Building a New Town 5

Songs for the Future of Minamisanriku: Togura Elementary School

A song about small moments of happiness that were experienced by each of the children
Small Things But Big Happiness
Music and words byTogura Elementary School, Grade 4, Class 1
Happiness when I was reunited with my family
Happiness when the power came back on
Happiness when the water came back on
I escaped with my friends, and we ate some food
I took a slow bath in a tub
from the Self-Defense Forces
Happiness when school started up again
Happiness when they gave me a school bag
Happiness when the soup kitchen people cameRamen, curry, shaved ice, octopus dumplings
Beef rice bowls, soft-serve ice cream,fried chicken, baked sweet potato
Exile, AKB, Kiyohara, Judy Ongg
Sandwichman, Croket, Sunplaza, Esorabito
Happiness being able to meet different people
Skipping rope with double unders, triple unders;▲February 2012
Each day, students in Togura Elementary School, Grade 4, Class 1
practiced singing the song as they read the lyrics that had been written on the blackboard by their teacher.
(Photo taken at Zennoji Elementary School in Tome, which was hosting their classes at the time)
Photo courtesy of TOYOTA ʻChildren meet artistsʼ Committee in Sendai / Miyagi

the migratory birds have left
Monkey bars, mats, exercise;the seasons have passed
Happiness in working hard together
Happiness in living for tomorrowThank you, thank you

On March 11, 2011, the children of Togura Elementary School, whichstood right on the coast, evacuated to a nearby hill. As the tsunami
approached,
they moved to a small shrine further up the hill, making a narrow escape. The children spent a bitterly
cold night in the shrine grounds, which were now like an island, surrounded by the dark waters.
The fear produced by the pitch blackness and the earthquake tremors was traumatizing. Damage tothe Togura area was severe. Most of the children lost their homes, and daily life was severely affected.
In winter that year, Togura Elementary School fourth graders took part in a workshop whose aim it was
to reflect on the events of the past year and write a song. Concerned about triggering the children's
fears by asking them to remember the earthquake, the teachers gave careful consideration to the valueof running such a workshop. After much discussion, the decision was made to go ahead. They felt thatthe act of reflecting on how the children, together with their friends, teachers, family members, andothers in the community, had all survived the year after the quake, and the act of looking back on thesmall moments of happiness that everyone felt from time to time would be self-affirmative and of value
in integrating memories.
Each line of the final lyrics of the song that was written reflects a small moment of happinessexperienced by someone in the class. The song, which is one of sharing happiness with others, became
deeply engraved into the children's hearts, where it continued to perform healing. The teachers feelthat the workshop and the song were a valuable part of the children's emotional recovery.
The song was performed during the Minamisanriku memorial ceremony held on March 11, 2012, sungwith children from four other local schools. The words “Arigato, arigato,” which come at the end of thesong that the children had composed, were sung as a refrain by all 135 children. As they listened,people in the audience could not stop the tears from running down their cheeks.

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