25 years after the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake

25 years after the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake Memorial prayer at the East Amusement Park January 17 19:13

25 years have passed since the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, and many people gathered without interruption in the afternoon at the East Amusement Park in Kobe, where memorial services have been held since the early morning of the 17th.

A commemorative gathering is held on the 17th and 1st at the East Amusement Park in Kobe's Chuo Ward.

At the venue, a lantern with a message such as "connecting the heart" was written as "1.17" in the memory of the memory of the earthquake disaster, and the shape of the character "Kizamu" with the thought of communicating it to the next generation It is arranged in.

Even in the afternoon, high school and junior high school students and their parents and children continued to visit without interruption, and many people lit their lanterns and put their hands together.

At 5:46 pm, 12 hours after the time of the earthquake, another silence was held, praying to the victims.

According to Kobe City, approximately 38,000 people visited memorial gatherings at the East Amusement Park by 5:00 pm on the 17th, an increase of 5,000 from last year.

The memorial gathering of Higashi Yuen will be held until 9pm.

"If it helps a little"

A third-year high school girl in Ashiya City, Hyogo Prefecture, who participated in the memorial gathering for the first time, said, "I learned about the disaster in a class on urban disaster prevention, thought about what I could do, and volunteered. I haven't experienced any disaster, but I hope it helps a little through volunteering. "

"I want my daughter to know."

A 46-year-old woman from Kato City, Hyogo Prefecture, with her 10th-year-old daughter from elementary school, said, “At that time, many people were injured at the window when they were working at a hospital in Higashinada Ward, Kobe City. I remember coming here, and I wanted to let my daughter know about the disaster. "

She said, "It's a disaster that has killed many people and I want to learn and remember it properly."

"Remember the victim's name"

A woman in her 60s in Minato-ku, Osaka, said, “At the time of the earthquake, my husband and I lived in Kobe, but the woman who lived in the opposite house died. When I see the woman's name on the panel with the victim's name, I can remember that time. "

"Thanks to my deceased parents"

At the time of the earthquake, a 41-year-old man who lived in Nagata-ku, Kobe and lost his parents as a first-year high school student, said, "The house collapsed in the earthquake, and both fathers died as their fathers protected their mothers. , My parents grew lovingly and I felt like my father was worried and calling her name during the earthquake. "

Then, looking back, he said, "I was wandering without exits, saying that the days of hell will continue, but there are days when I can look forward and laugh after 25 years, and these days will come I'm glad I was alive and thank my parents for giving birth. "

"I want to pass on the disaster"

A third-year boy studying disaster prevention at the Maiko High School in Tarumi-ku, Kobe City, specializing in disaster prevention, said, "This is a generation that has not experienced the disaster, but we want to continue to tell us about the disaster. I heard that some people have been in trouble for 25 years, so I want to work on solving the issues. "