The third day, we went to clean apartment rooms. Volunteers are, understandably, not permitted to go inside rental houses until both the property owner and tenant give permission. In this case, finally after 4 months, the building owner got in touch with the tenant and we were allowed in to clean. The resident was in his early 20’s and asked our help in finding his photo albums. Time had frozen here since March 11. The inside was a mess. The bed, desk, refrigerator, toilet, books, everything was covered with sludge. It had filled with Ttsunami water inside and the windows had hemorrhaged under the incredible water pressure. A mirror had been crushed in the surge and was shattered all over the floor making clean-up particularly perilous.

The building itself seemed sound enough, but they would need to replace everything. Our mission was move everything out and shovel the sludge from all the rooms – hopefully, we would find something of the photo albums. We took everything out right down to the toilet. We checked every book and inside every box. We hoped to find the albums in the bedroom or living room area… but we didn’t see any sign of his photos. The heat continued unabated and this apartment was very dusty and muddy. We took frequent breaks but were getting very tired.

Even though it was not a big apartment, we worked all morning and thought we would probably need to come back to finish. Right before the noon, one of staff let loose a big scream. “Atta!!!” (I found it!) He found a photo album (a high school year book, in fact) from the bathroom floor! All of us delighted in the news and were so happy to find the photo album that our energy returned and we were able to finish the job that day.

We met some wonderful people while working on that apartment. 4 young people had come from southern Japan to volunteer but hadn’t linked up with any of the volunteer organizations. They helped us carry larger items like the refrigerator and a large kitchen cabinet. Thanks to their help we finished quickly and could start another apartment in which the tenant had unfortunately been killed. We prayed for her before we went inside the room and started our work.

We also had a chance to go to the Hiyoriyama park where many people evacuated when the tsunami happened. It is on the top of a high hill. From that point, we could see a huge area that had been devastated by the tsunami. We prayed again for the victims and looked in awe around the Ishinomaki area. Even though we had been working in the wake of the tsunami all week, it was here that we could begin to appreciate it’s incredible power. A whole town, village and community had been washed away.

Strange as this may sound, I had a wonderful time the day I left Ishinomaki. During my previous visit, I had helped an older couple at their home. For them, we removed muddy tatami mats and furniture from their house. The woman had also told me of her experience following the tsunami on my first visit. She didn’t have enough clothes because she couldn’t go to get them with her bad leg. In my bag, I still had a few clean clothes so I left them all for her and told her I would come back to see her again. Before leaving Ishinomaki on my second trip, I stopped in to see them again. They were living in a small cabin not far from their original house. I had brought some additional clothing for her. She was surprised to see me again, welcomed me in, and served green tea and snacks. We caught up and had a very nice visit.

A month later, I got a twitter message from one of the Peace Boat staff asking me if he could give the woman my phone number. I wrote him back “of course” and a couple of days later, I got a phone call from her. She called to tell me that she would be leaving the next day to have her leg operated on. She said she had wanted to hear my voice before she went into the hospital. It was wonderful to speak with her and we had a nice chat. I wished her luck with her surgery and she wished me luck as well.

She wished me luck…Each day there, now dwindling numbers of volunteers set about helping to clean, repair, and rebuild the community. Then, in spite of inhospitable conditions, the people of Ishinomaki show incredible hospitality. In circumstances where there can appear to be so little to be thankful for, they show tremendous gratitude. In a time where tens of thousands of lives have been fragmented, the enormous difficulty we face in Tohoku brings us all closer together. We are not simply volunteers going to help, we are completing our side of our obligation for hope. The heat, the frozen orange juice, the sharing of unfathomable stories, the photographs miraculously returned, the phone calls, all affirm our connection to one another. I would like to go back there again. In fact, many more of us must continue to go to Tohoku to help if we are to recover. For the volunteers that go, it doesn’t remain just Tohoku anymore, it becomes a place for hope where our friends live…

