On March 11, 2023, 12 years have passed since the Great East Japan Earthquake.
On this spring-like sunny day, many people visited Michi-no-Eki and Minamisanriku. A special tour was held at the Minamisanriku 311 Memorial at this time when many people remember the time of the earthquake and think about natural disasters and disaster prevention. This is a two-day limited project on March 11th and 12th , "Minamisanriku 311 Memorial and a tour to prepare for 'what if' when you learn locally" .
After watching the Minamisanriku 311 Memorial learning program, we will visit the places mentioned in the testimony video and walk around the site while imagining the situation at that time as if it were our own. This time, we covered the "course to relive the evacuation behavior of elementary school students at that time" held on the 11th.
This time, the people who participated in the tour ranged from singles, couples, and families with children. During the time before the learning program is shown, participants spend time looking at panels summarizing data related to the Great East Japan Earthquake, testimony videos, and photographs of old towns. There were people who stopped and looked at the exhibition seriously, and there were people who wiped their tears after watching the testimony video.
The learning program to be taken in this course is "Program 1 Evacuation that separates life and death".
Based on the testimonial videos of residents who faced the difference between life and death, you can learn how people acted immediately after the earthquake.
One of the witnesses is the principal of Togura Elementary School at the time of the earthquake. Even before the earthquake, the principal had been discussing with the teachers about evacuation in the event of an earthquake. When the Great East Japan Earthquake hit, he said he had to make a decision about whether to evacuate to high ground or to the roof. On that day, children and local residents evacuated to Isuzu Shrine on a hill. In the snowy cold, we talk about how elementary school students at the time spent their time.
In the program, time is set aside for participants to discuss some questions with each other. While talking to the people around me, I deepened my thoughts about how I would make decisions if I were myself.
After watching the program, the guide will lead you to the site where elementary school students and local residents evacuated. The school building was damaged by the tsunami and has now been relocated to another location. Hearing from the guide that the tsunami reached as high as the electric poles standing on the site, the participants looked up with a solemn look on their faces.
After spending time imagining that there was an elementary school in this place, we moved to the shrine where the elementary school students had evacuated to at that time. After climbing the steep slope, I could see the sea when I came to the red torii gate. The participants seemed to realize just how frightening it was that the sea, which seemed so far away, turned into a tsunami and surged to this place.
Climb to the highest point of the shrine where elementary school students spent the night. The place was so small that the participants couldn't help but ask, "Did all the elementary school students spend their time here?"
The sky is open directly above the shrine surrounded by trees. At that time, I remembered the testimony of the principal that he saw a sky full of stars in the snow.
We received such impressions from the participants.
“I gave birth to this child in the year the Great East Japan Earthquake struck. I was born at a time when many lives were lost, so I wanted to visit the disaster area at least once. I wasn't ready to go… As my child has grown so much, I wanted him to know about the disaster, so I joined as a family. He was studying seriously, so I thought it was a good idea to bring him along.”
“When I heard that elementary school children like myself had evacuated to this point, I felt that it was amazing that they survived. I thought that the tsunami was about five meters of clean sea water, but I was surprised that it was completely different from what I had imagined.”
“When I came to town after the earthquake, I saw fishing gear caught in the tsunami-hit Togura Elementary School. If I was in the position of the principal, I imagined that I might have thought that rooftop evacuation would be fine. It made me want to think about it."
It's been a long time since the Great East Japan Earthquake, but I don't think it's too late to learn about that day and think about disaster prevention and life.
At the Minamisanriku 311 Memorial, valuable testimony videos of townspeople are displayed. When you watch the video, you can relive each person's different experiences and the various thoughts they have had. Furthermore, by visiting the places mentioned in the testimonies, like this tour, you will feel that they belong to you and will be engraved in your heart.
It was a tour that strongly felt the significance of continuing to convey here.