KESENNUMA, Miyagi Prefecture--On March 11, 2011, a towering tsunami slammed into a residential district of this northeastern city, carrying with it a 330-ton fishing boat.
KESENNUMA, Miyagi Prefecture--On March 11, 2011, a towering tsunami slammed into a residential district of this northeastern city, carrying with it a 330-ton fishing boat. The unusual sight of No. 18 Kyotoku Maru swept 750 meters inland soon became a symbol across the world of the power and devastation of the Great East Japan Earthquake. Now, the Kyotoku Maru is being dismantled and its pieces will be carted away from the site. Work got under way Sept. 9, and is expected to be completed by Oct. 19. Although the Kesennuma city government had attempted to preserve the Kyotoku Maru as a memorial, it gave up the effort due to some residents’ opposition that the boat was a painful reminder of lives lost in the disaster.