Epistles of A Rising Sun

In prayer and memory of the March 11, 2011 9.0 earthquake that shook Japan and her people.

From The New York Times:[link]
• 03.22.11 – More than 237,000 people remain living in temporary shelters. The government raised the official death toll upward to 9,079, and said more than 12,600 were missing. The final death toll is likely to reach 18,000.
• 03.23.11 – A small village in HADENYA, Japan tells a 12 day survival tale of teamwork, cooperation, and overcoming the disaster that struck. [link]
• 03.24.11 – The official death toll had been raised to more than 9,500, and more than 16,000 people are listed as missing, although there may be some overlap between the two groups. The final toll is expected to reach nearly 20,000.
• 03.25.11 – Japanese officials began quietly encouraging people to evacuate a larger swath of territory around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant due to an unstable reactor which may result in releasing radiation from the mox fuel in the reactor — a combination of uranium and plutonium that is more toxic than the fuel in the other reactors.
• 04.07.11 – The official death toll had been raised to 12,600, and more than 14,700 people were listed as missing, although there may be some overlap between the two groups. The final toll is expected to reach nearly 20,000. More than 160,000 people remained housed in temporary shelters; tens of thousands of others evacuated their homes due to the nuclear crisis.

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Notes & Word meanings:
• Nihon – (Nippon) Japan, the characters for Nihon means "sun-origin," so Japan is often referred to as the "Land of the Rising Sun"
• Jishin – earthquake
• Tsunami – "harbor wave" or "seismic sea wave"
• Tochi – land
• Umi – ocean
• Tsuchi – soil
• Mizu – water
• Gaman – "Patience and Perseverance"
• Senbazuru – a group of one thousand origami paper cranes held together by strings

• Nine haiku stanzas is representative for the 9.0 magnitude of the quake.

Personal declarations:
• Spent a little over a week on this poem
• Poem was written in support for Japan as well as for the "Poem Prayers for Japan" project – started by Oritpetra – [link]
• Some changes might be made to the poem if necessary and as I see fit or if someone makes a suggestion that I find valid for the poem as an entirety.
• Attempts will be made on my part to keep the news on Japan updated in this description (see news update from New York Times above).

The sun is always brightest after a storm. Japan is the "Land of the Rising Sun" and will overcome this obstacle. As a community, we must all support Japan and her inhabitants, her people, her children.


.::::::The "Poem Prayers for Japan" project will gladly accept poetic contributions in support of Japan. Visit [link] or OritPetra for more details and how to help.::::::.

Permission is granted for to use in the "Poem Prayers for Japan" project as she sees fit.

_{Copyright © B.T.Nguyen (Wetkakashi). All rights reserved. No part of this poem may be used in any way or form without written consent unless stated otherwise.}



Updates:
A couple of dashes was added to the poem.
This poem had been featured by #Daily-Lit-Deviations and chosen as the Pick of the Day for March 25, 2011–I am very honored to have had this poem chosen for such an accolade. In fact, I nearly ed. Please read the other poems chosen for this as well. [link] Spread the
Thanks to everyone who had , , , read, left a note, and so on.



(Oh, I almost forgot. Critiques are welcomed and will be greatly appreciated.)