Climbing of the memorial is blocked Summer 21 August 01 21:01
Many August, every year, many bereaved families visit the mountains for memorial service in the mountains of Gunma prefecture, where a Nikko Jumbo plane killed 520 people 35 years ago. The new coronavirus, and 35 years, have become a form of obstacle for the bereaved family's memorial service.
We interviewed the bereaved family who lost their 6th grade son at the time of the crash, and the bereaved family who lost their 24-year-old daughter who was expected to be an actress.
(Maebashi Broadcasting Station reporter Hideaki Chiaki, Social Affairs Department reporter Sayaka Yamada)
Red hoodie
I (Chiaki), who started coverage of the Nikko aircraft crash 10 years ago, was interested in something this spring.
There is a "red hoodie" that is newly worn every year on the tombstone of the Osutaka ridge at the crash site.
What will happen to the red hoodie as the memorial climbing and ceremonies are significantly reduced to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus infection?
I (Chiaki) contacted me in April this year and went to see the bereaved who brought Parker every year.
The soul is on the ridge of Osutaka
Masanori Takishita (80) and his wife, Fumiyo (77), who live in Ota-ku, Tokyo.
Thirty-five years ago, I lost Hiroshi-kun, who was in the sixth grade in elementary school, in a crash (at that time 11).
I was flying alone to visit my relative's house in Hyogo prefecture.
Since then, Mr. and Mrs. Takishita have continued the mountaineering of memorial services on August 12, which is the anniversary of their death, saying, "The grave of Hiroshi is in Tokyo, but the soul is in the ridge of Osutaka."
Mr. Takishita said that he had been exercising with the goal of 8,000 steps a day, while his legs gradually weakened.
When I (Chiaki) asked what I would like to do on the day of climbing on the death day, I said regretfully that I would give up on the spread of new coronavirus infection.
Baseball boy
Hiroshi had a baseball life everyday, with mornings on weekdays and games on holidays.
The uniform's shadow was taken at the time of winning the district championship, and has a big smile with the winning cup in his hand.
That day was suddenly cut off.
What is the feeling of parents
Yufumi-kun loved red hoodies.
Mr. and Mrs. Takishita have always worn red hoodies on the tombs every year.
When I asked him how he felt, it was a word that I couldn't imagine.
Masanori
Takishita "It's my parents' feeling, in short, I feel like I'm a cold"
I (Chiaki) felt that I was always touched by my parents' concerns about their children.
Mr. Takishita gave up the mountaineering of memorial services, but decided to prepare a new hoodie and entrust it to another person.
A red hoodie, a "letter," safely dressed
I was entrusted with Kenichi Kurosawa, who has been the manager of the Osutaka ridge for over 10 years.
We have been supporting the bereaved families by continuing to develop mountain trails so that the aging bereaved families can walk easily without knowing them for more than 100 days a year.
August 12th.
Mr. Kurosawa visited the tomb with the thoughts of Mr. and Mrs. Takishita.
A hoodie worn by Mr. and Mrs. Takishita was left on the tombstone last year.
Kurosawa was politely wearing a new red hoodie on behalf of Takishita.
The letter was also addressed.
The letter says:
"To Hiroshi,
this summer I can't climb the mountain because of the corona, so
I asked my uncle Kurosawa.
I'm sorry I can't climb the mountain.
I'll definitely be seeing you next year so please wait.
Masanori Fumiyo
Touching the pure feelings of the parents who continue to think of their children even after losing them, I thought that I (Chiaki) should continue to convey the accident that claimed the lives of many people in an instant, as one of the interviewers. It was
Daughter expected of the future
This summer, 35 years before the accident, I (Yamada) visited the house of the bereaved family whose daughter had been sacrificed.
I was about to spend a year as an aviation reporter, wondering what I was able to do after the accident.
When I visited an apartment in Tokyo, Kimiko Yoshida (86) greeted me outside the room so that I could find it immediately.
Yoshida lost her 24-year-old daughter, Yumiko, at the time of the accident.
He was born in the Takarazuka Revue and was expected to be in the future, such as appearing in movies and dramas.
