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Future generations warned by ancestors
#1
Stone markers, hundreds of years old, warned residents of tsunami danger:

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"People had this crucial knowledge, but they were busy with their lives and jobs, and many forgot," said Yotaru Hatamura, a scholar who has studied the tablets.


One stone marker warned of the danger in the coastal city of Kesennuma: "Always be prepared for unexpected tsunamis. Choose life over your possessions and valuables."


Tetsuko Takahashi, 70, safe in her hillside house, watched from her front window as others ignored that advice. She saw an ocean liner swept half a mile in from the port, crushing buildings in its path.


"After the earthquake, people went back to their homes to get their valuables and stow their 'tatami' floor mats. They all got caught," she said.


Her family has lived in Kesennuma for generations, but she said those that experienced the most powerful tsunamis died years ago. She can only recall the far weaker one in 1960, generated by an earthquake off Chile.


Earlier generations also left warnings in place names, calling one town "Octopus Grounds" for the sea life washed up by tsunamis and naming temples after the powerful waves, said Fumihiko Imamura, a professor in disaster planning at Tohoku University in Sendai, a tsunami-hit city.


"It takes about three generations for people to forget. Those that experience the disaster themselves pass it to their children and their grandchildren, but then the memory fades," he said.


The tightly-knit community of Aneyoshi, where people built homes above the marker, was an exception.


"Everybody here knows about the markers. We studied them in school," said Yuto Kimura, 12, who guided a recent visitor to one near his home. "When the tsunami came, my mom got me from school and then the whole village climbed to higher ground."

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/04/0...1370.shtml
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#2
It's tough to learn from the elders when your face is buried in a smart phone.

I'm calling my mom, tomorrow . . . this time I'll listen.
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#3
Yes Japan has had a long history of Tsunamis.

I wonder how shocked the residents of California will be when the San Andreas fault finally collapses, which it will one day inevitably.
We need to punish the French, ignore the Germans and forgive the Russians - Condoleezza Rice.
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#4
I have an antique kimono that has as it's design a tsunami wave around the bottom.
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#5


May I ask what you do with it, SS?

I have ideas. Smiley_emoticons_biggrin
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#6
(04-07-2011, 05:43 PM)Duchess Wrote:

May I ask what you do with it, SS?

I have ideas. Smiley_emoticons_biggrin

Nothing at the moment. It's packed away. It's truly art and I have thought of trying to display it some way. Any ideas would be appreciated!
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#7
(04-07-2011, 06:28 PM)shitstorm Wrote:
(04-07-2011, 05:43 PM)Duchess Wrote:

May I ask what you do with it, SS?

I have ideas. Smiley_emoticons_biggrin

Nothing at the moment. It's packed away. It's truly art and I have thought of trying to display it some way. Any ideas would be appreciated!

my Dad received a gorgeous silk kimono, a tapestry screen and some pearls as an honorarium while speaking in Japan. he gave it to me, and i wore it, now i wish i had framed it in glass. there are methods to preserve textiles that way as i'm sure you know.

you made me think of a doc i saw on PBS once about geishas, the kimonos they showed were delicate, stunning, prized possessions. and absolutely art works.



















































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#8
I have two, LC, both old. The one with the tsunami wave is black. It's a man's. The other is predominantly pink, covered with embroidered flowers. Really gorgeous. I've thought of sandwiching them between plexiglass. I'm sure that would cost a fortune.
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#9
(04-07-2011, 06:28 PM)shitstorm Wrote: It's truly art and I have thought of trying to display it some way. Any ideas would be appreciated!


If you have wall space, it can be hung similar to tab top curtains/drapes. It would make a great focal point of interest.


[Image: Zy3rKpW.png]
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