Tag: Japan

Repair work started at 9:00 on January 10th. Mr. Minato, the president of Minato Architecture, cuts and separates the part where the broken telephone box can be used neatly and the part where it is thrown away, and repairs the broken piece of wood to its original shape by screwing it or further scraping it.

I and Tono Magokoro Net helped by drilling holes, handing tools, and sipping a cold runny nose according to the instructions of the harbor ridge.

Later, Mr. Minato’s wife told me that when he heard the collapse of “The Phone of the Wind”, he said “I’d like to manage to start up the main unit because some people may come on the anniversary of the great earthquake on the 11th.” and he came over to see how it was like.

After the earthquake, there were many opportunities to read the poem “Rain won’t stop me” written by Kenji Miyazawa  all over the country. The poem says the importance of expressing the feeling that even though the house and property have been lost due to the earthquake, we will not lose despite adversity, and that if anyone is in trouble, we will go and lend a hand. I think it is. Mr. Minato may say, “I don’t know that,” but it may be that Kenji’s ideal way of life is natural.

We were able to set up the main body and put the roof on it in one day today. Tomorrow we will start building doors and repairing roof slate. The glass on the side will still take days, but I’d like to finish the set and use the phone, notebook, and other things around 3 o’clock tomorrow.

Yesterday, I was surprised and grateful that I received more than 50 TELs, Mails, and Faxes from all over the country saying “Is it okay?” And “I want to support reconstruction”. (I’m crying when I read the text)

People who come to “The Phone of the Wind” as needed, people who want to support reconstruction as needed, “The Phone of the Wind” with such sociality. I couldn’t leave it alone, so I temporarily placed it in the blacksmith’s workshop, but an event occurred that dispelled those concerns.

I was in the process of cleaning up the broken phone box with the members of the NPO “Tono Magokoro Net”. Mr. Minato in Yamada Town, a neighboring town where his mother was swept away by the tsunami and is still missing. I used “The Phone of the Wind” about 3 times and became familiar with my face. After receiving a sympathy call from Mr. Minato and his wife, the owner of the construction industry came and at first glance, he said, “I can repair it, I will start tomorrow.”

“This time, instead of placing the phone box body directly on the foundation, you can prevent it from rotting by turning the base and installing it on it.” Although I had given up on rebuilding with wood, it was a moment when everyone who was doing the tidying up was relieved by the powerful words.

The TV and newspaper reporters who came to the interview will come again tomorrow. Everyone’s face was fluttering.

“The Phone of the Wind” that conveys your feelings to an important person you can no longer meet. By the end of last year, we had 13,000 users, and as a basis for many of you, “The Phone of the Wind” that was there just collapsed due to the strong wind yesterday.

Certainly yesterday, a terrifyingly strong wind blew from around noon, and the daytime temperature was -3 ° C. Even so, I cleaned up at the blacksmith’s workshop, and at around 4:30 in the evening, I arranged the inside of the telephone box, turned the day, and entered the house. Until this time, I was alive. This morning, there was no telephone box in the scenery I casually saw, and it was scattered miserably.

In an instant, my thought was that I couldn’t show this brutal figure to anyone who came to “The Phone of the Wind” when I needed it. If a person with a grief in his heart sees this situation, there is a risk that the grief will become stronger rather than healed. I had to get rid of it quickly.

However, before that, I think it is polite to contact only the reporter who picked up this style of “The Phone of the Wind” early. The reporter came soon and uploaded it to the electronic newspaper of the day.

The first cause of the break is probably a strong wind (moment 26.9m / sec). Next, since the phone box was originally used outdoors by attaching a roof to an indoor object, the wooden part touching the foundation was becoming corroded. Thirdly, changes in the natural environment (such as wind movement) are estimated due to deforestation due to relocation to higher ground and construction of the Sanriku Coast Expressway.

I think that the countermeasure that can be taken from the above is to replace it with an aluminum telephone box for outdoor use, it means……umm.

As for the aluminum telephone box, we cannot answer anything about reconstruction without confirming the manufacturer, cost, etc., so please take some time.

I received a phone call from Mr. Shirasawa, Vice President Usawa of Tono Magokoro Net, saying “I will help you” to clean up as soon as possible, and decided to move the telephone box with help tomorrow. Then my home phone was ringing. Apply for coverage of TV and newspaper companies who watched the Internet. Group, individual sympathy, etc. I was informed of the magnitude of sociality! “I don’t think this will happen even if I fall down …”.

