemble, embarked on our goodwill tour to bring joy and hope to disaster survivors in Japan. For the fifth time since 2014, we returned to the Tohoku region, but also added a first-time visit to Noto Hanto because we knew that recovery there has been slow, and the people — just like the people in Tohoku after the 3/11/11 triple disaster — were beginning to feel forgotten, and some — like the woman at our show — were beginning to lose hope.

Members of Grateful Crane’s 2025 Goodwill Tour to Noto and Tohoku included musical director Lisa Joe and performers Jason Fong, Haruye Ioka, Keiko Kawashima, Merv Maruyama, Helen Ota and Ping Wu; sound technician Yoshi Irie; interpreter Yoshiko Kobayashi; photographer Emi Kasahara; volunteers and Grateful Crane board members Nancy Takayama and Mike Okamura; volunteers Hiroshi F. Kashiwagi, Taiyo Scanlon Kimura and myself.

With assistance from the Association for Aid and Relief Japan, we were able to perform in Noto for seniors living in temporary housing in Shika Machi, and Nanao and Wajima, cities in Ishikawa Prefecture. In Wajima, we also performed Japanese children’s songs and stories for more than 50 nursery school children.

In total, our tour included stops in four different prefectures: Ishikawa, Fukushima, Miyagi and Iwate. We performed 13 shows over eight days for over 500 people. In Fukushima-ken, we sang songs for public housing residents in Nihonmatsu and Minamisoma; we also performed for disabled people at two day centers in Ishinomaki. We also sang songs for seniors living at a nursing home in Minamisanriku and for nearly 300 junior high school students at two schools in Ofunato.

Every show was between 30 minutes to an hour, and included our group members singing nostalgic and favorite Japanese songs — songs that everyone in our audiences knew, and could sing and clap along to. We also included an entertaining “Asadora Medley,” which were catchy and popular theme songs from NHK’s morning dramas, and a fun spoof of Japan’s men vs. women singing contest, “Kouhaku Uta Gassen,” where audience members got to vote for either the white (men’s) team or the red (women’s) team.

Prior to each performance, I introduced our group in English, which was then translated into Japanese by our interpreter Yoshiko Kobayashi. I explained who we are as Japanese Americans, and in Noto, I said that we know what they’re going through due to earthquakes we’ve experienced in California, and the losses that the Eaton Fire brought to us in the Pasadena/Altadena area.

I also explained that our tour was made possible by generous donations from the Nikkei community in America, largely coming from individuals in Southern and Northern California. Therefore, we were there to represent them and their desire to send everyone in Noto and Tohoku this message: “You have friends in America, and we have not forgotten you.”

Having lost everything, we have come to realize that people in Noto and Tohoku are truly living “in the moment,” because like the woman in Noto, that’s really all they have — moments of sadness, moments of joy — and everything in between. As a group of “outsiders” from America, we shared many of these moments with them. I asked some of our group members to share their favorite moments, and here is what they said:

“There are so many nice moments from our tour, it’s hard to narrow it down. But having been to Tohoku multiple times and now Noto, I found it to be very similar in the way the people have a wonderful spirit about them. They were the ones who experienced the devastating disasters, and yet, they were so selfless, warm and welcoming once they got to know who we were and why we were there. It’s hard to put into words, but the people-to-people connection felt like a “warm, comforting blanket, a sense of familiarity, like home, I think that feeling was mutual.” — Keiko Kawashima

“I was genuinely impressed by the individuals we encountered in Noto. They didn’t let the earthquake in January 2024 and the flooding in September of the same year deter them from carrying on. Their kindness, fortitude, and unwavering perseverance impressed me.” — Helen Ota

“I remember a show we did in Wajima, the audience listened quietly during the first half, then laughed and cried during the second. I remember the joy of seeing a woman stand up and scream during my song “Kizudarake no Lola.” She seemed to be quite a fan of the singer Saijo Hideki … or me!” — Jason Fong

“The audience members I spoke to in Noto often expressed a sense of disbelief that a group would come all the way from America to support relief efforts in their community.

“A couple of folks said they were touched to hear songs about Noto. In general, the feelings were raw, clearly the rupture from the earthquake was ongoing, but the message of care conveyed by Grateful Crane was quite tenderly received.

“In Tohoku, I spoke with many audience members who had seen GCE perform before. More folks seemed comfortable talking about how much they enjoyed the shows, and also remarked on how their communities have changed in between the GCE tours.” — Taiyo Scanlon-Kimura

“As a non-performing member of the group, I often saw only the backs of the audience members.  But at every venue there were coordinators and/or staff members watching from the back or side too.  I think they could see the fun and happiness the group was bringing to their people. So they decided to join in on the fun. Some were so animated and familiar with the songs and moves that they could have joined the performers on stage. It was so much fun watching them knowing that they probably have challenging jobs.  We all need a break, fun and joy.  Grateful Crane brought it.” — Hiroshi F. Kashiwagi

The views expressed in the preceding commentary are not necessarily those of the Nichi Bei News.

Soji Kashiwagi, Nichi Bei News

Nichi Bei News contributing writer Soji Kashiwagi writes from Pasadena, Calif. A native of San Francisco, Soji has been the executive director/playwright of the Los Angeles-based Grateful Crane Ensemble since 2001. His plays and other written works focus on the telling of the Japanese American story.