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In Japan, His Disaster Art Saves Lives
The fight to survive lies at the heart of Kyohei Sakaguchi’s world, whether he is writing self-help books, painting, creating a suicide help line, or designing recycled housing.
A zero yen house designed by the Japanese artist and architect Kyohei Sakaguchi to be constructed with little or no money.Credit.Kyohei Sakaguchi
By Eric Margolis
Published March 5, 2021Updated March 9, 2021
KUMAMOTO, Japan A week before the artist, author and architect Kyohei Sakaguchi planned to move into one of his celebrated “zero yen” houses, built from recycled materials, the catastrophic 2011 earthquake struck Japan. A tsunami engulfed the Tohoku region and the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant collapsed. He had recently begun treatment for bipolar disorder. Overwhelmed, he left Tokyo and headed back home to the verdant coastal city of Kumamoto in southwest Japan, and abandoned the recycling project.