single-dr.php

JDR Vol.21 No.5 pp. 979-992
(2026)

Paper:

Pluralistic Caring in Disaster Contexts: Lessons from the Noto Peninsula Complex Disaster and its Restoration

Ryo Tsuchida*1,† ORCID Icon, Ryota Yorimasa*2 ORCID Icon, Megumi Fujii*3 ORCID Icon, and Genta Nakano*4 ORCID Icon

*1Department of Interdisciplinary Cultural Studies, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo
3-8-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153-8902, Japan

†Corresponding author

*2Faculty of Modern Social Studies, Otemae University
Nishinomiya, Japan

*3Faculty of Nursing, Japanese Red Cross Toyota College of Nursing
Toyota, Japan

*4Disaster Prevention Research Institute, Kyoto University
Uji, Japan

Received:
November 13, 2025
Accepted:
June 22, 2026
Published:
October 1, 2026
Keywords:
caring, good, space, voice/reality, self
Abstract

In recent years, given the intensification and increased frequency of disasters, as well as evolving social institutions, it has become increasingly important to reconsider how disaster support, disaster practice, and recovery should be handled. Previous studies in the field of disaster research have not addressed the problems of caring theory’s theoretical development, its institutional framework, the relationship between the two, and individual concerns. This paper aims to connect disaster research with caring, focusing on the complex disaster in the Noto Peninsula. It incorporates ideas and practices from various contexts, including everyday life and disaster events, using field experience and methods that do not fit within the institutionalized caring theory. In particular, it emphasizes previously overlooked concepts, such as “good,” “space,” “voice/reality,” and “self.” The results suggest that the concept of caring can pause the traditional roles and frameworks of institutions and professions, as well as the established provider/receiver dynamic. These findings have practical implications as they reveal that, beyond fixed roles, caring should always be seen as a form of sensitivity and perspective that helps us understand the true meaning of coexistence and how to navigate uncertain conditions.

