Photographed on 4/19/2011
“Did you know this is what utility poles look like on the inside??”
From Rikuzentakada we drove south along Route 45. Toward Kesennuma, the road veers briefly away from the coast. Noticing a hardware store by the side of the road, we decided to stop by for a look around, but when we got closer we were shocked to realize that the entire first floor of the store had been swept away and now lay open to the elements. As we stepped out of the car, we noticed a strange smell in the air. Continuing into the town as if led on by something, we entered a black world where everything seemed to have been scorched by flames. Subsidence had left the coastal area where the seafood stores must once have stood under water. We had arrived in a monochrome world, devastated by the tsunami and the fires that followed. The surrounding area was susceptible to flooding even in normal times. There was no way a car could get through. Kuyama got out and put on his boots. Heedless of his own safety, he disappeared into the desolate landscape, occasionally reappearing again from the least expected places.
Written by Tetsuya Hirose
「電信柱の中がこんなやって知ってた～？」
陸前高田から国道45号を南下。気仙沼の町に近付くにつれしばし海から離れる。そんなとき現れた国道沿いのホームセンターに立ち寄ろうとして近づいて、そこもまた一階部分が“吹き抜け”になっていることに驚かされる。車外へ出たことでもうひとつ気づいたのが異臭。導かれるように町へと向かえば、そこはほぼ全てが燃えた跡の黒い世界で海沿いの水産工場群だったのだろうエリアは地盤沈下により海水に浸っていた。津波と火災に襲われモノクロームの世界になってしまった町がそこにあった。付近一帯は普段でも浸水状態、車などが入っていける状況ではなく車を降りた久山は長靴を履きそんな危ういエリアの中に消えて行っては予想もしない場所からまた現われてくるのだった。
ライター / 廣瀬達也
shiromasa kuyama 