| Summary: | The Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11, 2011, immediately thrust the Tōhoku region into the international spotlight, placing a geographical space on the margins of the nation into the very heart of discourse. In their literary responses to the disaster and the ongoing recovery, Tōhoku authors have emphasized the importance of place, portraying the region as a ‘memory landscape,’ a material and symbolic entity imbued with meaning in the aftermath of 3.11. This chapter examines an anthology of post-3.11 literature by authors with connections to Iwate Prefecture titled From That Day Forward (Ano hi kara, Michimata 2015a). Stories in the collection make frequent reference to The Legends of Tōno and the works of Miyazawa Kenji, highlighting the rich literary history of the region. I argue that this process of reconnecting with the past through the memory landscapes of Iwate itself constitutes an act of fukkō (reconstruction, rebuilding). Through the space of the text, the landscape of Iwate is portrayed as a critical locus that can be written and rewritten, read and reread, and the meanings of which can be negotiated and renegotiated over time and across generations. In other words, in the very act of writing, these Iwate authors are attempting to forge a new regional identity in the wake of 3.11.
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