When the once-in-a-millennium tsunami struck northeastern Japan on March 11, 2011, it killed thousands of people and destroyed vast stretches of a rugged coastline. As the survivors in Fukushima, Miyagi and Iwate Prefectures started putting their lives back together, they came to rely on each other more than ever.
Unlike in the United States, where athletes might play a different sport each season, Japanese students commit to a single sport that they practice year-round. As a result, teammates and coaches provided a support network for many athletes affected by the catastrophe. Sports also helped connect student-athletes to family members and neighbors, many of whom played sports themselves.
Last year, the All Japan High School Athletic Federation held an essay contest for students coping with the disaster. Students who wrote most persuasively about the healing role of sports were given scholarships.
We chose three winning essays and translated them into English. They include the story of a boy who writes that he became a man after he lost his father, and that he still looks over his shoulder on the basketball court; a miracle canoe and international friendship; and a granddaughter who honored her dead grandmother through swimming. In light of the hardship that has befallen the New York-New Jersey area in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, the stories may provide solace and inspiration.
This entry is by Chigusa Nishino, a canoeist who was in the third grade at Kozukata High School, Iwate Prefecture. (The first essay was published Monday. The final essay will appear on Friday.)
Nishino's Essay
On that day, we were practicing at a school. Until the day before, we hadn't had our canoe club activities due to an entrance examination. We were so excited to see each other. Right after someone said, "Shaking!," we all started feeling the earthquake. The quake became so hard that we couldn't keep standing. We couldn't imagine what would happen later that day.
The canoe season in Iwate Prefecture is from April to October, which is when the boat house is open. Once the boat house closes, we can't row. So we train on-the-ground until April. But our teacher found a place the previous October where we could row during the winter. That place was Rikuzen Takata.
Every year at the end of March, there is a race to decide who should be sent to a race overseas. Before last year, we went to that race without practicing enough. But this year, because of our teacher and people working at the outdoor activity center at Rikuzen Takata, we practiced even in winter. We commuted two hours there by bus or car every Sunday. We could row but the water was very cold. We sometimes fell into the cold water. It was too painful so I started getting fed up.
After the disaster, we didn't want to believe the news we heard and saw, but the reality was hard to avoid. One image on television was the place where we rowed. Right after the disaster, we were only thinking about our own safety, our families, and taking a short-term view. I heard the words "Rikuzen Takata" on the radio after electric power came back, and I learned the situation on TV. The boat house was gone. Canoes, paddles, life jackets and sandals...our gear was all gone. What would happen now? I saw nothing but darkness ahead of me. Canoes and paddles were sacrificed for our lives. We heard of one death after another. Among them was a person who worked at the outdoor activity center.
Electric power and water came back gradually. I could take a bath. I have a home and family. I couldn't believe what I saw on TV was the same Iwate I knew. I was so scared. Big aftershocks continued. I was lucky. I only could just pray for no more death and victims. I had a hard time showing my feelings in action. Then, I came up with an idea. Donate. Our club collected money.
In April, the boat house at Lake Gosho opened. The canoe season started. We rowed canoes that we didn't bring to Rikuzen Takata and broken canoes using paddles. "There are a lot of unused canoes so please take as many as you want," the Akita Prefecture Canoe Association said. We borrowed single and pair canoes, 13 in all. Suddenly everything brightened.
In May, I received an offer to go to an international race representing the disaster area. I was very distressed. My family pushed back. "Why are you so distressed?" they said. "You don't need to be distressed. This great opportunity doesn't come around so often. So just go." I decided to go to Slovakia. It was my first time overseas. I couldn't communicate. I was nervous. But the athletes who talked to me all asked, "Are you O.K. with the earthquake?" Even though we couldn't communicate, people all over the world were worrying about us. People all over the world were supporting Japan. I was so happy that I could feel we were all connected across borders.
Right after I came back to Japan, there was a prefectural qualifying round for an Interscholastic Athletic Meet. We could qualified in categories – single, pair and four.
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