 The most shared article on Facebook today was the heartwarming story of a man from Miyagi Prefecture who has dedicated himself to learning to dive so that he might recover the body of his wife, who was swept away by the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, and is still missing. Netizens shed tears over the story, which demonstrates a love so strong, that it should give us all something to think about as Valentine’s Day approaches. The story also serves as a poignant reminder that even though almost three years have passed since the disaster, many families are still unable to rebuild their lives. I Will Bring My Missing Wife Home – Onnagawa Man Passes Diving Qualification To Search For Her The exam constitutes a written test, that Takamatsu took at the end of January. On February 7, he received notice that he had passed, and with a relieved expression on his face he said “I’ve cleared all the conditions for searching”. On February 11, which marked two years and eleven months since the earthquake, Takamatsu went into the sea at Hamagurihama in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture. The dive was led by Takahashi Masayoshi (34), a representative from a local diving shop called “Miyagi Diving Services High Bridge”. Takamatsu attached 25 kilograms of diving gear to himself, including weights, and practiced an underwater search. Takamatsu’s wife, Yuko, who was 47 at the time she went missing, was a temporary worker at the Onnagawa branch of The 77 Bank, one of 12 bank clerks who either died or went missing during the tsunami. At the branch manager’s instruction they had all escaped to the roof of the building, when they were engulfed by a tsunami. Immediately after the disaster he continued to search for Yuko, and on his free days he would pass by the place where the other bank clerks had been discovered. While watching over the searches being carried out by the divers of the Miyagi Maritime Safety Division, from around summer of last year he started to think “This isn’t something I should leave to other people; I want to dive into the sea and search for my wife myself”. He knocked on the door of High Bridge, who had opened a diving school in Onnagawa, and started to learn the necessary skills. Takamatsu looked back on how he felt the first time he dived in the sea: “I was frightened. I didn’t have any time to look at what was going on around me”. Diving once per month, Takamatsu’s fear gradually subsided. And although he now has the qualification, diving alone is dangerous, so for the time being he works alongside Takahashi and other rubble removal volunteers, with the intention of improving his skills. Takamatsu’s two children, who live in Sendai, say they support their father, even though they worry about him. “Right before she was engulfed by the tsunami, the final text message I got from my wife was ‘I want to come home,’ says Takamatsu. “More than anything, I want to go out and search for her, and bring her back to our home”. Japancrush
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