One Year After the Japan Earthquake: A Journey, Part IV | World Monuments Fund

Otokoyama House, a wood building with a faux-stone, western-style façade sake store and brewery was swept off its foundations onto a neighboring lot; the lower floor was destroyed and only the top floor of three stories survived the tsunami. The harbor side street on which it sat is now almost 2 feet lower than the original grade. In addition to fishing, Kesennuma and it environs are famed for its sake. Kakuboshi, another sake shop and brewery, was also severely damaged by the tsunami, the ground floor was swept away, and the upper floor was swept to the back on the site and sits rammed into two neighboring buildings that are slated for demolition. Takeyama is a two-storey rice shop that was severely damaged by the tsunami. A portion of the ground floor was swept away and the second story sits on metal supports.