Tsunami victim: 'Buddha saved us'

A year after the tsunami, the people in Aramachi, Rikuzentakata city, still believed that the Buddha had blessed them to survive.

After a sudden and intense attack on a series of earthquakes and tsunamis, all 65 families in Aramachi were devastated. The disaster killed 16 residents of the area. That evening, nearly 50 survivors crowded into the only stable home of Kongoji temple, which had existed in the center of this area for centuries. Together between the cold, the wet and the fear, these people stayed up all night to pray and mourn.

Halfway around the world, in New York City, USA, Hiroko Masuike, a reporter for The New York Times, who specializes in the image of disaster worldwide, could not be relieved. . Simply because, this time, the disaster is right on the hometown, in the country where she was born and raised, also where she left for 14 years to live in the United States.

Masuike had promised himself to return to Japan as quickly as possible. Two weeks later, she was in Aramachi to record images of the place after the disaster.

People outside Kongoji temple, Aramachi area, city
Rikuzentakata street on March 29, 2011. (Photo: Hiroko Masuike)

"When I came to this place, the first thing that caught my eye was the image of a small temple still intact on top of the hill, while around it was a ruined ruin. It was like a miracle , " she said .

"Every city on the coast is devastated, and the ruined landscape is everywhere , " Masuike said. But somehow , she felt "the temple seems to be calling me there" , in many areas also falling into the same situation.

When Masuike arrived at Aramachi on March 28, there were only 10 people there, including the temple manager, Nobuo Kobayashi. These people are all living in the only house left by Kongoji Temple. About 40 others have moved to safer and better conditions in evacuation centers. Although there was no electricity and water, the people who stayed remained patiently, watching the situation from the shelter and expecting missing relatives and neighbors to be found.

At first, Masuike slept in the car she had hired because he didn't want to affect the people here. They have lost too much. She also turned down their suggestions for food and water, as they did not want their scarce supplies of necessities to go faster. However, after the enthusiastic persuasion of the people in the temple, she decided to move to live with them. Sleeping in a temple is often forbidden, because it is a sacred place. But this is a case of force majeure, and people have no other choice.

"Every night, before falling asleep, I often think about the history of this temple," Masuike said. "I believe the Buddha protected the people who are hiding here."

Days after the disaster, people found statues and objects in the temple that had been washed away or buried under mud and rubble. After many days of searching, Takamasa Kobayashi, the son of the temple manager, found the most important statue, named Gohonzon-sama.

"When he found the statue, all the people felt a little more reassured , " Masuike said. "If this statue still exists, it means there is still a future."

On April 11, the bell and prayer of the people in the temple resounded at the right time when the first tsunami hit the area a month ago. A few days later, Masuike returned to work as a visual producer at The New York Times . The photos after the trip, she decided to share only with a few friends. Masuike promised himself, that she would definitely return to Japan and find out about the people she had called with two words - the family.

From 1998 until the time before the disaster, Masuike only visited her parents five times. Watching the people in the temple in Aramachi, those who lost their relatives made her rethink her own life.

"I started thinking about the meaning of life and family , " she said.

"I decided to visit my parents more often, take care of them more, and I think I should get married and have a family of myself."