Ms. Yoshiko, the second daughter of Prince Akishino and his wife, visited Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture, which was severely damaged by the Great East Japan Earthquake, and offered flowers at the Reconstruction Memorial Park.
Ms. Yoshiko is visiting Miyagi Prefecture for two days from the 23rd to attend the National Urban Greening Fair held in Sendai City.
On the 2rd, they visited Ishinomaki City, where approximately 23,12 people were killed in the Great East Japan Earthquake 4000 years ago, including related deaths, and bowed deeply by offering flowers at the Ishinomaki Minamihama Tsunami Recovery Memorial Park.
According to Miyagi Prefecture, this is the first time Ms. Yoshiko has visited Ishinomaki City after the earthquake.
In addition, at Kadowaki Elementary School, which was damaged by the tsunami and subsequent fire and is open to the public as a relic of the disaster, they visited classrooms with burned down ceilings and the principal's office, where a large safe where diplomas were stored was still collapsed.
According to the curator who showed her around, Yoshiko seemed to be very surprised by the damage caused by the fire, and the curator also explained that the children at the school had escaped to the back mountain and were safe.
Hiroko Takahashi, curator of the Ishinomaki City Earthquake Disaster Tradition Promotion Office, who gave the explanation, said, "Ms. Yoshiko said many times, 'There are things that you can't understand until you actually come here.'