Cite this article as:
R. Tsuchida, R. Yorimasa, M. Fujii, and G. Nakano, “Pluralistic Caring in Disaster Contexts: Lessons from the Noto Peninsula Complex Disaster and its Restoration,” J. Disaster Res., Vol.21 No.5, pp. 979-992, 2026.
Data files:
References
  1. [1] S. Mitsui, “A guide to studies in care,” Yuhikaku Publishing, 2018 (in Japanese).
  2. [2] C. Gilligan, “In a different voice: Psychological theory and women’s development,” Harvard University Press, 1982.
  3. [3] J. C. Tronto, “Moral boundaries: A political argument for an ethic of care,” Routledge, 1993.
  4. [4] Y. Ukigaya (Ed.), “An anthropology of suffering and care: How suffering could be a foundation of creativity?,” Sekaishisosha, 2015 (in Japanese).
  5. [5] K. Power, “The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the care burden of women and families,” Sustainability: Science, Practice and Policy, Vol.16, No.1, pp. 67-73, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1080/15487733.2020.1776561
  6. [6] B. Raphael, “When disaster strikes: How individuals and communities cope with catastrophe,” Basic Books, 1986.
  7. [7] R. Solnit, “A paradise built in hell: The extraordinary communities that arise in disaster,” Penguin Books, 2010.
  8. [8] D. Graeber, “Debt: The first 5,000 years,” Melville House, 2011.
  9. [9] N. Zack, “Ethics for disaster,” Rowman & Littlefield, 2009.
  10. [10] K. T. Erikson, “Everything in its path: Destruction of community in the Buffalo Creek Flood,” Simon & Schuster, 1976.
  11. [11] W. Sung and K. Ushijima, “The nuclear accident as a collective trauma: From traumatized communities to collective healing,” W. Sung and K. Ushijima (Eds.), “Nuclear Power Plant Fragmentation and Restorative Approach: Actual Conditions and Issues of Fragmentation by Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Accident,” pp. 3-34, Toshindo, 2023 (in Japanese).
  12. [12] H. Daimon, R. Miyamae, and K. Takahara, “Theoretical analysis of ‘collective trauma’ toward a recovery of a disaster—revitalizing ‘Everything in its Path’ in the Japanese context—,” J. of Disaster Recovery and Revitalization, Vol.16, pp. 37-46, 2020 (in Japanese). https://doi.org/10.34606/jsdrr.16.0_37
  13. [13] S. Mitsui, “Discovering care, support, and ‘society’: What lies beyond the individual,” Seikatsushoin, 2021 (in Japanese).
  14. [14] R. Yorimasa, “Research on disaster volunteer: Practical research by action research,” Kwansai Gakuin University Press, 2024 (in Japanese).
  15. [15] Y. Itakura, “A sociology of disaster, support, and care: From perspective on community health and gender,” Seikatsushoin, 2018 (in Japanese).
  16. [16] S. Kimura, “After the tsunami, before the end: Living in a home with caring at tsunami affected areas,” A. Mori (Ed.), “Places Where Care Emerges: Toward a Society of Living Together with Others,” pp. 130-148, Nakanishiya Shuppan, 2019 (in Japanese).
  17. [17] B. Amatya, S. Y. Lee, M. P. Galea, and F. Khan, “Disaster rehabilitation response plan: Now or never,” American J. of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Vol.99, No.2, pp. 170-177, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1097/PHM.0000000000001308
  18. [18] L. Löfquist, “Virtue ethics and disasters,” D. P. O’Mathúna, V. Dranseika, and B. Gordijn (Eds.), “Disasters: Core Concepts and Ethical Theories,” pp. 203-215, Springer, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-92722-0_14
  19. [19] S. K. Geale, “The ethics of disaster management,” Disaster Prevention and Management, Vol.21, No.4, pp. 445-462, 2012. https://doi.org/10.1108/09653561211256152
  20. [20] A. Koons, “Humanitarian response: Ideals meet reality,” S. M. Hoffman, and R. E. Barrios (Eds.), “Disaster upon Disaster: Exploring the Gap Between Knowledge, Policy and Practice,” pp. 88-110, Berghahn Books, 2020.
  21. [21] L. Stevenson, “Life beside itself: Imagining care in the Canadian Arctic,” University of California Press, 2014.
