The recent situation in Tsukihama and the “Tourism Revival Project”
The landlady of Kami-no Ie has told me about the recent situation of Tsukihama in Higashi-Matsushima.
First of all, most of the debris has been removed.
A month and half have past since people moved into the new temporary housing, and there are cheerful voices to be heard.
It was only yesterday when 40 student volunteers from Teikyo University came to Tsukihama. Actually, they came to Miyagi prefecture as a group of approximately 200 people, and then they were split into some groups so that they could go to several affected areas.
Tsukihama has a traditional event called “Enzunowari” which is one of nation’s Important Cultural Properties, and there are also a holy grotto and a shrine that enshrines a special god. The grotto was flooded above the ground by the tsunami. And the shrine, though it escaped being flooded, has been damaged by the earthquake.
The student volunteers did the mowing quite elaborately around the grotto and the shrine.
“I gave them all scythes I could find. But those young people today didn’t really know how to use them. Still it was very kind of them to come and do the mowing work. Thankfully, it is all clean around the shrine now. Another group of 30 volunteers will come tomorrow, and we will make curry for them. Since I’ve got a big rice cooker, I shall work hard to welcome those people. You see, we were given food for a long time after the disaster, and now it’s our turn to prepare food for other people. I’m finding it all fun! We had never thought the earthquake and the tsunami could be as devastating as this, but we had never thought that so many people who don’t even know us personally would come to help us either. I do feel that I should be fine because I have been given so much support from many people,” said Ritsuko ever-warmheartedly.
Her husband has been making Tsukihama’s revival plans, and now Mr. S and Mr. K from Media Research are also involved. Illustrations have been inserted into the plan with their assistance, and the plan-design is almost completed.
A fund called “Tourism Revival Project” has been set up by Kami-no Ie. They are now looking for people who wish to contribute to this project. (They can make their contribution in units of 10,000 yen.)
The reward will be either 1) 100 sheets of toasted nori (edible seaweed) or 2) trial fishery experience in Tsukihama, and either one will be rewarded in 2 years time from now on.
I would like to take this opportunity to ask for your aid. Let’s support them!
For more information, please check the “Tourism Revival Project（観光再生プロジェクト）” in their website:
http://www2.ocn.ne.jp/~kaminoie/mousikomi.html
The sea is once again clean.
People have started nori planting in Tsukihama.
An elder friend of the landlady of Kami-no Ie.
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