Mr. Yoshida looked back at those days while picking up Yumiko's picture.
Two days before the accident, Yumiko returned home from her home in Tokyo, where she lives alone, to her parents' home in Yokohama, where she watched fireworks, went shopping, and enjoyed her summer vacation.
On the day of the accident, Mr. Yoshida received a shocking phone call.
"Yumiko is on the plane,"
Yoshida immediately denied, "I can't do that," but Yumiko was on the flight.
Mr. Yoshida rushed to Haneda Airport and took a bus with the families of many passengers to the crash site of Ueno Village in Gunma Prefecture.
Relics that are carefully stored
Yumiko's wallet, which was broken down three days after the accident.
Two days later, Yumiko was found.
The relics were arranged in the drawer of the Buddhist altar.
Wallets, rings, earrings, notebooks, covers on books, each one was put in a bag in small pieces.
It's painful, but I have to watch it slowly.
I saw Yumiko's relics with Mr. Yoshida who said so.
“My husband said that he had money, which was unusual for Yumiko,” said Yoshida, who makes nostalgia with his wallet.
Kimiko Yoshida
"Yumiko had decided to star in a drama starting at 9am on Sunday. I'm looking forward to filming in Australia because I rarely filmed abroad at that time."
On the page with the notebook, the shooting schedule in Australia was written.
Reasons for continuing to climb memorial services
Immediately after the accident, Mr. Yoshida said he was looking up at the sky while waiting near the scene, "Isn't a helicopter flying here?"
And in May of the following year, I was able to climb the "Osutaka Ridge" at the crash site for the first time with my husband.
On the morning of August 12th of that year, Mr. Yoshida could not stand even if he stood up, left the house without deciding on an inn or a plan, and climbed the mountain with a bouquet of flowers.
Since then, I have been climbing a memorial service every year.
Kimiko Yoshida
"I'm going to spring when it's just green, so it's beautiful with cherry blossoms, rhododendrons and all kinds of flowers all at once. In the summer, the mountains are dark green and in the fall the autumn leaves are splendid."
The four seasons of the Osutaka ridge, which Mr. Yoshida talks about, are beautiful and I became sad when I heard them.
When asked why he had been climbing the memorial service, Mr. Yoshida choked his words and said, "I'm not satisfied with that, but I think going to Osutaka is at least possible for my daughter. I will do it."
To put off mountaineering
Yoshida is 86 years old.
Although the trail to the Osutaka ridge at the site of the crash was maintained, the trip that took about 1 hour one way doubled in recent years, and the knees hurt when descending.
"Everyone is annoying,"
Yoshida decided to forgo this climb.
Kimiko Yoshida
“I knew that I wouldn't be able to climb anymore, so I want to do my best not only in the mountains but also in the future.”
I thought Mr. Yoshida kept climbing every year so that he wouldn't regret when he couldn't climb someday.
On 12th of this month, Mr. Yoshida turned flowers to her daughter at the memorial facility at the foot of the mountain.
I asked my son who climbed the mountain to deliver Anmitsu that Yumiko loved.
Words that made me start
Two days after my death, I went to see Mr. Yoshida again.
Kimiko Yoshida
"My offering was that my son said, "I'll bring it."
Even if you can't climb, there are people who can climb.
Mr. Yoshida looked very happy.
As I talked with Mr. Yoshida in various ways, there were words that made me startle.
Kimiko Yoshida
: I want all people involved in public transportation to be aware that it is a problem to neglect maintenance and repairs because they are in charge of the lives of people. Since it is only one life, I don't think it's so sad that a person who lived so hard had to suddenly close his life.''
It was a strong desire for safety.
Entrusting "inheritance" to generations who do not know the accident directly
In the process of interviewing, I frankly told that I was a generation who did not know the accident directly, Mr. Yoshida said, ``Some people forget about this accident so that I can not remember other accidents in detail. There are so many, so please tell us about the accident all the time."
We will continue to collect data in order to meet that desire and build a safe society without accidents.
Maebashi broadcasting station reporter
Hideaki Chiaki
Social department reporter
Saya Yamada