After 12 years, tsunami survivors are working to rebuild adjacent area of ruined school: Okawa Elementary in Miyagi Prefecture

Tetsuya Tadano is a survivor of the 2011 Tsunami Disaster at Okawa area of Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture. He was 11 years old then, and now he became President of non-profit “Team Okawa: the Future Network.” He recently visited Los Angeles. 

By Tetsuya Tadano

ISHINOMAKI, Miyagi Prefecture – March 11, 2011, the day the tsunami swallowed everything in an instant, including people, homes, and towns. The lives of those who lived there were totally changed. 12 years have passed since the Great East Japan Earthquake.

My name is Tetsuya Tadano, I live in Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture, I am the president of “Team Okawa: the Future Network.” I was in Los Angeles on a training trip for our organization.

I was one of four survival students at Okawa Elementary School in Ishinomaki City when the tsunami killed 74 students and 10 teachers. I was 11 years old, fifth grade, at the time. I lost my grandfather, mother, and younger sister in the tsunami.

I am now 25 years old. I have given lectures in various parts of Japan and continue to promote the importance of life through “Okaeri Project.”

Last year, 13 Okawa Elementary School alumni launched “Team Okawa: the Future Network” to rebuild the Okawa area. The 2011 tsunami disaster reduced population of the Okawa area, and caused the area uninhabitable. We hope children would gather with smiles at Okawa area.

I was born and raised in a village in the middle of nature and a rural landscape. When I was a child, I loved to sit on my grandfather’s lap and play with my grandparents. It was a warm relationship. In traditional community, the elderly neighbors took care of the children.

We could catch freshwater clams as big as a 500-yen coin in the Kitakamigawa River that runs by our school, Okawa Elementary School.

In the spring, Okawa Elementary School was beautiful with cherry blossoms blooming all around the schoolyard. During recess, I enjoyed riding unicycles with my friends in the courtyard and eating lunch on a sheet under the cherry blossoms. These are all precious memories of my time at Okawa.

Twelve years ago, when the earthquake struck, the students were in their classrooms. And all the students evacuated to the school grounds.

While everyone was forwarding to the foot of a nearby bridge, they were hit by a tsunami. I immediately turned around and ran up a hill, but I was knocked down by the torrent, and I fainted.

When I woke up, I was buried under the mud and sand. I and my classmate climbed to the top of the mountain and joined the others who already had taken shelter there. I spent the night in the freezing cold.

I lost my family and friends, and the entire town sank to the bottom of the mud and sand. In the midst of such an insane situation, I thought, “I can’t let the adults worry about me anymore.” Children like us had lost honesty and childlike nature. But thanks to attentive cares by the psychological support team, we gradually regained our sense of “play, eat, and learn.”

The ruined Okawa Elementary School building was considered for demolition, but in 2016, the building preservation plan was decided due to the strong appeal of our efforts to preserve Okawa Elementary School, our alma mater.

Now, Team Okawa aims to revitalize the community with children’s lives at the center and apply the lessons learned and practices to the world.

For more information about Team Okawa: the Future Network, visit to: https://teamokawa1028.editorx.io/teamokawa and https://www.instagram.com/team.okawa/