Relics from the earthquake (former building of Kesennuma Koyo High School, Miyagi Prefecture)

Preserving the disaster scene and conveying to future generations the power of the tsunami and the scale of the disaster

  • Cultural Spaces
  • On the balcony on the fourth floor of the South Building, there are traces of the impact of a freezing factory that was swept away by the tsunami. The concrete debris showing the impact traces has been faithfully reproduced as an exhibition fixture to preserve its shape for a long time and prevent it from falling.

    On the balcony on the fourth floor of the South Building, there are traces of the impact of a freezing factory that was swept away by the tsunami. The concrete debris showing the impact traces has been faithfully reproduced as an exhibition fixture to preserve its shape for a long time and prevent it from falling.

  • The car that was swept away onto the third floor of the South Building has been preserved as a valuable example of the power of the tsunami.

    The car that was swept away onto the third floor of the South Building has been preserved as a valuable example of the power of the tsunami.

  • Several cars carried away by the tsunami remain piled up on the walkway.

    Several cars carried away by the tsunami remain piled up on the walkway.

  • Relics from the earthquake (former building of Kesennuma Koyo High School, Miyagi Prefecture)
  • The car that was swept away onto the third floor of the South Building has been preserved as a valuable example of the power of the tsunami.
  • Several cars carried away by the tsunami remain piled up on the walkway.

Photo: Courtesy of Kesennuma City

About the Project

Overview Kesennuma Koyo High School in Miyagi Prefecture, a prestigious fisheries school, was damaged by the tsunami in the Great East Japan Earthquake and moved to a new school building. The tsunami reached up to the fourth floor of the school building, but all students and faculty members were able to evacuate and survive. The old school building has been opened to the public in its original state as it was at the Kesennuma Great East Japan Earthquake Relics and Memorial Museum, as a "visible testament" to convey the memory and lessons of the earthquake and to continue to sound the alarm for the future.
Issues/Themes As a "disaster relic," the aim is to convey to future generations the power of the tsunami and the scale of the disaster, to serve as a facility that will contribute to future disaster prevention and mitigation, and to create a viewing environment that ensures the safety of visitors.
Space Solution/Realization Utilizing the comprehensive strengths of the Tansei Research Institute to "protect," "utilize," and "communicate," we carried out the preservation and maintenance of the school building and the surrounding environment. As the rubble (drifting objects) remaining within the school building is a "disaster relic" and a clear indication of the impact of the tsunami damage, we proceeded with the maintenance design by preserving it as it was, except for items that are dangerous or likely to decay. When opening the interior of the South School Building to the public, we paid the utmost attention to ensuring the safety of visitors, and installed a new elevator to create a barrier-free viewing environment.

Basic Information

Client Kesennuma City
Services Provided Research, Preservation Planning, Supervision of Preservation and Maintenance
Our Team Project Management: Echizen Kotaro
Conservation design: Tansei Research Institute, Yoshifumi Kobayashi, Daisuke Inoue
Supervision of Preservation and Maintenance: Manabu Watanabe, Masami Hayashi, Akio Misawa, Tansei Research Institute, Yoshifumi Kobayashi, Daisuke Inoue
Location Miyagi Prefecture
Open March 2019
Website http://www.kesennuma-memorial.jp/
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*The shared information and details of the project is accurate as of the date they were posted. There may have been unannounced changes at a later date.

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