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[Group Report] Sendai Municipal Sendai Seiryo Secondary School Learning Program 2 “Can you save your life at that time?” implementation report


[Selective program] Learning program 2 "Can you protect your life at that time?"
[Date and Time] Friday, March 3, 2023
[Number of people] 138 people




March is the month when the Great East Japan Earthquake occurred. Even now, 12 years after the earthquake, there is no end to the number of people who want to learn about the lessons learned at that time and about disaster prevention. Sendai Municipal Seiryo Secondary School, which we interviewed this time, is one of them.

When I asked the teacher why he chose Minamisanriku this time, he said, "Since the educational trip is scheduled for March, I wanted to make it an educational trip to deepen the lessons of the Great East Japan Earthquake and disaster prevention. At that time, I learned that a new disaster memorial facility was opening in Minamisanriku Town.If the learning program uses video, it will be easier for students who have no memory of that time to imagine what it was like at the time of the disaster, making it more familiar. I planned the itinerary with the expectation that I would be able to learn about disaster prevention."

This time, we combined the Minamisanriku 311 Memorial learning program "Program 2: Can we save lives at that time?" and the "Bus Storyteller" about the actual disaster area with storytellers, and divided the time slots for each class. For this interview, I first went to the Minamisanriku 311 Memorial, and then went to the class where the bus storytelling class was held.

In "Program 2: Will we be able to save lives at that time?", from the case of Minamisanriku-cho, where many of the town's designated evacuation sites and shelters were hit by a tsunami, we will face a situation that far exceeds our expectations when a natural disaster occurs. We learn that there are things.



Witnesses who were junior high school students at the time of the earthquake were hit by a tsunami at an evacuation center. Through the program, you can learn how they evacuated and how they responded. Then, using that testimony as a reference, we will deepen our thoughts on disaster prevention and disaster prevention while discussing with people around us. It is a program that many schools have adopted as it helps people of the same generation to understand what they experienced and what they thought at the time, and to deepen their understanding of the disaster.





After watching Program 2, the storyteller guides us to the former Togura Junior High School, which appeared in the testimony video. The school building of Togura Junior High School, which was a designated evacuation center, was also flooded by the tsunami, and junior high school students desperately climbed mountains from the grounds to evacuate. By visiting the site, you can feel how high the "approximately 22.6m tsunami" that hit the school building was.





Knowing that the tsunami arrival line was much higher than they were, the students seemed to realize the ferocity of the tsunami. We asked the storyteller about how the junior high school students spent their time after the earthquake. They talked about how the normal life of going to school with friends, attending graduation ceremonies, going home and spending time with family is no longer the norm.


After that, we headed to the Earthquake Reconstruction Memorial Park, where the former Disaster Prevention Countermeasures Office is located. In Program 2, there is a story that after the earthquake, Minamisanriku-cho piled up soil and raised the ground everywhere. Today, the former disaster prevention office can be seen from where the 311 Memorial and other facilities are located. You can actually walk and feel that this is the height of the town before the earthquake. It seemed that they were able to deepen their thoughts on post-earthquake community development and disaster prevention, which they could not have imagined from the program testimony alone.




From the students who participated

“By watching videos of the tsunami and hearing testimonies at the Minamisanriku 311 Memorial, I was keenly aware of the terror of natural disasters that claim lives. , I could imagine the situation at that time, and I realized that a truly terrible disaster had occurred.”

“The story of the storyteller left an impression on me: ``Protect your own life first. In addition, I would like to make use of what I learned this time in my daily disaster prevention.”

I received an impression.


From the leading teacher,

“After watching the video, I was able to actually go to the affected areas, which made me feel a sense of reality. I'm glad that I chose to combine the two programs.I think it was an opportunity to think about earthquakes and disaster prevention, so I would like to think about disaster prevention with my students in the future, and I will reflect on what I learned today. I think

I received an impression.


At a certain place in the Minamisanriku 311 Memorial, the words "To understand is to change" are carved.

What I learned from listening to the testimonies, what I realized through discussions with people around me, and what I understood by actually walking around the site was an opportunity to change the awareness of disaster prevention and the way of life of the participants. I would appreciate it if you could be.

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This time, we divided into four groups and implemented a combination of learning programs and bus storytellers.
At the Minamisanriku 311 Memorial, we have prepared a program that leads to deeper learning by combining various storyteller programs such as town walks, buses, and disaster lectures.

Click here for details of various storyteller programs

For group booking inquiries, please click here.