３日目、アパートの部屋を片付けに行きました。私達ボランティアは当然、家主や借り主の許可なしで賃貸住宅に入る事はできません。今回、４ヶ月経ってやっと家主が借り主と連絡を取ることができ、私達に片付けの許可が出ました。住んでいた人は２０代前半で、私達は彼の写真アルバムを探して欲しいと頼まれました。時間は３月１１日から止まっていました。室内はぐちゃぐちゃです。ベッド、机、冷蔵庫、トイレ、本、全ては泥にまみれていました。室内は津波の水でいっぱいとなり、窓は驚くような津波の圧力によって失われていました。鏡は圧力でぐちゃぐちゃ、床に粉々になり、片付けるのがとても危険な状態でした。建物自体は大丈夫そうでしたが、全てを入れ替える必要がありそうでした。私達の使命は全ての物を外に運び出し、全ての部屋から泥を掻き出すこと。願わくは、写真アルバムの何かを見つけることでした。トイレの便器まで、全てを取り出しました。全ての本、箱の中身をチェックしました。寝室かリビングでアルバムが見つかる事を願っていましたが、写真らしいものは見つけられませんでした。暑さは衰えず続き、このアパートは埃と泥でいっぱいでした。まめに休憩を取ってはいましたが、私達はとても疲れてきました。

決して大きなアパートでないにも関わらず、午前中いっぱい働き、仕上げる為におそらく戻ってこなければならないだろうと考えていました。正午間近に、チームのメンバーの１人が大きな叫び声を上げました「あった！！！」トイレの床から写真のアルバム（実際には、高校の卒業アルバム）を見つけたのです。私達はこの知らせに歓喜しました。写真アルバムを見つけた事がとても嬉しく、エネルギーが蘇り、その日なんとか片付けの仕事を終えることができました。

アパートで作業をする間、素晴らしい人達に出会いました。関西やもっと南の方からやってきた、どこのボランティア団体にも所属していない４人の若者達でした。彼らは、私達が冷蔵庫やキッチン棚のような大きな物を運ぶのを手伝ってくれました。おかげで、作業を早く終える事ができ、次の残念ながら亡くなった方が住んでいた別の部屋の片付けを始める事ができました。作業を始めるために部屋に入る前に、亡くなった女性のために黙祷をしました。

津波が起こった時に多くの人が避難した場所、日和山公園へ行く機会もありました。高い丘のてっぺんにあります。ここから、津波により破壊された広大な地域を見ることができました。ずっと津波の被害があった場所で作業をしていたにもかかわらず、信じがたい津波の力を認識することができるものがそこにはありました。町、村、そして社会が丸ごと流されてしまったのです。

変に聞こえるかもしれませんが、石巻を去る日に素晴らしい時間を持ちました。実は前回の石巻訪問中、ある老夫婦のお宅にお手伝いに行きました。泥まみれの畳や家具をお宅から運び出しました。この私の最初の訪問で、そのおばあさんもまた、津波の体験を話して下さいました。足が悪い為に物資を取りに行く事ができず、十分な服を持っておられませんでした。私の荷物の中にはまだいくつかきれいな服があったので、おばあさんのために置いて行くことにし、また会いに来ますと言い残して別れました。
今回の２度目の訪問で石巻を去る前に、私はこの老夫婦をまた訪れることができました。もともと住んでいたお宅から遠くない場所にある、小さな小屋で生活していらっしゃいました。私は少しばかりの洋服を持って行きました。おばあさんは私に再び会うと驚き、招き入れ、緑茶とおつまみを出して下さいました。あれからどうしていたかを話して下さりました。とてもよい訪問となりました。

