31-07-2025
VOX POPULI: Latest tsunami warning yet another reason to be prepared
A whirlpool pattern is visible on the surface of the water off the coast of Miyako, Iwate Prefecture, on July 30. (Tatsuya Shimada)
According to a legend of the Ainu people of Hokkaido, there was an old woman with a gift of divination who lived by the Koitoi Swamp near the sea.
One evening, she dashed around the neighborhood and shouted, her hair flying: 'There's a tsunami coming.'
Nobody paid any attention at first. But when her yelling grew louder and more urgent, everybody started fleeing to the hills.
Before long, the sea level surged. And in no time, huge waves came crashing.
All the people were safe and everyone rejoiced. But when they looked for the old woman, she was nowhere to be found.
Later, they noticed a massive rock standing in a deep valley. Convinced that this had to be the old woman, they worshipped it as 'Kamui Iwa' (God's rock).
This tale is included in 'Zoku Sato Naotaro Kyodo Kenkyu Ronbun-shu' (literally, 'Collection of hometown research papers by Naotaro Sato, Part 2').
From well before written records came into existence, the Ainu people must have repeatedly faced the terrifying power of nature.
A long undersea trench, running from Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula to the sea areas off Hokkaido, has triggered many earthquakes and tsunami.
The temblor that struck on July 30 must have been one of these. Tsunami alerts, which are shown in red on maps, were issued along much of Japan's Pacific coast.
I flashed back momentarily to the scenes of towns being swallowed up in a muddy deluge on March 11, 2011.
I am sure my experience was shared by many people. Despite the brutal heat, they readily complied with safety instructions and hurried to higher ground. It was truly a blessing that there was no major damage.
But whatever prediction may be made by any 'seer,' there is no question that a tsunami will come again someday.
According to estimates of anticipated megaquakes, tsunami may reach around 30 meters high.
What should we do then? Where do we flee? We need to review our plans once again.
—The Asahi Shimbun, July 31
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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.
