When Sano returned to Kamaishi with her father, she saw burned ruins everywhere, with the five chimneys of the ironworks, which used to be a symbol of the city, bending miserably. Around Kamaishi Station, there were many holes created by the bombardments.
“It was complete hell,” Sano said. “I wish the war had ended earlier.”
Sano has lived in Kamaishi for 80 years since the end of the war, witnessing the rise and fall of her hometown. The city began to recover in the 1950s, led by its steel and fishery industries, but was devastated by the massive earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011.
“The city remains deserted now,” she said. “Why should we experience such misery again?”
Still, she keeps busy working for the town, making her wartime experiences into a booklet and sharing her story through lectures.
“People can’t resist a tsunami, but war can be avoided,” she emphasised. “We must never start a war.”
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
AloJapan.com