１ヶ月後、ピースボートのスタッフの１人から、このおばあさんに私の電話番号を教えてもよいですかというツイッターメッセージを受け取りました。「もちろんよいです」と返信を書くと、数日後、おばあさんから電話がかかってきました。おばあさんは、翌日に足の手術に行くと話されました。そして病院に行く前に私の声が聞きたかったと言われました。話をすることができてとてもうれしく、楽しいおしゃべりをしました。私は、おばあさんに手術を頑張って下さいと言い、おばあさんも私に頑張ってねと言われました。

私に頑張って。。。石巻の一日一日、清掃、修理、社会の再建を手助けしているボランティアの数はだんだん減ってきています。生活状況にも関わらず、石巻の人々は信じられないような暖かさを持っています。わずかにしか感謝の気持ちが持てないような状況の中で、大きな感謝の気持ちを持っています。何万もの命が粉々にされた時、東北で直面した計り知れない程の困難は、私達に絆をもたらします。私達は手助けをする為の単なるボランティアでいるのではなく、希望への義務を果たそうとしているのです。暑さ、凍ったオレンジジュース、測りがたい体験談の共有、奇跡的な写真の返却、電話、全て、私達はお互いとつながっているのです。また石巻に戻りたいと思います。実際、私達の多くは、元気を取り戻せば、手助けに東北に行き続けるに違いありません。現地に行くボランティア達にとって、もうただの東北ではありません。そこは私達の友達が住む、希望の場所となるのです。

Nine dogs in Ishinomaki

On the second day, the heat continued so we were sent to another home to wash dishes. The owners were soon to move to their temporary house. They needed our help to wash all of their dishes still covered with mud so they could use them after the move. We washed dishes and other items outside using the garden hose. Unfortunately, the drainage ditches were still filled with sludge and the ground completely saturated so the dirty water couldn’t go anywhere. An unavoidable big pool of dirty dish water quickly formed in front of their house. The owner invited us to have a break with her. She shared senbei (rice crackers) and tea with us. We had no idea what kind of story she had in store for us during that break.

On March 11th she was at home with her elderly mother and her three dachshunds when the earthquake happened. She couldn’t hear the tsunami warning and just thought she should put leashes on her dogs. Suddenly she heard screaming and a strange sound from outside. She looked outside and saw the black water coming. She took her dogs and ran upstairs. The water surged in seconds later. She grabbed her mother and pulled her upstairs also. Two of her neighbors were washed up onto the roof of the house next door. After the water came down slightly, they crossed over the small gap between the roofs and joined them having climbed through a second floor window.

Shortly afterwards, she heard a voice call “Help me!” on the other side of the house. A woman was stuck up in a tree and calling for someone to help her. She told the woman “I can’t come to get you now. But please stay there and I’ll do what I can.” One hour later, the woman had dissappeared. Night fell but around 1am, she heard the woman’s voice again. Almost 12 hours later, the water was still above the first floor. This time she looked outside and saw the same woman who had now swum onto a section of floating debris and was paddling it like a boat toward her house. When she was within reach, the owner and her neighbors got a rope to rescue her. She climbed through a small broken window which cut through her clothes but eventually they were able to pull her inside. It had taken them 3 hours from the time they noticed her paddling toward them to bring her into the house. Only after the woman was safely with them idid they notice they had cut their arms and hands pulling on the rope. Blood was all over the floor.

The water around her house remained high for a full week. They had no food on the second floor but found a box of Macadamia nuts and ate one each day. During those long days, the house owner, her mother, 2 neighbors, the woman they rescued and her 3 dogs waited on the 2nd floor, one person died. The owner kept telling us the story but couldn’t say who it was. She did mention that she had to keep stopping her dogs from licking the body.

