Summary

“Consolation of the Spirits” is the penultimate chapter of Ghosts of the Tsunami. Parry explains his tremendous respect for Reverend Taio Kaneta, “priest and exorcist,” (221) who suffered a breakdown due to the grueling work he put in trying to help communities in the Tohoku region deal with the tragedy of the tsunami. His work, only one element of which was the performance of exorcisms, served a highly important function in the healing process of Japan. The community-based meetings called ‘Café de Monku’ gave people a space in which to gather, talk, cry, and sustain themselves on food even as their minds struggled to reconcile everyday needs with more existential questions or doubts. Yet, Kaneta was keeping himself too busy. As a result, “it was obvious that he was taking on too much; hesitantly, and then...