FUKUSHIMA--Before the Buddhist altar in the living room of her home at a temporary housing facility here, Takeko Suzuki prayed for the spirit of her eldest son, Kentaro. His smiling face stares out from a photo inside the small altar.
FUKUSHIMA--Before the Buddhist altar in the living room of her home at a temporary housing facility here, Takeko Suzuki prayed for the spirit of her eldest son, Kentaro. His smiling face stares out from a photo inside the small altar.
Though memories of the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami are waning in some areas amid the reconstruction activities, many people in the Tohoku region like Suzuki, 86, recalled their beloved ones on Aug. 11, the monthly anniversary of the disaster.
This year will also mark the fourth mid-August Bon season to mourn for the dead since the tragedy struck on March 11, 2011.
When the earthquake hit, Kentaro, then 64, evacuated to a hill in Namie, also in the prefecture. However, he soon returned to the shoreline. He told people that he was worried about the flood gates, which the town government had entrusted him to manage. Forty days later, his body was found under the mass of debris along the coast.
Before the tragedy, he ran a busy gardening shop. Customers would frequently stop by, and plants, such as pansy and Japanese ivy, sold well.
Sometimes he would even chat with neighbors for as long as one hour.
But his casual attitude upset his mother, who often scolded him, saying, “You are wasting time.”
More than 100 people came to his funeral held two months after the disaster, although Suzuki had told only her relatives about it. One friend even traveled from the Kanto region, where he was living as an evacuee.
As people offered their condolences and shared memories of Kentaro, Suzuki learned about many aspects of her son that she had not been aware of.
“He served as a mediator for a drunken quarrel,” one person said. Another said, “He always supported us behind the scenes.”
Hearing these remembrances, Suzuki thought: “I always got angry at you. Why couldn’t I tell you that ‘You are loved by other people’ or ‘You are great at giving people advice?’”
When Suzuki brings neighbors homemade pickles or watermelons that grew in front of her makeshift home, she is greeted with smiles. At those times, she feels the importance of being connected to people, something that Kentaro had always appreciated.
Suzuki’s family members who survived the tsunami are now living separately. But they visit the family’s grave in Namie together during the Bon season.
This year at the grave, Suzuki said she plans to tell Kentaro: “I know that you were a respectable son. I have not forgotten you.”