MINAMI-SANRIKU, Miyagi Prefecture--Flanked by the ocean and green mountains characteristic of the Tohoku region’s coast, this was a tranquil town--until the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami struck.
When the magnitude-9.0 quake hit on March 11, 2011, Shinichi Sato, who runs a photo studio in the town’s Shizugawa district, quickly fled for higher ground in his car with his family in tow.
He knew to take action promptly following a powerful earthquake thanks to lessons passed down through the centuries by locals of the northeastern coast, which has periodically been hit by major quakes and tsunami.
About 30 minutes later, Sato, 50, saw waves going upstream in the Hachimangawa river.
The dark waves sweeping the town’s Shizugawa Bay moved inland, destroying houses and other buildings in their path, making cracking sounds.
Soon, the tsunami engulfed the entire town, including Sato’s studio, creating plumes of dust everywhere.
The death toll in the town reached 620 out of a population of 17,400, and the number missing stood at 212.
Since the whole town was flattened by the deluge, little evidence was left behind to remind the people of Minami-Sanriku about how their hometown once was--except for a photo Sato took in 2007 for an album for the town’s graduating students.
Fortunately, the image had been kept at a publishing company in Sendai, the prefectural capital.
“The photo turned out to be a precious one that captured a view of the town that people had been familiar with,” he said.
The picture was enlarged and put on display as a panel at the site on the hill from which he took it.
Sato kept shooting scenes of Minami-Sanriku and its people in the aftermath of the disaster, producing four photo collections, titled “From Minami-Sanriku.”
He donated a portion of the proceeds to the town government to help rebuilding efforts.
“The way people feel five years after the disaster varies from one individual to the next,” he said.
“But finally we’ve been able to reach this stage of rebuilding. I am hoping to capture the rebirth of our town, shooting people’s lives being rebuilt and children running around with vigor.”