Throughout history, cultures have both thrived and faded. Despite efforts to restore and understand ancient civilizations, we still cannot fully imagine how past cultures lived. In my lifetime, I have seen natural disasters destroy whole cities and hinder the thriving culture in the area. However, unless disaster strikes close to home, we easily forget and move on with our own lives. A culture should never be forgotten. Itshould leave a lasting imprint on the world around it. A year after I visited the northern coast of Japan, much of the area was destroyed by an earthquake that triggered a tsunami. An area full of life and culture was decimated in only a few hours. The places I went, and the monuments I visited, undoubtedly look much different in the aftermath of the tsunami. However, we should not forget what these places were like before. We should not forget the life that once filled these communities. In a series of woodblock prints, I tried to capture life the way it was prior to the devastation of the tsunami. Each print represents a place in Japan as I remember it, and not what it has become since the earthquake.