  22. [22] M. Nishi, H. Arii, and A. Mori (Eds.), “Anthropology of uncertainty, apprehension, and responsibility: The theory and practice of care for mending this world,” Nakanishiya Shuppan, 2025 (in Japanese).
  23. [23] C. Ueno, “A sociology of caring: Towards party sovereignty of welfare society,” Ohta Publishing, 2011 (in Japanese).
  24. [24] B. Fisher and J. Tronto, “Toward a feminist theory of caring,” E. K. Abel and M. K. Nelson (Eds.), “Circles of Care: Work and Identity in Women’s Lives,” pp. 36-54, State University of New York Press, 1990.
  25. [25] A. Mol, “The logic of care: Health and the problem of patient choice,” Routledge, 2008.
  26. [26] S. Kimura, S. Horiguchi, R. Goto, J. Iida, S. Ozone, M. Kaneko, J. Teruyama, Y. Hama, J. Haruta, and J. Miyachi, “How have Japanese primary care physicians carried out vaccinations against COVID-19?: Attempts at making the non-scalable ‘scalable’,” F1000Research, Vol.11, Article No.1268, 2023 (in Japanese). https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.126366.2
  27. [27] A. Hamada, “Medical anthropology, virus, and para critique: Experiences from southern Ghana and pandemic Japan,” Seidosha, 2024 (in Japanese).
  28. [28] T. Thelen, “Care as social organization: Creating, maintaining and dissolving significant relations,” Anthropological Theory, Vol.15, No.4, pp. 497-515, 2015. https://doi.org/10.1177/1463499615600893
  29. [29] A. Mori (Ed.), “Places where care emerges: Toward a society of living together with others,” Nakanishiya Shuppan, 2019 (in Japanese).
  30. [30] S. Nakamura, “Communicative body: An ethnography of vädihiti nivāsa (home for elders) in Sri Lanka,” Nakanishiya Shuppan, 2017 (in Japanese).
  31. [31] F. Aulino, “Rituals of care: Karmic politics in an aging Thailand,” Cornell University Press, 2019.
  32. [32] T. Miyamoto, “‘Mezasu’ and ‘sugosu’ approaches in disaster recovery process: Revitalization curve interview with a survivor from the 2011 Tohoku earthquake,” Japanese J. of Qualitative Psychology, Vol.14, No.1, pp. 6-18, 2015 (in Japanese). https://doi.org/10.24525/jaqp.14.1_6
  33. [33] K. Yamori, “Pure and perfect waiting: Theoretical analysis of ‘time’ in action research,” Disaster and Kyosei, Vol.2, No.2, pp. 1-8, 2019 (in Japanese). https://doi.org/10.18910/71122
  34. [34] N. Nihei, “Thoughts on the ‘in-between disaster’ phase: For the ever-returning date of March 11,” N. Akasaka and E. Oguma (Eds.), “Thinking About Tokyo and Tohoku Beginning from the ‘Periphery’,” pp. 122-158, Akashi Shoten, 2012 (in Japanese).
  35. [35] T. Miyamoto, “Who are ‘everyone’?: For survive under the situation of in-between disaster and depopulation spontaneously,” Sekaishisosha, 2024 (in Japanese).
  36. [36] K. Yamori and G. Nakano, “Reconsidering the time perspective of ‘Post-Great East Japan Earthquake / Pre-Nankai Trough Earthquake’ period,” J. of Japan Society for Natural Disaster Science, Vol.40, No.4, pp. 427-439, 2022 (in Japanese). https://doi.org/10.24762/jndsj.40.4_427
  37. [37] H. Kobayashi, “Does the repetition of disaster strikes make sufferers feel shame?: A case study of three earthquakes in Miyagi and Fukushima,” J. of Disaster Information Studies, Vol.22, No.2, pp. 171-182, 2024 (in Japanese). https://doi.org/10.24709/jasdis.22.2_171
  38. [38] Tatsuki Shigeo Sensei Taishoku Kinen Ronbunshu Henshu Iinkai (Ed.), “The crossroads of disaster and welfare: Transgression and connection of theory, method, and implementation,” Kizasu Shobo, 2026.
  39. [39] M. Mochizuki, “Life problems and survivor care triggered by disasters: A case study of rural coastal communities in Miyagi Prefecture after the Great East Japan Earthquake,” A. Yamashita (Ed.), “Rural and Fishing Village-Based Inclusion: Re-examining Welfare Through Practices Concerning Living Issues,” pp. 48-88, Rural Culture Association, 2025 (in Japanese).
  40. [40] A. Mol, I. Moser, and J. Pols (Eds.), “Care in practice: On tinkering in clinics, homes and farms,” transcript Verlag, 2010.
  41. [41] T. Atsumi, “Resilience in disaster research,” J. of Collaborative Future Creation, Vol.8, pp. 109-121, 2021 (in Japanese). https://doi.org/10.50829/miraikyoso.8.0_109
