Inventory and Thematic Typological Analysis of 3.11 Picture Books

After the Great East Japan Earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster (3.11) of March 11, 2011, the use of various media to convey disaster experiences and lessons grew, including a large number of 3.11 picture books. However, there has been limited scholarship on these books, and no comprehensive database of 3.11 picture books exists. This research conducted an comprehensive inventory of 3.11 picture books published in the 13 years after the disaster, until March 2024. 122 titles met the criteria of being picture books with stories related to the 3.11 disasters, and an initial survey identified general trends in their publication over time and by publication type. Through investigating themes and contents, the authors identified six primary narrative typological categories: (1) disaster impact stories, that focus on telling what happened; (2) disaster risk reduction action or evacuation stories; (3) stories of local pride (place attachment); (4) stories with hopeful or positive messages for the future; (5) stories of loss; and (6) stories about nature and animals. As initial research, this paper represents a unique contribution to the growing body of literature on disaster storytelling media and clarifies the characteristics of 3.11 picture books as a body of work. Building on this comprehensive inventory and thematical categorization of 3.11 picture books, the authors expect future research to further analyze the text and image contents of these books, leading to deeper understanding of the contributions of 3.11 picture books towards not only emotional care, but also raising disaster awareness.