1.Mission
The specified non-profit organization, NPO Takurou, has the guideline principle “to survive natural disasters from tsunamis” to display the spirit of the citizens of Kochi prefecture, Iwate prefecture, and throughout Japan. The NPO is intended to apply the experience and knowledge gained during the Great Eastern Japan Tsunami of 2011 to future large tsunamis, such as that which may occur from a large earthquake in the Nankai Trough.
Its initial activities in the Tohoku district of the tsunami disaster (representing: Tarou, Miyako city, Iwate Prefecture) and the Nankai Trough Earthquake area (representing: Kuroshio-cho, Hata-gun, Kochi Prefecture) include constructing Tsunami Actual Water Experience Museums; conducting experience training using a pseudo-tsunami, providing education to convey integrated knowledge of tsunami disaster prevention measures; and at the same time, aiding in revitalizing areas with the risk tsunamis hazard and which are troubled by depopulation.
Since the Great Eastern Japan Tsunami of 2011, Japanese government agencies and local governments have implemented numerous tsunami disaster prevention measures, which have been successful. On the other hand, because large tsunamis occur with a frequency of about once every 100 years, , in the future, the need for countermeasures for weathering tsunamis in Kochi Prefecture and the other prefectures on the Pacific coastlines is unavoidable. The Tsunami Actual Water Experience Museums are considered to be effective means of minimizing the weathering.
NPO Takurou, as a not-for-profit organization, can take advantage of valuable knowledge from such sources as the Japan Society for Natural Disaster Science.
We would like to support the tsunami disaster prevention measures of public institutions and, even more, construct the Tsunami Actual Water Experience Museums.
The name of this NPO is a combination of two Japanesecharacters from each name, Tarou, and the ‘Kuro’ of Kuroshio.
Thus, it is a combination of Tarou and Kuroshio towns and represents their spirit to survive tsunamis.
2. Motivation
Founder Eigai Hamada is from Saga, Kuroshio town, Hata-county, Kochi Prefecture. After the Great East Japan Earthquake that occurred on March 11, 2011, he wanted to enact some measures to prevent the damage caused by tsunamis. In a press release in April 2012, a prediction was announced that following a Nankai Trough earthquake, a 34 m tsunami, which would be Japan’s largest, would hit Kuroshio. He conducted extensive investigations and found that tsunami disasters have occurred many times in the past in Saga in Kuroshio, and thus he realized the need for tsunami disaster prevention measures.
Through his detailed investigations of tsunami disaster countermeasures in detail, he learned that following the Showa Sanriku tsunami of March 3, 1933, Tarou in Miyako city suffered catastrophic damage. At that time the village mayor, Sekiguchi, was driven to mitigate tsunami disasters. To provide more time for evacuation in the event of a tsunami, a 10 m high breakwater was built to protect the shoreline of Tarou village. In Tarou, there were failures of all tsunami warning equipment at the time of the Great East Japan Earthquake, which resulted in the tragic loss of many lives. However, there is no doubt that the breakwater built through the will of Mayor Sekiguchi weakened the power of the tsunami and delayed the progress of the damaging wave.
Mr. Hamada learned that after the Great Tsunami in 2011, many of the residents in the Tarou district of Miyako city, including Mr. Shuichi Daibo, inspired by the will of Mayor Sekiguchi, had established and actively participated in the activities of an NPO corporation called ‘Rise up! Tarou, Miyako city’.
After studying their activities, Mr. Hamada wanted to adopt their tsunami countermeasures and apply them in Kuroshio.
Yet, on each visit to Tarou or return to Kuroshio he realized that while both locations had experienced tsunami disasters of the largest scale, both places are also famous centers in the fishing industry. Tarou is famous for Makazaki wakame seaweed, while Kuroshio consistently has the top catch in Japan’s bonito fishery and is the home port of the Miyojin Maru (Fishing Boat). Even so, the regional depopulation after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake tsunami has not stopped owing to the 2012 predictions of a Nankai Trough earthquake.
So, as a way to encourage measures to mitigate tsunami disasters and to connect Tarou and Kuroshio, we established the Tsunami Actual Water Experience Museums to achieve the following aims:
- Learning about tsunami disasters through pseudo-tsunamis
- Communicating tsunami knowledge and experience
- Collecting information on tsunami countermeasures in the surrounding area
- Revitalizing the depopulated regions
The NPO Takurou conducts activities mainly in Kochi prefecture. Its activities in Iwate prefecture are mainly related to seeking cooperation with the NPO corporation, ‘Tsunami Taro’ ( previous ‘Get up! Tarou, Miyako city’).
July 19, 2017
NPO Takurou
Domicile or residence: Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture, Shimotsuchidana 198-14
Founding representative name: Eigai Hamada ___ (seal)