  42. [42] Y. Matsuda, “Evacuation as care,” J. of Japan Society for Natural Disaster Science, Vol.44, No.3, pp. 315-325, 2025 (in Japanese). https://doi.org/10.24762/jndsj.44.3_315
  43. [43] R. Tsuchida, “Gazing relationship of actors for caring about disaster rehabilitation: From the fieldwork through the private disaster volunteer at Nakajima Town, Nanao City, Ishikawa Prefecture,” City Planning Review, Vol.73, No.4, pp. 130-131, 2024 (in Japanese).
  44. [44] R. Morimoto, “Home otherwise: Living archives and half-life politics in post-fallout coastal Fukushima,” Cultural Anthropology, Vol.36, No.4, pp. 573-579, 2021. https://doi.org/10.14506/ca36.4.05
  45. [45] T. Nishi, A. Nishigami, N. Deno, and R. Ishii (Eds.), “Social prescribing: How to heal the illness of isolation through community connections,” Gakugei Shuppansha, 2020 (in Japanese).
  46. [46] T. Abe, “Supporters who are not specialists can change the region,” F. Inagaki et al., “Rural Revitalization as Told Through Post-Disaster Reconstruction: The Essence of Community Building,” pp. 227-235, Commons, 2014 (in Japanese).
  47. [47] R. Yorimasa, “Omoyai: Bringing disaster victims and volunteers together following a 2019 flood disaster in Takeo City,” Disaster and Kyosei, Vol.7, No.1, pp. 1-15, 2023 (in Japanese). https://doi.org/10.18910/93072
  48. [48] T. Atsumi, R. Yorimasa, and H. Daimon, “Situations and challenges of support organizations and disaster volunteers in affected areas: Insights from relief and support activities in Nakajima Town, Nanao City, Ishikawa Prefecture,” Disaster Recovery and Revitalization Review, Vol.12, No.3, pp. 10-16, 2024 (in Japanese).
  49. [49] Ishikawa Prefecture, “Summary of the press conference,” February 14, 2024 (in Japanese). https://www.pref.ishikawa.lg.jp/chiji/kisya/r6_2_14/1.html [Accessed May 21, 2025]
  50. [50] J. Clifford and G. E. Marcus (Eds.), “Writing culture: The poetics and politics of ethnography,” University of California Press, 1986.
  51. [51] Y. Hara, K. Takeda, R. Yamashita, R. Saito, D. Sasaki, K. Hayashi, and T. Aoki, “The ‘fallacy of composition’ as an ethical challenge facing scientific research in disaster-affected areas: The 2024 Noto Peninsula Earthquake and Tsunami,” Int. J. of Disaster Risk Reduction, Vol.119, Article No.105359, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2025.105359
  52. [52] D. E. Orem, “Nursing: Concepts of practice (4th edition),” Mosby Year Book, 1991.
  53. [53] R. Kida and N. Ishikawa, “Characteristics of disaster-related deaths and causal events from the 2024 Noto Peninsula Earthquake: A one-year descriptive study of public data from Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan” Japan J. of Nursing Science, Vol.22, No.4, Article No.e70014, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1111/jjns.70014
  54. [54] M. Inagaki, “Exploring of the factors behind disaster-related deaths,” J. Disaster Res., Vol.19, No.1, pp. 173-181, 2024. https://doi.org/10.20965/jdr.2024.p0173
  55. [55] M. Fujii, M. Inagaki, K. Kobayashi, S. Miyamae, A. Sakai, K. Sasaki, and S. Kanbara, “Needs of cultivating seamless and individual care,” S. Kanbara, S. Miyagawa, and H. Miyazaki (Eds.), “Disaster Nursing, Primary Health Care and Communication in Uncertainty,” pp. 123-132, Springer, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-98297-3_12
  56. [56] M. Nishigawa and S. Nojima, “Disaster mitigation education for diabetics using ‘Disaster Notebook for Diabetics: Let’s prepare from now’,” J. of Kochi Women’s University Academy of Nursing, Vol.42, No.1, pp. 97-107, 2016 (in Japanese).
  57. [57] M. Lambek, “Toward an ethics of the act,” M. Lambek (Ed.), “Ordinary Ethics: Anthropology, Language, and Action,” pp. 39-63, Fordham University Press, 2010.
  58. [58] J. Zigon, “Moral breakdown and the ethical demand: A theoretical framework for an anthropology of moralities,” Anthropological Theory, Vol.7, No.2, pp. 131-150, 2007. https://doi.org/10.1177/1463499607077295
