TOMIOKA, Fukushima Prefecture--Scattered throughout Japan, evacuees from Tomioka will be treated to the familiar sounds of home at New Year's.
TOMIOKA, Fukushima Prefecture--Scattered throughout Japan, evacuees from Tomioka will be treated to the familiar sounds of home at New Year's.
Employees of radio broadcaster Odagaisama FM visited Tomioka’s Suwajinja shrine and Jizoin temple on Dec. 7 to record “Joya-no-kane” and the peals of the Shinto shrine’s traditional bells.
It will broadcast the tolling of the bells to Tomioka evacuees to ring in the New Year and bring them a comforting sound.
Odagaisama FM, a temporary radio broadcaster serving the evacuated residents of Tomioka, is currently based in Koriyama, further inland from seaside Tomioka. The temple and shrine are located in the “restricted residence area” of the town, which was evacuated following the accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in March 2011.
“Joya-no-kane” is a Buddhist tradition heard on New Year’s Eve. The bells ring out 108 times around midnight to cleanse worshippers of the 108 earthly desires.