When the Japanese Self-Defense Force boat came finally, she asked them to take away the dead body. They were still trying to rescue as many living people as possible so they were told they would have to wait with the body. After more than a week waiting, they were finally rescued and evacuated. They found out the woman they had rescued had lost her two small children and her mother who had been killed running away from the tsunami. Their bodies were found later. The house owner could see her husband 10 days following the earthquake. She was then evacuated with her husband, her mom and 3 dogs to her friend’s house. We almost couldn’t believe it when she added “and then after all of that, one of my dogs gave birth to 6 puppies at my friend’s place. What timing! We were evacuated with 3 but now I have 9 dogs!!!” As she told us this final detail, she was laughing. It was a very shocking and unbelievable story but her dogs gave me and my team members a laugh, too. I didn’t know what to say but she looked bright and that helped us a lot after hearing her tragic story.

When we left her house, she asked us to leave our name and addresses. She said “I don’t know when, but I would like to write you a thank you note when everything settles down.” We left our name and address and told her we would be back in Ishinomaki again.

２日目、暑さは続き、私達は別の家の食器洗いへ配置させられました。そのお宅の方は、もうすぐ仮設住宅へ引っ越しすることになっていて、引越しの後に使えるように、まだ泥にまみれている皿を全て洗う手伝いをしました。私達は外で、庭のホースを使い、皿や必要な物を洗いました。残念ながら、排水溝はまだ泥でいっぱいで地面は汚い水で水浸しになりました。汚い食器洗いの水は、家の前に大きな水たまりになってしまいました。そのお宅の奥さんが、一緒に休憩しようと私達を呼んでおせんべいとお茶を出して下さいました。この休憩の間に、私たちに彼女から次のような話をきくことになるなんて、全く思いもよりませんでした。
３月１１日、地震が起こった時、奥さんはお年寄りのお母さんと、３匹のダックスフントと家にいたそうです。そのとき津波警報が聞こえず、犬達に綱をつけておこうとしていたところでした。突然、叫び声と変な音が外から聞こえました。彼女が外を見ると、真っ黒な水が近づいてくるのが見えました。慌てて犬達を連れて２階へ駆け上がりました。水は数秒後には押し寄せてきました。お母さんを抱え２階へ引きづり上げました。近所の人が二人、隣の家の屋根の上に乗って流されているのが見えました。水が少し落ち着いた後、二人は屋根の間の小さな隙間を越えて、２階の窓を通ってよじ登り移動してきました。少し後、家の外から「助けて！」という声を聞きました。女の人が木にしがみつき、助けを求めていました。「今は助けに行けない。でもできるだけの事をするから、そのままそこにいて！」と奥さんは叫びました。１時間後、その女性の姿はありませんでした。夜がふけ、夜中１時頃再びその女性の声を聞きました。１２時間近く経った後、水はまだ１階の高さより上にありました。この時、外を見ると、同じ女性が漂流物の切れ端に乗り、奥さんのいる家に向ってボートのように漕いでくるのを見ました。彼女が近づいた時、近所の人と一緒にロープでその女性を救出しました。その女性は小さな壊れた窓を通って、服を破きながら這い上がってきて、ついにみんなで家の中へ引き込む事ができました。その女性を見つけてから、家の中へ引き入れるまで３時間かかりました。その女性が無事に助かった時初めて、みなロープを引っ張ることで腕や手が切れている事に気がつきました。床のあちこちに血がついていました。

家の周りの水は、まるまる１週間そのままでした。２階には食料がなく、マカデミアナッツの箱を見つけ、１日１つずつ食べました。そのお宅の奥さん、そのお母さん、近所の人２人、救助した女性、そして３匹の犬が２階で待ち続ける長い日々の間に、そのうちの１人が亡くなりました。どなたが亡くなったのかはお聞きしませんでした。奥さんは犬達が遺体をなめるのを一生懸命止めなければなりませんでした。

