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A Livable House
Gamo, Miyagino-ku, Sendai city
Mr. Nihei's land surrounded by the Teizan Moat and Nanakita River has been passed on for generations.
His house suffered considerable damage in the tsunami.
Filmed on September 24, 2011
- Well? - Is it missing?
- OK. - I took all the nails out.
- How about using nails? - Pardon?
- Nails. - Nails. All right.
- It's better to take this net out.
People living here never thought about tsunamis.
Susumu Nihei Filmed on November 5, 2011
People said that tsunami warnings were issued. But we didn't hear them.
My wife and I didn't hear them.
A local police officer patrolled each home and told us to escape because tsunami warnings had been issued.
Still, I had no intention to flee.
A pile of fertilized bags collapsed in the quake so I tried to pile them up again.
My mother, my wife and my son's wife escaped. My son was not at home but at his workplace.
Only my grandchild was at home. As he got on my car, I had to go too.
- But for your grandchild, you might have been in great danger. - Exactly.
Because he was here, I had no choice but to set out.
At a traffic signal over there, we found the prefectural road was heavily congested.
We finally got through and went halfway. Then we heard on the radio that the tsunami had arrived at Sendai Airport.
Looking at the rice paddies over there, I saw cars being swept away by the tsunami.
The scene made me realize that a tsunami was coming.
Did you see the tsunami coming about halfway between your home and Okada primary school?
When we left here, we didn't see the tsunami coming.
The tsunami came to the rice paddies earlier.
You know, the embankment at the mouth of river collapsed.
- Nanakita River? - Yes.
I assume water flowed in that direction so that tsunami came here later.
I didn't witness it but water flowed at a breakneck speed.
Did you see water flowing toward the north and Nanakita River?
As Okada primary school is designated as an evacuation place, we went there.
When we got closer to the school, the flow of cars stopped.
People fleeing on foot told us to leave our cars and escape immediately.
We left our car and went up to the school's roof.
Needless to say, my car was swept away by the tsunami.
But our lives were saved.
- Afterwards, you spent days at an evacuation center. - Yes.
What did you think when you returned to your home for the first time and saw your house?
It was perhaps on the 3rd or 4th day. I wanted to come home soon.
But debris remained on the roads. As policemen stopped us from coming home, we couldn't make it.
I see.
- How high were the tsunami waves? - Up to this level.
- I'll show you. Up to this level. - I see.
- Around here. - It is higher than an ordinary man's height.
Someone's drawers drifted into my house. Ours were washed away.
After the quake, almost all furniture had gone.
Eight vehicles had been swept onto my land by the tsunami.
A big pine tree had drifted and got stuck in the warehouse. And some cars piled up on the tree.
Various things were heaped on top of each other.
It may be rude to ask this, but at that time, did you think you could live in this house again?
No. Frankly speaking, I thought it would be impossible.
I never imagined I would live here again.
I never expected that my house would be restored and we could live in it.
Because there were no doors left. Closet space in the next room sagged.
The floor in that room also sagged.
What brought you to think that you might be able to live in this house once again?
First, unless we removed debris from in front of my house, we couldn't take debris out from the house.
It took a long time to do this.
When the debris and tatami mats were removed, I had nothing to do because there was no more work to do.
Then I took the floorboards away. Meanwhile, volunteer workers came to help us.
They removed dirt from under the floorboards.
One of my relatives is a carpenter. I asked him to check my house.
He examined the tilt of pillars by radar.
As they were not tilted so much, he said my house could be remodeled.
So I decided to remodel it.
Even if I tried to build a new house, it was rumored that we would have to move to another place.
My land is huge. The frontage alone is 2970 square meters wide.
Rice paddies spread out over there.
Since this land has been handed down by my ancestors for generations, I can't abandon it.
The carpenter guaranteed me that my house could be remodeled.
So I decided to live here at any cost.
Later, the government set a regulation to ban new houses from being built. But they couldn't impose restrictions on remodeling existing houses.
Even though I would have to pay higher tax, I would live here.
We must escape if a quake strikes us.
Anyway, I must protect this land. As it has continued to exist for 17 generations, I can't run away from here.
If I did, I couldn't hold my head up before my ancestors.
Whether the local government is considering either relocation to higher ground or collective relocation, staying in this house is important to you?
Absolutely. But there is also a financial reason.
The value of land around here is almost nothing because it was inundated by the tsunami.
In the aftermath of the quake, the land price was 300,000 yen per 3.3 square meters.
That is not an official price. By chance, it might rise in future.
Even if I sold this land I could not get much money.
That is one of the reasons.
Nobody or no institutions would ever lend me money since I am old.
So, it is worthwhile to remodel.
Some of my relatives' houses were also destroyed by the quake, so I got some usable fittings like tatami mats from them.
- Did you bring them from your neighbors? - Yes.
All these fittings were given by them.
The remodeling will be completed today? Is it possible to live here today?
- Sash is installed? - Well.
Sashes were installed, thanks to the carpenters.
There are not enough fittings so it might be cold to live here.
- But I'm not inclined to live here yet. - I see.
- Are you living in a temporary house? - Yes.
Unless we live in a temporary house, we can't get any information.
When will you start living in this house?
I haven't decided yet.
I want to come home as soon as possible.
But you have a bond with people who used to live in the same district.
That's true. Few people moved in on this side.
Many people moved into temporary houses in the north area. But I'm not sure about the details.
Only the monks came back to the temple on this side. Few people have returned.
Since there are few people around here, it's lonely and less secure.
The last question. The recovery is making progress little by little.
I think this area is nice, as it's close to the sea. It was a very nice place before the quake struck.
We had lived here, thinking there was no better place.
This area has less snow in winters than other areas in the Tohoku region.
Sendai is relatively warm.
Sendai is not hit by typhoons often as they tend to deviate from Sendai.
I think this is a good place to live.
I have lived here for 75 years. Once you live in a place, it grows on you. This is the best place to live.
All local people are familiar with each other.
If we moved to an unknown place, we don't know what would happen to our state of mind.
Some people suddenly got sick even though they were staying at temporary houses. I heard bad news.
When an environment changes, it can cause adverse effects on people?
Right! Staying in a small space day and night, anybody could be depressed.
As I have something to do here, I am lucky.
- Different color? - Really?
- It's whiter. - Yes.
- I will repaint next time. - Yes, please.
Seeing you sit under the Kotatsu and cook in the kitchen, I'm touched, thinking your normal living situation is returning.
As I said to my family, when we enter from over there with the sliding doors shut, nothing seems to have changed from the old days.
If the sliding doors are open, it's different. Until this morning, there was nothing in this room.
I feel relaxed at home.
We can see that this house is ready to accommodate you.
I decided to live here. I honestly think it is the right decision.
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