On the afternoon of Friday, March 11th, 2011, around tea time, I was in my studio just north of Mashiko, putting handles on some vessels. The floor suddenly shifted under my feet as if I were riding a train. The house began to rattle and shake, pots began to fall from the shelves, and the vibration became a roar. I opened the door and rushed outside, turning back to look at the house as I went. It was swaying, like bamboo in the wind. I turned to see the kiln chimney swing left and right, somehow not collapsing yet, but widening cracks appearing up its length. When the tiles came sliding off the roof, I began to run; the children were still at school…