自衛隊のボートがついに来た時、奥さんは遺体を引き取って欲しいと頼みました。自衛隊からは今は多くの生存者を可能な限り救出しなければならないので、遺体と一緒に待つように言われました。１週間以上待った後、ついに救助され、避難することができました。みんなで救助したその女性の、２人の小さな子ども達と彼女のお母さんは、津波から逃げている最中に亡くなったことが分かりました。遺体は後に発見されました。奥さんは、地震後１０日後に、ご主人に会う事ができました。その後、ご主人とお母さん、そして３匹の犬と友人の家へ避難しました。そう語った後、奥さんは信じられないような事を言い足しました。「こんな時なのに、友人の家で犬のうち１匹が６匹の子犬を生んだのよ。なんてタイミングなのかしら！３匹と一緒に避難して、今や９匹の犬がいるの！！！」奥さんは最後の話をすると同時に、笑っていました。とてもショッキングで信じられない話だったけれど、奥さんの犬の話で私達も笑いました。なんて言ったらよいのかわからなかったけれど、奥さんは明るく、悲劇の話を聞いた後の私達の気持ちを救ってくれました。

私達が家を去る時、奥さんは名前と住所を残して行って欲しいと頼みました。「いつかは分からないけれど、全てが落ち着いたらお礼のお手紙を書きたいの。」と奥さんは言いました。私達は名前と住所を残し、石巻にまた戻ってきますと伝えました。

I went back to volunteer in Ishinomaki for the second time from July 6th for 3 days with one other YIS parent.

The first day it was very hot and we were assigned to a house with the task of removing sludge from the yard. There was no shade and it was over 30 degrees. As a group leader, it was my job to make sure everybody took a break at least every 30 to 40 minutes. Fortunately without my concern, my team mates couldn’t help but take breaks more often as everyone got thirsty very quickly. Actually it was too hot for us to keep moving. When we felt we couldn’t work anymore, we stopped, moved close to the house for a bit of shade, drank water, and tried to cool down. Each of us consumed roughly 4 litres of water per day.

We were, of course, happy to be there and more than willing to help. The owner of the house was extremely thankful for our help in spite of the heat and brought frozen orange juice for all of us. They didn’t have a working refrigerator so she brought us the juice from the shop. In a way, we felt terrible for accepting her kindness but nothing ever tasted so good.

石巻での２度目のボランティア活動へ、７月６日から３日間、もう一人の横浜インターナショナルスクールの保護者と一緒に行ってきました。

第１日目。庭の泥を取り除く仕事を任されました。朝からとても熱い日で、どこにも日陰はなく、気温はあっという間に３０度を超えました。３０分から４０分毎にみなが休憩を確実に取るようグループリーダーから指示がありました。すぐに喉が渇いてしまうため、頻繁に休憩を取らなければなりませんでした。実際、暑すぎて、動き続けることは不可能です。もう動けないと感じた時、作業を止め、わずかな日陰を求めて家の近くに移動し、水を飲み、涼むようにしました。一日におそらく４リットルぐらいの水を飲んだに違いありません。もちろん私達は、大変な状態の石巻で手伝いを是非ともしたいと考えていました。ところが、そのお宅の方は、酷暑のなかでの私達の手伝いをとても感謝して下さり、私達全員に凍ったオレンジジュースを差し入れて下さいました。しかも、その家には使える冷蔵庫がないため、わざわざお店でジュースを私達の為に買ってきて下さったのです。私たちはその差し入れを受けるのはとても申しなく思いましたが、でも、ジュースをこれほどおいしく感じたことはありませんでした。

This was our last goodbye to a place which had changed all of our lives. Some volunteers decided to extend their stay by a week or more, and to them as well as the long-term staff we bid sad farewells. As we were leaving, more volunteers were arriving, which gave us so much hope. However, it was of some concern that they were not as numerous as at the time of our arrival.

Peaceboat is now expanding to areas beyond Ishinomaki and urgently needs more people to come and volunteer their time and energy. If you can spare even just a couple of days, please consider the impact you can have on so many people’s lives and sign up with Peaceboat – follow the link to the Peaceboat page from this website.