  59. [59] R. Yorimasa, “Disaster volunteers as practitioners of ‘care’: A case study of volunteer activities at local community hubs in the 2024 Noto Peninsula Earthquake,” Disaster and Kyosei, Vol.9, No.1, pp. 23-40, 2025 (in Japanese). https://doi.org/10.18910/103540
  60. [60] S. Abeysinghe and C. Leppold, “Ethical research practice in health and disasters,” Int. J. of Disaster Risk Reduction, Vol.92, Article No.103728, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2023.103728
  61. [61] S. Abeysinghe, K. Honda, C. Leppold, A. L. Williams, A. Ozaki, and A. Goto, “What does it mean to conduct ethical research after disasters? A case study of the 3.11 disaster in Japan,” Disasters, Vol.49, No.2, Article No.e12781, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1111/disa.12681
  62. [62] K. Z. Alburo-Cañete, “Disaster through a feminist lens: Epistemology, methodology, and methods,” D. Benouar (Ed.), “Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Natural Hazard Science,” 2024. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780199389407.013.524
  63. [63] K. Z. Alburo-Cañete, M. C. Alejandria, and K. Kreyscher, “Guest editorial: Advancing reflexive, creative and critical research methodologies for disaster studies,” Disaster Prevention and Management, Vol.34, No.1, pp. 1-8, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1108/DPM-02-2025-430
  64. [64] R. E. Barrios, G. Vargas, R. Swamy, T. Tran, I. Martinez, and M. Sierra, “Interpreting catastrophe: An examination of Houston’s many voices in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey,” Int. J. of Mass Emergencies and Disasters, Vol.38, No.1, pp. 121-143, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1177/028072702003800107
  65. [65] M. Schobert, M. Krüger, F. Gabel, K. Orru, T.-O. Nævestad, A. Olson, and A. Schieffelers, “How do we know vulnerability when we see it? An approach to integrating ethical reflections into empirical disaster research,” Int. J. of Disaster Risk Reduction, Vol.97, Article No.104049, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2023.104049
  66. [66] S. Uekusa, “A conceptual exploration of researcher positionality and critical reflexivity in disaster research through the lens of Bourdieu,” Disaster Prevention and Management, Vol.33, No.4, pp. 425-438, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1108/DPM-03-2024-0068
  67. [67] T. Jakimow, “Vulnerability as ethical practice: Dismantling affective privilege and resilience to transform development hierarchies,” Third World Quarterly, Vol.43, No.3, pp. 617-633, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1080/01436597.2021.1903312
  68. [68] S. Kodama and Y. Ikehata (Eds.), “Ethics of Disaster Preparedness,” Nakanishiya Shuppan, 2026 (in Japanese).
  69. [69] W. Pillow, “Confession, catharsis, or cure? Rethinking the uses of reflexivity as methodological power in qualitative research,” Int. J. of Qualitative Studies in Education, Vol.16, No.2, pp. 175-196, 2003. https://doi.org/10.1080/0951839032000060635
  70. [70] H. K. Friedrich, Y. Ayala, J. Liu, and M. Villarreal, “Positionalities in disaster recovery research: Reflections from fieldwork across the Gulf South,” Disaster Prevention and Management, Vol.34, No.4, pp. 529-540, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1108/DPM-07-2024-0192
  71. [71] H. Daimon and T. Atsumi, “Rethinking relationships between survivors and volunteers following a disaster: A disaster volunteer center after the 2016 Kumamoto Earthquakes,” Disaster and Kyosei, Vol.2, No.1, pp. 25-32, 2018 (in Japanese). https://doi.org/10.18910/68239
  72. [72] M. Puig de la Bellacasa, “Matters of care in technoscience: Assembling neglected things,” Social Studies of Science, Vol.41, No.1, pp. 85-106, 2011. https://doi.org/10.1177/0306312710380301

*This site is desgined based on HTML5 and CSS3 for modern browsers, e.g. Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, Opera.

Last updated on Sep. 30, 2026