Tsunami warning stone

Tsunami warning stone built up in Japan in 2012

Tsunami warning stone by M.Fackler, 2015

Tsunami warning stone or Tsunami stone may refer to a stone monument, that indicates the highest level of water reached at tsunami, in order to warn the future generations.

Lack of information
The kanji at at the tsunami warning stone are believed to mean something like

 Beware of tsunami. Do not build homes below this level. 

However, this is only guess, as the original text, written at a tsunami warning stone is usually not typed.

The kanjis, suggested in the descriptions (even if the description is in Japanese) do not match the kanjis, written at the stone.

Several authors offer images of various old Tsunami warning stones.

These images are characterized in the following:

1. The authors do not type the original text written in the stones. (Some translations are available.)

2. The authors to not indicate the coordinates of the place, where the Tsunami warning stone is located.

These two observations repeat in many publications and can be considered as surely observed phenomenon.

Origin of this phenomenon can be subject of the scientific research. It is difficult to guess a honest reason, why an author (or the censor) would omit the most important information from the description of the image.

Perhaps, the authors exaggerate both, the amount of historic Tsunami warning stone and clearness of statements written on them. It seems, many of them just re-write stories about these stones without to see any of them and without to analyze the kanjis to these stones, shown in the images available.

New Tsunami warning stones
Since the Fukushima disaster, caused by the tsunami 2011.03.11, many new Tsunami warning stonea are built-up, and they seem to be better documented. At least, their coordinates are published :

Unosumai-chō 鵜住ऺ Latitude: 39.329010N Longitude: 141.900560E The first one was installed in the pine wood (39.32901N,141.90056E) on the shore in Kamaishi city, Iwate prefecture, famous for its ironworks (now suspended) which has a brave Rugby team, where a pile of debris is waiting to be disposed. The design was placed with a famous industrial designer, the inscription was too sophisticated, the engraved characters “ニ千十一(=2011)” which looks like Rune letters, are difficult to decipher even for Japanese people.

The second stone was placed in the playground (38.76654N,141.50703E) of Koizumi kindergarden & elementary school on the hill in Kesennuma city, Miyagi prefecture. The Lessons from the Tsunami Experiment : To the people in the future, On 11 March 2011 2:46 PM, Tōhoku earthquake occurred, and the tsunami attacked the Pacific coastline.

The third one was put beside (39.20900N,141.88519E) the old tablets of Tōni (唐丹) village in Kamaishi city. The selection committee for the inscription decided to engrave all the entries, 91 from children and 4 from adults. Koizumi area in Kesennuma city suffered a severe damage, So many lives and houses were lost. The lessons from the tsunami experiment are; “Tsunami will follow the earthquake”, anyway to rush away higher and higher, “When tsunami comes, rush away individually”. We wish to leave these teachings to you.

The small 4th to 25th ones are in the same simple design with stone birds on their tops, driven on the tsunami reaching points around the 3rd one in Tōni village.

4th=A in Kerobe (花路辺) hamlet : 39.21093N,141.89709E

5th=B in Hongō (本郷) hamlet 1 :39.21169N,141.88843E

6th=C in Hongō hamlet 2 : 39.21121N,141.88745E

7th=D in Hongō hamlet 3 : ? (in a private garden, removed?)

8th=E in Hongō hamlet 4 : 39.20916N,141.88474E

9th=F in Hongō hamlet 5 : ? (in a private garden, removed?)

10th=G in Hongō hamlet 6 : 39.20974N,141.88110E

11th=H in Hongō hamlet 7 : 39.21075N,141.87720E

12th=I in Hongō hamlet 8 : ? (behind a private house, removed?)

13th=J in Kojirahama (小白浜) hamlet 1 : 39.20770N,141.87096E

14th=K in Kojirahama hamlet 2 : 39.20872N,141.86742E

15th=L in Kojirahama hamlet 3 : 39.20917N,141.86649E

16th=M in Kojirahama hamlet 4 : temporary removed? (beside the community house now(2015) under construction)

17th=N in Katagishi (片岸) hamlet 1 : 39.20177N,141.86154E

18th=O in Katagishi hamlet 2 : 39.20000N,141.86229E

19th=P in Katagishi hamlet 3 : 39.20793N,141.85185E

20th=Q in Arakawa (荒川) hamlet : 39.19321N,141.86203E

21st=R in Kamiarakawa (上荒川) hamlet 1 : 39.18877N,141.86188E

22nd=S in Kamiarakawa hamlet 2 : 39.18933N,141.85991E

23rd=T in Kamiarakawa hamlet 3 : 39.19148N,141.85759E

24th=U in Kamiarakawa hamlet 4 : 39.19320N,141.85144E

25th=V in Ōishi (大石) hamlet : 39.18035N,141.89256E

The 26th one was set in front of Ryōri (綾里) station (39.05407N,141.79916E) of Sanriku Railway partially recovered in 2013. Tsunami tendenko (=When tsunami comes, rush away individually) : Remember the catastrophe of Tōhoku earthquake, Evoke the inevitable attack of the tsunami after the earthquake. Rush away to higher places as fast as possible. Never go back, only try to escape, Save your life with your own effort. Remember the tradition “Tsunami tendenko (implies “Never care about the others, only try to survive to be the relater who tell the catastrophe to the next generation”)”. To hand down the tradition eternally, erected herewith this tablet. On a lucky day in March 2013.

Some tsunami warning stone are mentioned at site megalithic : Village: Akasakichō-Attari 赤崎& Latitude: 39.031630N Longitude: 141.765720E

Scientific interest
The analysis of the tsunami warning stones, and, especially, the analysis of publications about them, represent certain scientific interest.

At it is mentioned, the most important information is usually omitted in the publications.

The lack of information about the Tsunami warning stone may have some economical reasons: the developers, who sell the ground below the Tsunami warning stones, or homes, or other constructions, that are built-up near the Ocean, below these stones, may be interested hi hide the information about the tsunami warning stones; both what is written there and where the stones are located.

It should be interesting to found other hypothesis, that explain the same phenomenon in any different way.

Keywords
Fukushima disaster, History, Japan, Never again, Tsunami, Tsunami warning stone,

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