14 Years After the Ōkawa Elementary Tragedy: Unforgettable Memories of the Bereaved Families

“The importance of this event has sunk in.”

At the same time, as a co-representative of the “Ōkawa Legacy Association,” Toshirō Satō also took requests to explain to volunteers from Nagano Prefecture, who had come through a volunteer group, what had happened at Ōkawa Elementary School that day. According to Satō, even on that particular day, he had received multiple requests to serve as a storyteller.

Moments of laughter arose from lighthearted humor, and tears flowed as the visitors were moved by the sorrow of the tragic site. When asked about their impressions, one visitor expressed that the importance of preparing for potential danger and being able to act quickly in case of an emergency really struck home. It was clear that the lessons of that day had become ingrained.

I first set foot in Ōkawa Elementary School on March 30, 2011, 19 days after the disaster struck. After being forced to take a detour due to collapsed roads, I finally arrived at the school, where seawater still hadn’t receded, and debris and mud were piled up around the two-story school building. The scene I witnessed there remains seared in my memory. A mother was digging through the towering piles of mud with her hands, searching for the body of her child. Nearby, in a marsh away from the school, a grandfather and father watched the body recovery efforts, their faces gaunt with exhaustion.

“Many prominent politicians came to Ōkawa Elementary School, but it’s rare for them to visit again. Among them, Akie Abe visited about three years after the disaster. She said, ‘I’ll come again,’ and though I didn’t expect her to, she’s come back every year since then. The idea to start the ‘Bamboo Lights’ came from hearing about it from Ms. Akie,” said Kazutaka Satō (58). 

Kazutaka, who lost his third son Yūki (then 12), who was in the sixth grade, is now the chairman of the Ōkawa Bamboo Lights executive committee. The initiative began on March 11, 2022, to light bamboo lanterns as a memorial and a symbol of hope for the future on the anniversary of the disaster. The number of lanterns matches the number of students enrolled at the time, 108.

Takahiro Shitō (60), who is involved in the creation of the bamboo lanterns on the school grounds, also lost his second daughter, Chise (then 11), who was in the fifth grade. Takahiro said, 

“There are still unresolved issues among the bereaved families and the local community, but I believe time and space are necessary to resolve them. Ōkawa Elementary School is an important place where we can come, reflect, and spend time remembering. That’s why I want to keep this place connected. The bamboo lights are different each year, but this year, the arrangement is designed to resemble people, with the bamboo gathered in the center as if being embraced by arms.”

On a different day, I spoke with Hideo Tadano (53), who lost his eldest daughter Mina (then 9), who was in the third grade. Hideo also lost his wife and father to the tsunami, but his eldest son Tetsuya (now 25), who was in the fifth grade at the time, was one of the few who miraculously survived, despite being engulfed by the tsunami at Ōkawa Elementary School. Hideo cannot hide his anger.

“During the trial (which confirmed the plaintiffs’ victory in 2019, ruling that the city’s board of education and the school’s failure to take proper disaster prevention measures was illegal), there were adults who lied. The most important thing I want to say is that I don’t want my son, who experienced that life-or-death situation here, to see such adults. The reason the bereaved families sought the truth in court was to prevent the same tragedy from happening again. But there were people who distorted that truth.”

As these various emotions interweave, Ōkawa Elementary School faces its 14th anniversary of remembrance.

Ono Ikko: Born in Kitakyushu City, Fukuoka Prefecture in 1966. He has covered the Great East Japan Earthquake and various other events. His major publications include “Full Document: Kitakyushu Confinement Serial Murder Case.”

From the March 28, 2025 issue of “FRIDAY”