A woman from Cirencester has released a new book about the forgotten fishing communities on a remote Japanese peninsula, to mark the upcoming ten-year anniversary since the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

Caroline Pover grew up in Plymouth, lived in Tokyo for fifteen years, and now resides in Cirencester, where she runs Auntie Caroline’s Pickled Onions & Chutneys, making all of her products from home. 

On March 11, 2011, one of the biggest earthquakes in history occurred off the northeast coast of Japan, triggering a deadly tsunami that destroyed much of the Tohoku coastline. Caroline’s book, One Month in Tohoku, tells a moving tale of the very human impact of this natural disaster.

“Japan was still my home at that point, and I was compelled to do whatever I could to help the survivors,” she said.

As such, she has spent months over the past ten years regularly visiting and supporting the Oshika peninsula fishing communities that were destroyed by the tsunami, continuing to visit even after settling in Cirencester.

“When I first moved to England, I missed Japan every day! But two things helped me — firstly knowing that I could return any time I wanted, and secondly, the lovely people of Cirencester, especially the people on the markets that I met when I launched the pickle business.” 

She still visits Japan every year, and her memoir is the story of how, after a disaster took away everything they had, these forgotten fishing communities on the Oshika peninsula are still rebuilding their lives. The book also follows the friendship between a very determined Englishwoman and the resilient fishermen, women, and children of Tohoku.

It is also the story of how a network of people from all over the globe were inspired to support the Oshika fishing communities, starting from donating emergency supplies. In the weeks immediately after the disaster, Caroline travelled around the UK — including Gloucestershire — collecting donations from local schools and community groups, which she then took directly to the disaster zone.

“I remember being amazed at the kindness and generosity of these young people, who brought boxes and boxes of donated items for the survivors of a disaster in a country most of them knew very little about.”

During the past ten years, Caroline has visited other schools in and around Gloucestershire, including Balcarras, Thomas Keble, Kings Stanley, Fairford Primary, Denmark Road High School, and Henley Bank High School, giving talks on the tsunami and on volunteering in general. Farmors and Thomas Keble have sponsored projects on Oshika to help the fishing communities rebuild, projects that are detailed in Caroline’s book.  

To date, Caroline has raised £170,000 for Oshika, which has funded over thirty different projects for Oshika. She is a frequent speaker at WI meetings, and will be hosting a number of online events at which she will be talking about her book.

One Month in Tohoku: An Englishwoman’s memoir on life after the Japanese tsunami, is available on Amazon, and can be ordered from any bookstore, as well as directly from the author by emailing caroline@carolinepover.com.