MINAMISANRIKU 311 Memorial Archives
南三陸311メモリアルアーカイブス
Archives of Video Accounts
The MINAMISANRIKU 311 Memorial has a collection of 91 firsthand video accounts (about 81 hours in total) from residents who experienced the Great East Japan Earthquake. We present clips from selected videos according to the theme of each exhibition. More video accounts can be viewed in the Exhibition Gallery in the museum.
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Onodera Hiroshi
Farmer and chairperson of the Building a Great Utatsu Association
Food distribution by Kamisawa village / Tsunami and place names / Passing down lessons for future generation -
Nagayama Ryuichi
Firefighter, chief of the Minamisanriku Fire Station at the time
Experience and lessons learned as a firefighter -
Asokawa Atsushi
Principal, Togura Elementary School at the time
Evacuation of Togura Elementary School -
Suzuki Kiyomi
Parents Association, Nozomi Welfare Workshop
Caught by the tsunami at Nozomi Welfare Workshop -
Onodera Sho
A second year student at Togura Junior High School at the time, Gyozan-ryu Mitobe Shishi-Odori Preservation Association
Experience of facing the threat of the tsunami at Togura Junior High School and revitalization of Shishi-odori
Digital Archives of the Great East Japan Earthquake
The museum has compiled 85 documents that detail episodes that have unfolded in various places in Minamisanriku since the Great East Japan Earthquake. These are now being shared with the public. The Exhibition Gallery highlights selected episodes according to the theme of each exhibition. On the exhibition banner, visitors can see more photographs.
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1 Surviving from Zero
Throughout the earthquake, the tsunami, and the frigid night, how did the town residents cling to life? These episodes took place in various places around the town immediately after the disaster.
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2 In an Isolated Place
The tsunami destroyed roads, bridges, communications, water, electricity, and other infrastructure that took months to restore. These are some episodes that occurred during that time.
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3 The Self-Defense Forces and Minamisanriku
The Self-Defense Forces were involved in a wide range of activities, including searching for bodies, restoring roads and bridges, ensuring that town residents could eat and bathe, and building temporary housing. Their activities gave great hope to the town residents.
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4 Giving and Receiving Support
On the road to recovery from the Great East Japan Earthquake, we received immeasurable support from all over Japan and around the world. This is a record of the interactions between supporters and residents.
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5 Supporting Each Individual’s Living
How did town residents, who had lost everything, restore their lives? This section highlights the emergence of the strength of the community that town residents nurtured as they supported one another.
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6 Understanding Tsunamis
This section explains the natural phenomenon of tsunamis that people might know about without truly understanding. Visitors can also see records from the tsunami that followed the Great Chilean Earthquake and illustrations of the Meiji Sanriku Tsunami.
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7 Preparing for Disasters
Every year, natural disasters are occurring with increasing severity. This section provides information about evacuating in the event of a disaster.
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8 Building a New Town
This section features various episodes of town residents’ efforts to rebuild their communities after unprecedented disaster.