ISHINOMAKI, Miyagi Prefecture--A recently erected granite monument to victims of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami at Okawa Elementary School here drew visitors here two and a half years after the disaster.
ISHINOMAKI, Miyagi Prefecture--A recently erected granite monument to victims of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami at Okawa Elementary School here drew visitors here two and a half years after the disaster.
Many came Sept. 11 to pray for their deceased family members.
The coastal city of some 164,000 people was one of the hardest-hit areas. More than 3,000 residents perished in the disaster, and 400 or so people remained unaccounted for as of the end of August.
The names of dead and missing students, teachers and other staff members of the school are engraved on the monument, which was completed in August.
Akemi Karino, who lost her 12-year-old daughter Ai, clasped her hands together and offered prayers with one of her daughters.
The 44-year-old Karino said in a halting tone, “I visit here every 11th of the month and also several times every week.” She added, “I told her to spend time with her deceased friends and get along together in heaven.”
The Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami struck March 11, 2011.