Mutsuo Ikuhara, a California physician and son of a renowned Los Angeles Dodgers baseball executive from Japan, said he "can never forget" his time as a volunteer in northeastern Japan after the earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011, recalling his experiences in a recent interview as the country marks 13 years since the disaster.
A native of Japan, Mutsuo, 61, grew up in the United States due to the career of his late father Akihiro "Ike" Ikuhara, a longtime employee of the Dodgers front office. But the doctor was quick to assist his homeland when the magnitude-9.0 quake and resultant tsunami devastated parts of Fukushima, Miyagi and Iwate prefectures.
He entered the affected region about a week after the unprecedented disaster, which left more than 15,000 people dead and triggered a catastrophic nuclear meltdown. During that difficult and chaotic time, Ikuhara spent about three months on the ground with a nongovernmental organization helping to assess the destruction.
The sheer magnitude of the wreckage was overwhelming. He recalled grim scenes from areas reduced to mountains of rubble, with an eerie silence descending after nightfall.
"There was absolutely no sound, even though you were outside. It felt just like being in a church," Ikuhara said, describing nighttime amid the ruins of Minamisanriku, a coastal resort town in Miyagi Prefecture.
The kindness and good will of people in the face of hardship also made an indelible impression on him.
On one occasion while he was based in the Miyagi prefectural government office in Sendai, he stopped to eat at a local restaurant specializing in tonkatsu fried pork cutlets before heading north to Ishinomaki. When the restaurant's staff learned he was traveling as a volunteer, they donated every last tonkatsu meal they could muster as assistance for the hard-hit city.
Ikuhara said that such experiences in Japan changed his life as a doctor, strengthening his resolve to aid various countries in times of crisis. Having previously assisted in Haiti after a massive temblor in 2010, he ramped up his international volunteer work further after 2011, helping to distribute medical supplies and provide care in disaster-hit areas.
Despite having to curtail his travel amid the coronavirus pandemic, Ikuhara has been eager to resume his aid activities in countries around the world.
"Time is limited," he said. "I want to give back to people at least a little."
The career of his father Akihiro also transcended borders, as the beloved Dodgers employee was instrumental in fostering ties between Japanese and American pro baseball as well as in efforts to reinstate the sport as an Olympic event.
His achievements over 27 years with the organization, including serving as assistant to the club's president for the last 10 years of his life to 1992, were honored with posthumous induction into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame.
"My father was a dedicated go-between" who helped build bridges in the baseball world, Ikuhara said, noting that the Dodgers still have strong relationships in Japan.
The team recently landed Japanese top free agents Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, a development the doctor said would have pleased his father were he alive today.
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