2016.03.12 14:02
Great Eastern Japan Earthquake Memorial Service on the sea (3/11 2016 at Otomo Town, Rikuzentakata City)
On March 11, 2016 (Fri), the fifth anniversary of the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake, we held a memorial service for the victims of the earthquake on the sea near Otomo town, Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture. Mr. Yuichi Murakami offered meticulous support to the event, from planning, the arrangement of both the venue and the boat for the ceremony, and even food preparation for the after-party "Naorai". We would like to thank Mr. and Mrs. Murakami and Mr. Teruo Toba, the chairperson of the neighbourhood association, for their generous help.
Before the memorial service, as usual, we cooked "Tomodachi curry" for lunch under the instruction of Taher. At 9 o'clock, our team was warmly welcomed by Mr. and Mrs. Murakami and Mr. Toba. After the quick exchange of greetings, we started preparation of the meal.
Following the opening speech by Yasuhiko Sata, Board Chairperson of the Foundation, Mr. Yugi Iinuma, who is a Sendai based local historian made a speech as a special guest. Mr. Iinuma is known for his books and articles which reveal historical facts suggesting that the Sendai Plain has been hit by 12 tsunamis with a period of 180-220 years during the past 2000 years. Although he had issued warnings more than a few times about the government's insufficient disaster-prevention measures, his alerts had been completely ignored until the occurrence of 311. Mr. Iinuma continues to sound the alarm about tsunami which will inevitably hit the Japanese coast line sometime in the future.
His valuable advice was followed by a speech by Mr. Toba, the chairman of the neighbourhood association, and finally, "Tomodachi curry" was served.
Although there was a limited time before the memorial service, thanks to the sunny and warm weather, tables on the terrace started to fill up quickly. The tables outside appeared to be more popular than the tables inside the building and everyone enjoyed their meals even for the short time. 18 kg of chicken was generously donated by Mr Keishi Onodera (former chairman of the local Rotary Club) and 20 litres of fresh milk was, as ever, kindly offered by Mr. Nobuaki Sudo from Senmaya to make spiced tea.
The lunch was followed by the prayers for the repose of the souls of the disaster victims, led by religious representatives. A series of prayers started from Mr Ritsu Sato, chief priest of Kumano Shrine. The chief priest, the board chairman, Mr. Toba and representatives of the townspeople offered prayers individually, followed by the collective prayer by the entire attendees.
Master Eigo Takahashi, abbot of Kokuseki-ji temple read a sutra, and finally, Sayed Taher from the Foundation, read the Quran and beautifully chanted Adhan toward the sea as a representative of Muslims. Thus, the prayers for the tsunami victims were offered beyond religious or national borders.
After the ceremony, the party moved to the port and a small group of people got on Tenyo-maru, a fishing boat owned by Mr. Yuichi Murakami. For safety reasons, only a limited number of people including Mr. Sato, the chief priest of Kumano shrine, took the boat.
On the boat, at a sign from the captain of the boat, the group threw flowers in the sea in remembrance of the dead and paused for a moment of silence.
Those who stayed behind at the port waited till 14:46, the instant of the quake, and observed a moment of silence with Master Fujinami.
After the memorial ceremony on the sea, the participants joined a traditional party called "Naorai" and enjoyed home cooked food and local delicacies of the sea.
Mr. and Mrs. Yasuo Yosikawa from SWTJ (SOLIDARITY WITH TOHOKU, JAPAN) based in Shiga Prefecture joined the event and brought a variety of delicious western food for the party.
A story of the event appeared in Iwate Nippo with some photographs.
Iwate Nippo dated 3/12, 2016
Categories：Staff reports
2016.03.12 14:02 admin
