Elementary school ruins in northeastern Japan restored as disaster memorial park (2)

Elementary school ruins in northeastern Japan restored as disaster memorial park (2)

The place where the Kamaya community existed was designated as a disaster-prone area after the disaster. Currently, land around the school ruins is entirely designated as a nonviable place to live. 

No houses and residents are seen around the school ruins, but visitors can see some land tracts near the school newly cultivated for farming. 

Lying just east of the school ruins is a 2.5-hectare olive tree field. Young olive trees are planted orderly in the field, managed by a company set up jointly by three local farmers. 

<Japan's northernmost olive tree project aimed at rehabilitating disaster-hit areas>

The olive tree growing project was launched by Miyagi Prefecture in 2014 as part of efforts to rehabilitate areas designated as uninhabitable places after the disaster. Kamaya is one of six locations selected for the project in the prefecture.

Edible olive oil began to be produced from the trees in 2019.  The volume of crop is still limited, but the produce from the fields is already shipped as extra virgin olive oil, said an Ishinomaki City official in charge of the project.

The undertaking is known as Japan's northernmost olive tree growing project. Kamaya is situated latitude 38 degrees 32 minutes north. 

Seen beyond the olive tree field is the back side of the school ruins, among them the collapsed corridor connecting the second-floor classrooms and the gym.

The series of efforts to resuscitate the tsunami-damaged areas in the city followed hard discussions between the city authorities and affected people, which led to a court battle involving the families of 23 dead Okawa Elementary pupils. 

A damages suit filed by the bereaved families against the city and the prefecture in 2016 focused on an allegedly poor knowledge about a school manual for evacuation among the school staff. 

The plaintiffs argued that because of the improper behaviors of teachers who were at the scene, the children and residents involved had to stay at the schoolyard for as long as over 50 minutes after the occurrence of the quake. 

A major tsunami warning had been issued to the Kamaya area soon after the tremor was felt at 2:46 p.m., and the tsunami is believed to have reached the school about 50 minutes later. This means that little time had been left before the children and others started evacuating from the school, led by the school staff. With her red satchel on the back, Hana was obviously among the evacuees there. 

The time when the tsunami reached the school can be seen with the classroom clocks recovered from the debris. One of those clocks, displayed at the memorial hall, had stopped at 3:37 p.m., indicating the wave began to engulf the school at that time. 

 

The argument by the plaintiffs was upheld by a first-instance court and by an appeals court again. The  plaintiffs finally won the case in 2018. 

The Okawa Elementary incident is said to be the worst case involving children sacrificed in a school-managed situation in Japan's postwar history.

<Okawa Elementary incident seen to be remembered in Japan's anti-disaster efforts from now on>

One community and its beloved elementary school vanished with a stroke of tsunami which had travelled 3.7 kilometers back from the river mouth. Many schoolchildren and their voices disappeared. 

Bereaved families and former residents of Kamaya as well as public-sector people, notably Ishinomaki City officials, underwent many twists and turns before reaching a bitter agreement on how to restore or use the damaged community and what to do in honor of the dead. 

Their hard memories are unlikely to be wiped out easily, but their experience should be remembered by people concerned all the time from now on, as Japan is determined to strengthen its anti-disaster systems and improve disaster prevention education for the public in the years ahead.

Elementary school ruins in northeastern Japan restored as disaster memorial park (1)

 

[Tsunami-hit areas in northeastern Japan region revisited] 2nd of 3-part series

September 11, 2023

Elementary school ruins in northeastern Japan restored as disaster memorial park 

The red school bag is displayed as part of tsunami disaster-related items at a memorial facility built near the Okawa Elementary School ruins in Kamaya, Ishinomaki City, northeastern Japan. The school bag was a belonging of Hana Suzuki, who was a fourth grader at the school, and it can be easily found as it is placed in a glass case at the entrance room of the Okawa Tsunami Memorial Hall.

The facility was opened in July 2021, 10 years and four months after the devastating earthquake and the ensuing tsunami waves hit widely scattered areas facing the Pacific in northeastern Japan on March 11, 2011.

The schoolchild's bag, to be more precise, is a satchel to be strapped to the back. The bag, with textbooks, notebooks and utensils contained inside, was found from among the debris a few days after the school was engulfed and inundated by the tsunami, but the girl, its owner, was unaccounted for.

<Schoolgirl's belonging hoped to demonstrate importance of life>

Displayed along with the bag is a copy of a newspaper periodically issued for elementary school students, which contains a picture of a smiling Hana. 

Devoting its headline story to discussing her fate, the June 27, 2022, edition of the newspaper reports, "Here is a red satchel waiting for the return of its owner since that day 11 years ago." 