One of the last sights as our bus pulled out of the centre…

Madeleine Cox
June 2011

This, our final day was perhaps the most memorable of the week. Our team and one other was sent to the house of Mr Nakazato (Nakazato-san), an elderly farmer who had survived the tsunami along with his family.

We were driven through a severely affected area of Ishinomaki. Many of us covered our mouths and noses as the stench of waste and other unidentifiable matters hit us. On either side of the road we saw many houses in states of disrepair.

At the house we spent the morning laying old tatami mats across a greenish pool of liquid, which acted as a ‘bridge’ to cross the water and carry mud and rubble. Our teams worked hard to clear knee-high mounds of mud, sludge and debris, some of which was caught in trees and bushes around the property.

Ted-san with Mr Nakazato

During the morning, both Mr Nakazato and his wife arrived and watched our progress. The indomitable Ted-san was also present. Ted-san is an extraordinary man who ran the operation and oversaw the work by each team in Ishinomaki. He had been working virtually non-stop for several months when we arrived. I was extremely grateful that he told us Mr Nakazato’s full story, which was remarkable. The octogenarian farmer had managed to get his family to safety but then returned to his neighbourhood to warn and help others. He was almost caught up in the approaching tsunami but then climbed a ladder to the roof of a nearby house. When the tidal wave swept in it came up to the eaves of the roof, and also carried a car which became wedged in the alley between that house and the next. Mr Nakazato climbed from the roof, across the car and onto the next house. He reached the roof of his own house by using a trapped building which had been moved by the tsunami as a bridge to clamber across. Incredibly, he survived a freezing cold night on the roof of his own house, unable to descend until the next day when the waters subsided.

Two of the houses with the gap which Mr Nakazato crossed with the aid of a car wedged between.

Being shown the actual buildings and told the story by Ted-san really affected us. Having worked steadily before, we redoubled our efforts now. It was a great privilege to meet Mr Nakazato, who is a hero and who graciously gave his time and agreed to be in a photograph with us all.

Mr Nakazato

Memories of the afternoon will remain with me for a long time to come. All groups completed work and were taken to Ishinomaki centre. We visited a shop set up by locals which sold ceramics and other products. Many of us bought T-shirts which showed the collective strength of spirit of the Japanese people (see below).

Later we all ascended to one of the highest points in the town, to where many had retreated during the tsunami of March 11th. I find it hard to describe the feelings stirred up by the sights up there. There were bouquets of flowers laid at the very top of the hill in memorial for all those who had died. From above we could start to comprehend the scale of the damage and destruction, as we had a clear view of where the town met the sea. I sat on a bench, dazed as I looked at the rubble-strewn ground below.

As we descended and moved back through the town centre, we left witnessing signs of hope: industrious diggers at work and visiting the first shop to be opened in Ishinomaki. It was a brightly-lit grocery store that had been cleared by Peaceboat. I also saw a flower shop that was open, wafting a sweeter scent on the air and displaying rainbow arrangements.

The first shop to reopen in Ishinomaki; a grocery store.

I woke to the sound of heavy rain drumming on the roof, which reminded me of a time past living in Tanzania.

There was no work in the morning due to the downpour, which would have exacerbated any dangers which the jobs can pose. We spent the time sharing reflections and experiences, as well as playing some games.

As the last droplets spattered to the ground and the skies cleared over us we gathered our work equipment and headed en masse to one site. This was a parking lot on which all the international teams worked. It was caked in mud but relatively unaffected by toxic odours and debris. Everyone increased the level of effort, conscious of the time which had been taken by the morning’s rain. We cleared an area about three-quarters the size of a football pitch over the course of the afternoon, filling scores of one-ton bags.

Early in the evening at Kasuka the building was shaken by an earthquake, the second of the day after this morning’s time indoors. This was a brief but more violent experience, as the floor trembled and the windows sounded as though they were being furiously rattled. We all moved away from heavy objects and some people crouched down, but thankfully it was all over very quickly.

