ISHINOMAKI, Miyagi Prefecture--Over the last few years, the family of an American teacher who perished here in the Great East Japan Earthquake and a bereaved local artisan have worked together to bring bookcases and books to this city’s schools.
ISHINOMAKI, Miyagi Prefecture--Over the last few years, the family of an American teacher who perished here in the Great East Japan Earthquake and a bereaved local artisan have worked together to bring bookcases and books to this city’s schools.
Taylor Anderson taught English as an assistant teacher at a kindergarten as well as six elementary and junior high schools in Ishinomaki until the March 11, 2011, catastrophe.
The 24-year-old was swept away by the tsunami while helping the students evacuate at Mangokuura elementary school.
After her death, the Anderson family established a memorial fund.
In December, Anderson’s relatives presented bookshelves and English books to Inai kindergarten. It was the last of the seven schools to which they donated books and bookcases through the fund.
The book collections at each school are named the “Taylor Collection” after the victim, who enjoyed reading.
The bookshelves were made by a local wood craftsman, Shinichi Endo, 44, who also lost his three children in the tsunami. His two daughters, Kana, a second-grader, and Hana, a first-year student in junior high school, were found dead in their home in Ishinomaki the morning after the disaster. The body of his son, Kanta, a fourth-grader, was recovered a few days later.
Endo was asked to make the bookshelves for the schools two months after the disaster. All of his children had been taught English by Anderson, and he believed they would be happy to know that their father was involved in the project.
His feelings for his deceased loved ones have carried him through the project over the past years, he said. The craftsman determined the shape of the bookcases based on the specific requests of each school.
When the bookshelves were installed in Inai kindergarten, students flocked to the shelves filled with books with excitement. Endo looked at them with a smile as they expressed their appreciation for the bookcases.
Last summer, the elementary school his children had attended invited him to talk about his craft.
“Why did you start to work with wood?” one pupil asked.
“I wanted to create a comfortable space for people to relax,” he replied.
He said he had been inspired by some wooden objects he had once seen in a park during a visit to Tokyo.
Endo said that it lifts his spirits to know that he can make many people happy through his woodworking skills.