The bag had also contained a copy of a school schedule for March, the final month of the school year. The column of the eighth day in the schedule for March indicated the Okawa Elementary pupils had a meeting to see graduating sixth graders off that day. Hana's life was terminated three days later.  

Of the 108 pupils who were attending the school at that time, 70 children were killed and four others missing. The girl who owned the satchel was one of the four missing pupils. The tsunami also claimed the lives of 10 teachers and other school staffers.

The Suzukis, Hana's parents, had kept her satchel carefully, but as the disaster memorial hall was built, they decided to offer the item for display there, hoping that it will help remind visitors of the importance of life.

The site of the sad incident was restored as a disaster memorial park in a city-sponsored project launched in 2019. In the 3.3-hectare park, which is open throughout the year, visitors can see the ruins of unique school facilities such as round classrooms in the two-story building, a cylindrical multi-use assembly hall and an outdoor stage. 

Guided tour services, regularly or on demand, are provided by a group of bereaved families and a few citizens' groups. 

The Okawa Elementary pupils who survived the disaster moved to a makeshift school at a different school's grounds the following year. Then, Okawa Elementary was officially closed in 2018. 

For people hoping to reach Kamaya, where Okawa Elementary was located, a convenient public transportation service is not available. The nearest railway station is about 15 kilometers away. 

Kamaya, which is in the northeastern part of Miyagi Prefecture, appears to be a poorly populated community. So, a question frequently asked by visitors is why so fully furnished a school had been built there. 

Kamaya was a calm community, but the town was home to 496 people of 139 families, who had a lively time together whenever traditional seasonal events were held. That may be an answer to the frequently asked question. 

Pictures of the Kamaya community before and after the disaster are displayed along with other items and materials at the memorial hall.

Seen in the lower part of the two pictures taken around the disaster is a long bridge spanning Kitakami River flowing eastward (upward in the pictures) to the Pacific. 

The red, round building of Okawa Elementary is seen near the southern end of the bridge in the older picture, while the newer picture shows no building left in the area. 

The picture taken after the disaster shows the 560-meter-long truss bridge chopped halfway, indicating the strong power of the tsunami.

   

A main road in front of the school used to be lined by a post office, a clinic, a police box and many shops. But buildings and houses in Kamaya were completely washed away by the tsunami. 

Earthquake survivors in northeastern Japan shifting to new phase with refined memories (3)

Earthquake survivors in northeastern Japan shifting to new phase with refined memories (3)

<Dim, quiet corridor leads visitor to think over memories in hard days>

Up on the third floor, the visitor finds a dimly lit corridor linking the main building to an annex. Poems, essays and sketches that depict occurrences after the disaster are displayed on the walls on both sides, along with a curator's message.

The "weaving our memories" corridor is designed to enable the visitor to think about his or her own respective earthquake memories, while laying them on the scenes described in the pieces. 

"We have displayed the pieces so that anyone can imagine the scene of the disaster," said Hiroko Takahashi, the curator, in a recent interview at her office in downtown Ishinomaki. 

Among the pieces, a poem, entitled "a cat," says, "Shortly after the disaster, a cat began to appear in our garden from time to time. The cat was named 'cha-cha.' My children so named. I wondered if the cat, amiable, quiet and adorable, is kept by someone. / After the disaster, many pets had been departed from their owners. / The cat was playing with my kids innocently, and the scene made me feel the brightness of life."

The curator herself experienced the strong tremor, when she was at the city office, and quickly evacuated with her colleagues. 

An essay, titled "rain boots and a song," says in part, "That day, I put on rain boots. It was not raining, but I went to the nursery school with the light green rain boots. / A big earthquake came. We were taking a nap at that time. The dust came down from the ceiling and so, I tightly closed my eyelids. My younger brother was sleeping beside me. 'Pains in my eyes,' he said. / When we were about to evacuate, my mother came up. After confirming we are all right, she told the staff, 'Evacuate to a higher place. I'll see you later.' Then, she left to return to her work near the sea. /  We got into a car together and evacuated to a high school on the hill. / Next day, my mother, covered with mud, came for us. I learned later that she nearly got engulfed with the wave. / We had planned to sing a certain song at our graduation ceremony, and when we sang the song, my mother was shedding tears. So were other mothers. / A few days later, we went home on foot. I realized that the green rain boots which I put on that day had helped me. / 'Mysterious, wasn't it. Just a wonder why you put on the rain boots that day,' my mother said smilingly."                

The curator's message, put on the corridor's wall, says, "We live in the natural world that is woven with beautiful curves, and each of us feels in a different way what is important and what is pleasant. Likewise, the shape of our happiness and pains is different. Those who experienced the disaster each have different stories to tell." The display is hoped to help provide a chance for the people concerned to think about "what our living is," says the message. 

