Kobe Woman Reads Picture Books to Children to Teach Lessons of Earthquakes

By Kaho Tsujii / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

2:00 JST, January 11, 2026

A 69-year-old woman from Kobe, who lost her father in the Great Hanshin Earthquake, has been devoting herself for over a decade to reading picture books to children that feature people’s lives in areas affected by various disasters, including the Great East Japan Earthquake.

“I want to teach children that disasters are not someone else’s problem,” said Kazuko Sumitomo, a resident of Higashinada Ward, Kobe, who works at an after-school childcare center.

“This story might be a bit difficult for you, but an earthquake hit the place featured in this picture book,” said Sumitomo to about 10 children, including those from an after-school childcare center, who gathered in a park in Nada Ward, Kobe, in late November. She had just finished reading “Asaichi” (Morning market), a picture book themed on Wajima Asaichi in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture.

She explained to the children that a major fire broke out following the quake and swept through the area around Asaichi-dori morning market street, and that the area is still under construction. The children nodded with serious expressions and intently listened to what she said.

On Jan. 17,1995, the day when the Great Hanshin Earthquake struck, she felt a tremor that felt as though the ground was pushing up into her house, where she lived with her husband and eldest daughter. She ran to her parents’ house nearby and saw something unbelievable. “Almost all the houses in the area had collapsed, and I saw nothing left there,” she said.

Her father, Kanji Sato, then 69, was sleeping on the first floor and was buried in the house when it totally collapsed. When Sumitomo arrived, she could see only the tips of her father’s legs. When his body was brought out, she was shocked to see his body had turned red due to congestion of blood. Sumitomo herself miscarried a baby, whose heartbeat had just been confirmed, on the day of the massive earthquake.

Her father, who was very prudent, frequently urged other members of his family to be watchful of an earthquake, saying there would be one coming, and stockpiled supplies for an emergency. She found canned food and retort-pouch curry her father kept at his house and ate them to stave off hunger.

While working at an after-school childcare center, Sumitomo began telling children about her experience of the disaster and how Kobe looked like at that time. She also proactively took part in events in which people talked about the disaster to younger generations.

Following the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, she focused her efforts on reading picture books to children. She began doing so because she thought unless she conveys the message from the viewpoint of children, it will not encourage them to be prepared for an earthquake in the future.

She chose picture books themed on quakes and people’s lives in affected areas, such as “Kibo no Bokujo” (A ranch of hope), a picture book set on a ranch located near the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.

Nearly 31 years after the Great Hanshin Earthquake, she thinks it is important to make efforts to help young people and children become familiar with the incident by not only speaking about her own experiences but also using books related to more recent disasters, such as the Noto Peninsula Earthquake.

In addition to working at an after-school childcare center, she is visiting multiple elementary schools in the area as a member of a picture book reading group and using picture books featuring earthquake-affected areas.

“When we listen to Ms. Sumitomo reading a book in her own words, even a sad story makes us feel calm and gentle,” said Yuka Mae, 62, from Higashinada Ward, Kobe.

“I’ll be satisfied only if children feel that everyone affected by earthquakes in Kobe, Tohoku and Noto Peninsula had a hard time by listening to picture books and my stories,” Sumitomo said. “I believe it will help children become able to protect themselves when they have grown up.”