NHK Documentaries

Sometimes it takes a lifechanging event to help us realize what truly matters. For Kimura Tomoharu, that event was a massive earthquake and tsunami. In 2012, he sought a fresh start in a remote part of Akita Prefecture. He moved into a long-abandoned hamlet, where he pursues his goal of being almost entirely self-sufficient — living off the land from season to season. But he's not alone. Kimura has a family, and he must now balance his own ideals with those of his two young children.

A pair of explorers enters an extraordinary gorge in the Himalayas to film an area where none has ever dared to venture. Extremely narrow at little over ten meters, but tremendously deep at over 200, the origins of the Seti Gorge are shrouded in mystery. Numerous waterfalls tumble into its abyss, and even for the experienced Japanese adventurers, the descent using a single rope tests their courage. Freezing winter temperatures, torrents of water – a gripping journey unfolds on camera. The latest research reveals the geological saga that created this massive gorge.

100 years have passed since the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923. Although filmed records of its aftermath exist, the footage held flaws making it difficult to identify locations or times, obscuring the reality of how citizens of Tokyo faced this overwhelming disaster. To understand these details, we remastered the film into 8K resolution, and attempted to colorize it, while also making full use of audio accounts by survivors and a variety of scientific analyses by specialists. This program opens a new window into the events surrounding the disaster that had once been shrouded in mystery.

Even after the quake itself subsided, the tragedy of the Great Kanto Earthquake was only beginning. An unlikely "fire tornado" consumed a site where 40,000 evacuees had gathered, leaving few survivors. Meanwhile, emotionally exhausted people began to spread baseless rumors that fueled erratic behavior and violence against foreign residents. Part 2 of the documentary follows the timeline of the aftermath and beyond, applying the century-old vision of Tokyo to the modern era.