<Disaster sheds light on small local newspaper's struggle>

Disastrous incidents lead people to think about how their society functions and who or which sector are more in support of social activities.

The covid-19 pandemic gave light to the roles played by essential workers, not just medical staffers but also public-sector workers like garbage collectors. The devastating earthquake also reminded the Japanese of the roles performed by each social sector every day. 

Just after the mishap, Ishinomaki people's eyes were drawn to a small local newspaper, Ishinomaki Hibi Shimbun, which kept sending necessary information to affected people seamlessly amid the difficult situation. 

The company's printing presses had been destroyed by the tsunami wave, but Ishinomaki Hibi reporters and editors used pens and paper at hand. They came up with handwritten extra editions and put them on the walls at six of the makeshift shelters set up in the city. 

The evening newspaper publisher made the handwritten editions for six days from March 12, one day after the disaster, until the restart of its business. The video images of the wrinkled newspapers can be seen at an information site on the compounds of the seaside memorial park.

The March 12 edition, issued on the first day, called the evacuees to "act with correct information." An attached edition, released the following day, listed 80 or so shelters opened in the city, citing the names of the places and the number of evacuees accommodated there, for convenience for those who were looking for the whereabouts of their families and others. 

Ishinomaki's population at present comes to approximately 141,400, about 20,000 short of the figure before the disaster.

Since the mishap, 12 years have passed, but the years have not passed uselessly. The period was necessary for  the survivors and other people concerned to digest and refine their experience and memories as lessons for the generation to come. 

The forthcoming era is expected to be a period for Japanese as a whole to work together and come up with a truly effective anti-disaster system, hard and soft. 

With the damaged areas in Ishinomaki almost rehabilitated, bright signs are emerging. giving added hopes for many citizens.   

Trees around the entrance to the Kadonowaki Elementary School building had been damaged by the tsunami fire. They had been left unattended for a while, but as the time goes by, new branches started growing from the roots of three trees. 

On the top of the Hiyori hill, the place where Kadonowaki Elementary pupils evacuated, Kashima Miko Shrine, a Shinto shrine, attracts worshipers not just on ritual days but also on weekends today.

Earthquake survivors in northeastern Japan shifting to new phase with refined memories (2)

 

Earthquake survivors in northeastern Japan shifting to new phase with refined memories (2)

<Pupils evacuated safely, kindergarten kids found dead in charred vehicle>

The three-story building of Kadonowaki Elementary School, located about 500 meters from the sea, once looked dignified, something like a landmark that could be seen from everywhere in the area. 

On the doomed day, the building was in a sea of fire. The fire continued for a few days, as lots of burning vehicles were brought one after another to the school grounds. 

Pupils, led by teachers, evacuated in groups quickly according to evacuation manuals toward the top of Mt. Hiyori, located behind the school. Local residents who had gathered at the school grounds also evacuated to safer locations. 

When they were moving to higher ground on foot, a tragedy had occurred near the school.  

The monument in memory for the dead kindergarten children has been erected by a group of bereaved families on the roadside near a new housing complex. So, it may be missed, if not carefully searched. 

The victims were attending a kindergarten near the top of Mt. Hiyori, actually a hill with a height of 56 meters. After a major tsunami warning was issued for the city, a bus with children on aboard left the kindergarten down the hill to bring them back to each of their families.

Part of them were handed to their families near their homes, but after that, as the remaining kids were unable to be carried home due to road congestion, the bus had to return to the kindergarten, and then, it was caught up by the tsunami before reaching the hill. 

The five children, aged four to six, were found dead in the charred vehicle at a point less than 100 meters down from the hill three days later. It is said that their bodies were too fragile to be held up and hugged.  

The case was brought to court by part of the bereaved families, and the plaintiffs won an out-of-court settlement in favor of them from the kindergarten operator in 2014. The parents' message on the monument reads, "Don't forget their sacrifice." 

"The child had left with saying 'See you later' that day, but never came back with the words 'I'm home.' There will be no hug with my child any more. I wish to see my child's smile one more. Not to repeat the same tragedy."

<Damaged school building reborn as tsunami ruins display facility> 

The Kadonowaki Elementary School building was opened as a "tsunami ruins" display facility in April 2022.

Discussion on whether to preserve the building began soon after the city embarked on rehabilitation projects for the affected areas. Initially, nearly half of those who lived around the school asked for demolishing the structure, emphasizing that it would remind them of the horrible scene of the tsunami fire. 

The course of discussion changed later in favor of preserving the building, partially or entirely, as experts, media people and citizens concerned noted that the building is one of the few ruins that can tell the dreadfulness of a tsunami fire. 

The original Kadonowaki Elementary School building had a length of 107 meters extending east and west, but the current structure is much shorter. 

