“Prayers from Cosplayers” Continues to Spread Hope to Japan

Yunmao Ayakawa September 2, 2011

Hello Everyone,

While writing this followup to my article in this month’s Otaku USA an earthquake shook Virginia, and Hurricane Irene hit the U.S. just this past weekend. This article relates to the Earthquake and Tsunami that took place in Japan earlier this year so I hope everyone’s loved ones are OK.

As everyone knows, an unprecedented earthquake and tsunami hit the Tohoku Area of Japan at 2:46 p.m. on March11, 2011. The damage caused by the quake and tsunami was very severe. Many people still live in temporary shelters even today and cannot return to their hometowns.

Japanese people promised each other to unite together to recover from the disaster. We did whatever we could do and helped each other to go through the aftermath. We raised huge donations for the areas and people affected by the quake and tsunami. As Japan faces power shortage, we’ve made collective efforts to conserve electricity.

During such a difficult time, a website project “Prayers from Cosplayers” started, and cosplayers from all over the world have sent heartwarming messages and pictures for Japan. As of Aug 30, 1,193 cosplayers sent messages! Japanese Otaku and cosplayers are encouraged by the messages, but I hope that you will join this project and send a message for Japan!! Although five months have passed since the quake and tsunami, Japan still has a long road to recovery. Hopefully one day a website like this can be created by cosplayers to give hope to everyone in the world.

For details, please see my report in the current issue of the magazine.

Send your message and cosplay pictures to the Prayers from Cosplayers site.