OTSUCHI, Iwate Prefecture--Yasushi Kurahori still lives in temporary housing in Otsuchi, having moved on from tragedy and now determined to rebuild his beloved hometown that was pummeled by the tsunami that struck five years ago.
But not everyone shares his feelings.
A woman with whom he started a romantic relationship in the aftermath of the disaster could not come to grips with her loss.
So many things about the coastal town triggered horrible memories of the tsunami for the 29-year-old woman, and she eventually started hating her hometown.
The disaster that had brought the couple together also caused them to drift apart.
Kurahori, 32, was working as a carpenter in Kamaishi, also in Iwate Prefecture, when the magnitude-9.0 Great East Japan Earthquake hit on March 11, 2011. He managed to return to his home in Otsuchi the following day.
The tsunami had destroyed the home. Kurahori’s father, Toshio, then 61, and mother, Mutsuko, then 59, were killed. His older brother, Takeshi, then 30, was missing.
At an evacuation center in the mountains, families moved in while Kurahori remained alone.
Four months after the disaster, Kurahori moved to temporary housing, but again he lived by himself in a one-bedroom unit.
Two years later, he bumped into the woman when he went to a restaurant where she was working. They knew each other from childhood, and during their conversation, Kurahori learned that the woman’s grandmother died in the tsunami.
After they met on a number of occasions, she told Kurahori about the details of her grandmother’s death.
“I tried to flee by taking my grandmother’s hand in my own, but eventually I had to just leave her,” she told him. And then she wept.
Kurahori felt that he could provide support to her because he had also lost family members in the tsunami.
Soon, the two began living together at the temporary housing unit. They went fishing and played badminton at the gym next to the temporary housing complex.
Several months later in their living room, a TV program showed footage of the 2011 tsunami.
The woman’s eyes welled up with tears: “I should have died with my grandmother.”
Kurahori tried to comfort her by saying it was not her fault.
He also knew how difficult it was to accept the death of a loved one.
Kurahori initially would not believe Takeshi was dead. Takeshi had not only supported the family as an employee of the Otsuchi town government, but he also listened to Kurahori’s personal problems.
A year after Takeshi disappeared, Kurahori finally submitted a report to the town government to officially change Takeshi’s status from “missing” to “dead.” He said he felt that Takeshi would not be happy if his younger brother continued to grieve.
But Kurahori’s girlfriend could not come to terms with her grandmother’s death.
She became quiet whenever she heard news about the disaster.
She also remained silent when the couple drove through Otsuchi after the disaster. The sight of bare lots being prepared for construction work reminded the woman of the devastation to the town after the tsunami hit.
Concerned about how long she would dwell on the past, Kurahori asked her, “Why don’t you seriously face the matter straight on?”
She replied, “I am not as strong as you.”
The conversation ended up in a fight.
Soon after, an acquaintance introduced her to a job farther inland in Hanamaki.
She told Kurahori: “I hate living here. Let’s move together.”
At that time, Kurahori was working as a temporary worker for the Otsuchi town government. He also took on a liaison role for volunteers who wanted to help those living at the temporary housing complex.
He increasingly wanted to be involved in rebuilding his hometown while also remembering the family members who died there.
He stayed in Otsuchi.
His girlfriend moved to Hanamaki in winter two years ago.
Although she continues to travel to Otsuchi once every several months to visit a hospital, the gap between the couple has widened.
Kurahori feels that the depth of her psychological scar may be deeper than his because she lost a loved one before her very eyes.
Now, he tries to listen quietly whenever she has anything to say.
Kurahori knows others who have left the town because they could not stand looking at the changed landscape and shattered buildings.
Although he now lives alone again, Kurahori plans to remain in Otsuchi while praying that the number of people who have come to loathe their hometown decreases with time.