This happened yesterday and nothing can be decided for the future yet, but the only thing I can say is that some people who still need a phone will visit, so we have to secure a temporary telephone installation place, I think… I have to pay close attention to the location. There is a “Library of the Forest” nearby, but the location of frequent contact with others is not appropriate for mental care. Therefore, I decided to make the blacksmith workshop, which I had cleaned up yesterday, a temporary “The Phone of the Wind”.

I think it will be inconvenient for the time being, but I would like to see how it works.

Happy New Year to all of you

I appreciated the cooperation of many people to promote activities related to “The Phone of the Wind” and “Forest Library” last year. Thank you very much.

This year as well, we are thinking of promoting activities from the aspects of art and culture, focusing on mental care and cultivating sensibilities under the banner of “reconstruction of the heart” in the disaster area. I look forward to your support and cooperation this year, too.

Now, in the fourth year since the Great Earthquake, the appearance of the region is changing drastically. Namiita district where I live is no exception, and the land reclamation work for relocating to a higher ground began in June last year. All the cedar forests that met the back of the house were cut down, the surface soil was stripped, and cement was mixed and hardened to improve the soft ground.

This time, it is said that the boundary will be dug deep, concrete blocks will be piled up, and a retaining wall of 2 to 3 meters will be built to create a stepped residential land. The walls of the inorganic concrete blocks and the natural environment of the children’s playground were nothing.

I come to hear the opinions of town planning and landscape planning, but they are rarely reflected. It is understandable that there are many problems such as flooded areas in lowlands, difficulty in obtaining land on highlands, and the fourth year of temporary living. However, I am very concerned about the urban development that seems to be a priority for solving immediate problems, ignoring the natural environment and the landscape with the surroundings.

I went to the tree house with the book “Wrath of the Screaming Land of Heaven”, which was the customary event on New Year’s Day this year. Although the cedar forest around “The Forest of Kikki” has disappeared, the miscellaneous trees in the front are still alive. Burn the stove, boil water, make a mug of whiskey, and leave it to the chair hammock to sway in the blue sky together with the trees outside.

Looking around the room, the lamp and the free key hanging from the top of the stove are shaking in the same way. When the wind shook the bare tree and blew through, the whole tree house sang with a roar of go, followed by Konkon, Tantan, Kankan and the tree house. The cowbell attached to the door makes a particularly high-pitched sound.

It’s a moment when I feel everyone is healthy and alive. I have a feeling that a lot of fun will happen this year as well.

Kenji Miyazawa’s exhibition “Ihatov and Sanriku Coast”, which has been held since December last year, this year, a lecture by inviting Kenji researchers during the period, and the establishment of the Kenji Miyazawa Study Group (tentative name) I would like to start the fund-raising activities of.

We ask for your support and cooperation in the fund-raising activities for the construction of Kenji’s poetry monument, as well as the “reconstruction of the heart” activities of Bell Gardia KUJIRAYAMA.

Let’s create a wonderful Otsuchi Town  together! !!

At 8:00 am on October 12, Mr. Osawa led 21 Grade 6 Class 3 students from Matsukawa Elementary School  and a total of 30 family members to “The Phone of the Wind”.

According to the story, after reading the picture book “Kaze no Denwa” in class, the students wrote essays of their impressions. The students were impressed by the story and wanted to go and see actual model. It is inferred that the teacher cherished the feelings of the students. What a wonderful teacher he is!

Many schools increase the study hours by thickening the textbook so that high scores can be obtained for the exam have been held since 2012, but I sympathize with the educational attitude of Matsukawa Elementary School, which emphasizes action by fostering sensibility, impressive and inspiring feelings.

Considering the background, Matsukawa Elementary School in Matsukawa Village are surrounded by the beautiful Northern Alps and the countryside spread out where delicious rice and water. Also Chihiro Art Museum Azumino is near by. Matsukawa Elementary School seems to be interacting with it through art activities.

It is widely known that the environment has a great influence on the formation of a child’s personality. Children who have an educator who makes the most of the environment are happy. I can dream in the future.

Many cheers to Grade 6 Class 3 of Matsukawa Elementary School !