On the 11th, local junior high school and high school students conducted a storyteller activity to convey the lessons learned from the Great East Japan Earthquake at the old high school building, which is the remains of the earthquake in Kesennuma City, Miyagi Prefecture.
The old school building of Kesennuma Mukai High School was flooded by the tsunami to the top floor of the four-story school building, and is now open to the public as the remains of the earthquake that convey the damage at that time.
Here, local junior high school and high school students are conducting storyteller activities as part of their learning about the earthquake, and on the 11th, 10 years after the earthquake, 40 students guided the facility to the visitors.
At the time of the earthquake, the students were still small and their memories were ambiguous, so they learned about their experiences and the damage caused by the earthquake from their families and local people, and talked about their feelings.
Of these, Yuma Sato, a third-year student at an upstairs junior high school, said, "At the time of the earthquake, I first evacuated to my house, but my mother told me to escape to a higher place and went higher. I was caught in the waves and felt that I had to escape to a higher place when the tsunami hit. "
In addition, Mr. Saito, a third-year junior high school student who saw the tsunami while evacuating, said, "I think there are people who have forgotten or do not know after 10 years, so I want you to know the horror of the tsunami again." I was complaining.
The man who gave an answer at the graduation ceremony 11 days after the earthquake
Eleven days after the earthquake, a man who gave an answer at a graduation ceremony held at a junior high school in Kesennuma and conveyed the ferocious nature sent a message to his juniors working hard at the storyteller.
Yuta Kajiwara (25), a graduate of upstairs junior high school, gave an answer at a graduation ceremony held 11 days after the earthquake, with many evacuees, saying, "Before the violence of nature, human power is too strong. He was helpless and mercilessly robbed us of what was important to us. It was too terrible for the trials that Heaven gave us. It is our mission to help each other and live. We will definitely be good members of society. "
The video of the situation was broadcast in the old school building of Kesennuma Mukai High School, which is the remains of the earthquake, and became a hot topic as the violence of nature and the words of young people who confront it.
This month, Mr. Kajiwara sent a message to the current junior high school students who are working hard in the storyteller by replying to NHK's interview by e-mail.
Mr. Kajiwara said, "I think it's a very meaningful activity. Now, there are few things that everyone in the upper junior high school can say as a storyteller, and most of them may be hearsay from adult storytellers. However, such a thing is a trivial problem. I think it is important to convey to many people the awareness of disaster prevention, the fragility of life, and the unyielding heart through the situation and events at that time. And please cherish the same thoughts among your juniors. "
After graduating from junior high school, Kajiwara went on to a college of technology outside the prefecture and is currently working for a construction-related company.
Mr. Kajiwara said, "I felt a sense of alienation because I couldn't see the local people recovering up close. That kind of feeling made me choose a job to be involved in public works. I was able to get involved in the construction of the tide embankment in Kesennuma City, and I was able to give back to the locals, so I think I'm a little closer to the "good working people" I read in the answer on the day of the graduation ceremony 10 years ago. I don't think so, "he recalls over the last 10 years.
And about the video of Mr. Kajiwara reading the answer, "I myself am not good at being exposed, but by seeing my own video, something in that person I wish I had something to give, so I would like to see me stay in Kesennuma a little more 10 years ago and do my best. "