Devastation and hope: Photos show early days of Japan's tsunami recovery
Upon hearing news of the earthquake and massive tsunami that demolished whole cities in her native Japan, Airi Katsuta made plans to help with the recovery effort. For a summer she volunteered in the coastal city of Ishinomaki, where the ASU School of Art photography major captured images of devastation and hope, with her grandfather's Minolta 35mm camera. In this photograph, a fusuma (sliding door panels) has been set outside to dry.
Two elderly locals survey the destruction. They were "talking about where everything used to be before the tsunami," Katsuta says.
A car, washed away by the tsunami, now sits in the graveyard.
An elementary school that had caught on fire by way of burning houses carried in by waves.
Ribbons and Teru Teru bo-zu, which is a "traditional handmade amulet that is supposed to bring good weather and stop a rainy day," Katsuta says.
In an area completely devastated lies a family photograph.
The remaining salt water takes its toll on trees and wildlife.
A waterline depicts the point on a window where the water had risen to.
Tombstones among the wreckage.
A cemetery overlooks the coast of Ishinomaki.