RIKUZENTAKATA, Iwate Prefecture--It came as no surprise when teacher Motoko Onodera rushed into the face of danger to check on the safety of students after the Great East Japan Earthquake struck.
RIKUZENTAKATA, Iwate Prefecture--It came as no surprise when teacher Motoko Onodera rushed into the face of danger to check on the safety of students after the Great East Japan Earthquake struck.
Motoko, a teacher of social studies, and her colleagues had led students to safety at Iwate Prefectural Takata Senior High School on the afternoon of March 11.
But Motoko, 29, soon ran to her car to "look for swimming club members" practicing at an indoor pool in a public facility near the shore, about 500 meters from the school.
Soon after she drove off, a powerful tsunami surged over the embankment, washing away the public facility and other buildings.
Motoko and most of the 10 members of the swimming club remain missing.
"She always left herself behind," said her husband, Hiroshi, 43. "It was just like her (to go out for the students)."
Colleagues, students and family members have continued their search for the missing swimmers and their beloved teacher in this city devastated by the earthquake and tsunami.
Hiroshi, who now teaches at the prefectural Ofunato Senior High School, met Motoko three years ago when they were teaching at Takata high school.
What Hiroshi saw was an always-cheerful teacher trusted by her students and colleagues, but he was most attracted to her consideration for others, he said.
They got married in March last year. A member of the swimming club at the wedding ceremony said Motoko's marriage drew pangs of jealousy from the male students.
On the morning of March 11, Motoko prepared a box lunch for her husband even though she had come home late from work the previous day.
Hiroshi said he often tells his wife not to push herself so hard, but she always says with a smile that she is willing to cook. She has never asked for accessories or other luxuries, he said.
"She is the perfect wife for me. When she returns, I will scold her for worrying me so much," he said smiling, with tears welling in his eyes.
Hiroshi visited shelters and hospitals in search of Motoko after the tsunami, but received no word on her whereabouts. Now, his car is running short of gasoline.
The couple's first wedding anniversary is on March 28.
Yoshihiro Kudo, the Takata high school principal, said Motoko asked him last month not to assign her as a homeroom teacher for next school year because she and Hiroshi plan to start a family.
"I will respect her request," he said. "So I hope she will return."