Real Voices of Reconstruction
"The area around the sea, windbreak forests, everything has disappeared. The area had its disaster area designation removed and now we are allowed to live there. How can you live in such a place?."
A year after the tsunami, the man in his seventies (ex-plasterer) responded without hesitation.
Shinhama, Miyagino Ward, Sendai, about 1 km away from the shore, was at first designated as a disaster area, and all residents were to be relocated. Later, some of the residents announced a "Statement of Intention to Stay in the Area," and the area was removed from the list of disaster areas. This suddenly gave the residents a new option: To restore their lives there.
That decision came about soon after a new meeting house was established in the temporary housing unit and the residents were in a friendly atmosphere.

Filmed by Machizukuri-bu (Community Building Club), February 4, 2012
Filmed at 1-7, Minami, Fukudamachi, Miyagino-ku, Sendai, Miyagi