Thirteen years have passed since the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake occured on January 17th in 1995. When the earthquake hit the area, I was in Kobe, the epicenter of it. I was lucky enough to survive without injury. If I had been sleeping at that time, I would have got squashed under two heavy book shelves and a TV set. The death toll from the earthquake was 6434. May the victims' souls rest in peace.