That evening everyone fell exhausted into bed. I think most of us slept soundly, despite the increasingly hot conditions and the emergence of an army of flies and mosquitoes, ravenous after the rains.

A one-ton bag

]]> http://blogs.yis.ac.jp/ishinomaki/2011/06/23/23rd-june/feed/ 0 http://blogs.yis.ac.jp/ishinomaki/2011/06/22/22nd-june/ http://blogs.yis.ac.jp/ishinomaki/2011/06/22/22nd-june/#comments Wed, 22 Jun 2011 16:15:12 +0000 Miss Cox http://blogs.yis.ac.jp/ishinomaki/?p=92 Wednesday 22nd June

Two teams joined forces as about fifteen people worked together to clean out a hotel which was ankle-deep in mud, waste and debris. This was a challenging day, as the temperature climbed into the thirties and the light and ventilation inside the hotel was extremely limited. Inside, I found the chemical smell nauseating – it may have been washing detergent or fabric conditioner and it permeated every nook and cranny.

Team 10 underneath the impressive digger.

The teams worked diligently and by the end of the day we managed to clear the mud, sort debris and breakables, remove old carpet tiles and even sweep some of the remaining dust away. We were grateful for the cold drinks brought to us by the owner, and I was even allowed a seat in the nearby digger! This useful machine removed some of the cars which had been dramatically flung within their parking bays by the might of the tsunami.

This was a day of new experiences, as (much to the amusement of my team) I reacquainted myself with bike riding, we all broke down plaster walls in a new house, and then experienced our first thunderstorm in Ishinomaki. This took place in the afternoon and we acted swiftly, clearing our tools away and taking shelter in a nearby building. It began with ominous thunder rumbling and then developed into a dramatic storm, as forked lighting split the sky and rain sluiced down. Whilst we were inside, I had time to ponder the work we had completed and how much more there was to do. It was hard not to feel too overwhelmed, but at the same time I was motivated by the incredible spirit of the survivors we met, the dedication of the Peaceboat staff and the positive energy of the volunteers.

This was on the floor of the house in which we sheltered.

The morning was spent finishing our job on the house, which was satisfying. In the afternoon we went to another house that was in a very different state, and gave us our first real understanding of the tougher work. This house had mounds of debris and mud to be cleared from both inside and outside the property. We got straight to work, separating breakable items, mud and other debris into various bags, which was a painstaking task, as there was so much glass and shattered crockery to carefully pull from the mud piles.

After a long and hot working day we retired to Kasuka and exchanged experiences with the other groups after hosing down our wheelbarrows and tools.

It was satisfying to clear and finish just one mound – which could take half a day or more.

We continued work on the house to which we had been assigned on the Saturday. I appreciated the need for caution moving around the interior, after a wooden strut snapped under my surprised foot. As with so many affected houses, the floorboards had been previously taken apart and mud removed from underneath, so there were just a few narrow beams left to offer a mere outline of the former flooring.  The incident was a pertinent reminder of the hard work already completed on the house, some which could be attributed to YIS colleagues who had come before me to Ishinomaki.

Clearing the last few bags…

There was a lone rose bush growing in the front yard.

Later in the evening, some members of our group and other volunteers passed by a shop, outside which we got into conversation with a senior citizen. The elderly man opened a packet of cigarettes and grinned at us, revealing a mouthful of cracked and broken teeth. Presumably in response to our wide-eyed gazes, he told us of his own tsunami experience, in which he was caught in the tidal wave and struggled to stay afloat. After being forcibly submerged he managed to fight his way to the surface, only to come up against something solid, on which he damaged his mouth, breaking several teeth. He came up for air and survived the ordeal, although also suffering a chest fracture, which he emphasised by opening his shirt to show us the scar. After such a dramatic story we were all in admiration for his spirit, but also distracted by the cigarette, which he had been waving around as he gesticulated. “Don’t worry, my lungs are fine,” he added, his eyes sparkling.