Both of its ends are demolished, because local residents not in favor of its preservation hoped that the building, if preserved, would be as inconspicuous as possible.

The tour within the school building brings the visitor first of all to part of the charred rooms on the first floor, which can been seen from the corridor through the mesh wire fence. 

Lying in the center of the principal's room is a safe with bundles of graduation certificates kept inside. The certificates were found intact in the safe and handed to graduates one month behind schedule. 

The dark staff room, next to the principal's room, is seen filled with various kinds of equipment toppled and destroyed with the strong tremor and the wave. 

In a classroom for small group learning, a lot of charred desks and chairs used by children are scattered around. Also lying on the burned floor are the damaged teacher's desk and an organ.

Earthquake survivors in northeastern Japan shifting to new phase with refined memories (1)

[Tsunami-hit areas in northeastern Japan region revisited] 1st of 3-part series 

August 30, 2023

Earthquake survivors in northeastern Japan shifting to new phase with refined memories (1)

Those who visit the central part of Ishinomaki, a northeastern Japan city extensively damaged by the devastating earthquake of March 2011, can see two impressive objects set up or preserved in memory of the mishap; one of them is a huge one, actually a school building destroyed by a fire which occurred following the earthquake-triggered tsunami wave, while the other one is a small stone monument dedicated to the souls of five kindergarten kids killed in the disaster.

The two structures stand in the city's tsunami memorial park expanding on a 38.8-hectare site in the Kadonowaki-Minamihama area, which used to be alive with about 3,000 houses built and residents busily passing by. 

Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture, hosts a major fishing port facing the Pacific, but the earthquake and the ensuing killer tsunami wave left some 3,600 people dead or missing in the city, the municipality-specific heaviest damage across the country. 

The figure compared with its population of 162,000 at the time of the disaster. Of the victims, over 500 people were killed by the onslaught of the earthquake and the wave in the seaside area. 

------------------------------

Those who survived the earthquake, which jolted the northeastern part of Japan on March 11, 2011, have spent their time in various ways since then. Some lawsuits were filed for damages by bereaved families, while debates occurred among citizens in some cities over whether the damaged structures and other objects must be preserved as earthquake ruins to keep the memories for the future generation.

The disaster, which claimed more than 20,000 lives in widely scattered regions on the Pacific coasts, led Japanese people to look back at their daily life, individual and social. They also came to realize the importance of their family bonds. 

Overall, people in the affected regions appear to be shifting from the initial days for rehabilitation and fact-finding to a new phase to pass their refined memories down to the generation to come. 

----------------------------

The reader may be recommended to refer to the related articles posted on this blogsite between March 7 and March 13, 2012, based on the author's tour of the affected regions. They can be found in the archives column for the year of 2012.

Indigo grass project aims at reviving unattended farmland in southwestern Japan

March 28, 2022

(Suspended now)

 

Indigo grass project aims at reviving unattended farmland in southwestern Japan

Cute mechanical toys give time of peace to Japanese amid continued pandemic

 February 28, 2022

Cute mechanical toys give time of peace to Japanese amid continued pandemic 

The small art museum located in Fukuoka Prefecture, southwestern Japan, used to be a guesthouse for a local sake Japanese rice wine brewer. Currently owned by Okawa City, the facility usually displays its collection of paintings and other art works, but it has become an exhibition theater for cute mechanical toys, some of them mysterious.

The two-story, semi-Western style building was completed by Seiriki sake brewer in 1908. It was used as a privately run art museum from the 1950s, and then, it was donated in 1996 to the city, which reopened it for citizens after renovation in 2001.

As the event comes amid the covid-19 pandemic, visitors are asked to register their name and mobile phone number at the entrance so that if a virus infection is found there, they may be so informed any time soon. This kind of measure has been taken by public facility operators throughout Japan since just after the start of the pandemic. 

Visitors also have their temperature checked at the entrance. After using a hand disinfector, they receive a pair of thin plastic gloves from the staff. 

They can touch and move the toys and other objects displayed with their gloves. When the toy's handle is turned around or the button is pressed, some objects start playing mysterious music and sound. 

This enables visitors to forget their hard days from early 2020 with the virus and refresh themselves for a while. 

The latest event, held at Owaka City Seiriki Art Museum from early January to late February, displays about 80 pieces of work crafted by five artists. The largest part of them are built by a local architect-turned mechanical toy maker. 

His pieces feature witches, fairies, rabbits and other creatures, as well as working figures like a baker and a woodcutter. 

Okawa City has been known as a hub of woodworking plants, which produce mainly furniture.

Based on its tradition of woodworking, the city aims at spreading enjoyable wood crafting among citizens and other people, not just adults but also children, a receptionist said. "We have organized the exhibition to demonstrate the fun of woodworking to many people" while taking anti-infection measures, she said.