[Event Report] "Minamisanriku Minna no Kiriko" viewing and social event held
On Tuesday, August 27th, we held the "Minamisanriku Minna no Kiriko" viewing and social event at the Minamisanriku 311 Memorial.
This social event was held as part of the Minamisanriku Minna no Kiriko Project, which displays kiriko at 50 locations around the town, including the memorial.
About 30 people from the Iriya and Utatsu districts gathered to talk about their memories of creating the works and their memories of their town before the earthquake.
Our guide this time was Yoshikawa Yumi, representative of ENVISI, the organizer of the Minamisanriku Minna no Kiriko Project.
Yoshikawa spoke about his connection with Minamisanriku Town, the history of the kiriko-themed art project, and his memories of creating various kiriko.
The kiriko made by Shizue Miura of the Utatsu district features the name of the Kumazo Shoten store, which she ran in Iri-mae, as well as the memorial tablets of the houses in the area. An anecdote was presented about how the memorial tablets of the houses in the surrounding area mysteriously gathered in the Kumazo Shoten store, which was in Iri-mae, Utatsu, where only the steel frame remained after the tsunami.
Also, a large mirror is painted in the middle of the kiriko of Akiko Sato, who served as the head priest of Isuzu Shrine in the Tokura district, which is also connected to Ise Grand Shrine. This is a reference to the story of how an important mirror that was kept at home was moved to the shrine one week before the earthquake and was therefore safe from the tsunami.
We listened carefully to stories related to kiriko and shared nostalgic memories while freely discussing life and memories before the disaster.
We would like to thank the Minamisanriku Town Social Welfare Council for their cooperation in hosting this event, and everyone who attended.
