Cook Park Library to host exhibition on Japan earthquake/tsunami

From Saturday, September 15 through Sunday, September 30, the Cook Park Library, in collaboration with the Japan America Society of Chicago, will have on display 30 photographs from the powerful earthquake and resulting tsunami that devastated Japan in March, 2011 in an exclusive exhibition supplied by The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan.

On March 11, 2011, around 2:46PM Japan Standard Time, a massive earthquake with a magnitude of 9.0 struck the Sanriku Coast of Japan. The earthquake triggered a tsunami that swept across many cities and villages along the Pacific coast of the northern Tohoku region, claiming thousands of lives.

The havoc wreaked by the Great East Japan Earthquake left many hundreds of thousands more homeless and displaced, and marred the landscape of a region usually known for its beauty and grace. Yet as the tides ebbed, despite the face of great tragedy, the Japanese people got to work. With incredible assistance from around the world, the citizens of Tohoku began the important work of rebuilding their lives and their towns. From September 15 through September 30, the Cook Park Library will host an exclusive exhibit of photographs of the recovery effort, highlighting the bonds of human compassion and friendship that brought communities back together, foregrounded against the great beauty of the Tohoku region. This exhibition seeks to remind us of the endurance and nobility of the human spirit in the face of terrible tragedy.

This exhibition will be a free event and open to the public for viewing during normal library hours. The library is located at 413 N. Milwaukee Ave., Libertyville. For more information, please call (847) 362-2330.