Introduction

This chapter sets the background of how the author started to engage in disaster research. She had an opportunity to visit the affected area of North East Japan earthquake and tsunami 2011, six months after the event. She was invited to do fieldwork in Ishinomaki, and since then, she visited the site every year. Until 2019, she had visited the site ten times to do fieldwork, questionnaire surveys and interviews with affected residents and the authorities in charge of recovery. She was often encouraged by survivors’ words requesting to spread the lessons to the world. A definition of disaster resilience in the built environment and a structure of the book is explained. It is noted that many scholarly references are cited but academic theories and jargons presented in this book are kept to minimum for wider audience.