Although the tragedy is well documented, perhaps most notable about this event isn’t what was lost, but what survived. For amid the terrible wreckage and devastation of the storm, a single pine stood alone. Drawing tremendous hope and inspiration from this pine tree, the city of Rikuzentakata and its residents have become an international symbol of endurance and resiliency.  

By definition, reclamation is the process of claiming something back or of reasserting a right to exist. Since 2011, Rikuzentakata has been doing exactly that. Under the leadership and direction of its mayor, Mr. Futoshi Toba, the city itself is being reclaimed. To date, the environment is being restored and renewed, which in turn is rejuvenating the local economy and giving its residents continued hope for the future. 

The Takata Matsubara was originally planted during the Edo Era (1603 to 1868) as a storm surge barrier to protect the village and to limit the salt spray impacting inland agricultural fields. At the time of the tsunami, the Matsubara had 70,000 trees within it and had protected Rikuzentakata for over 300 years. As I mentioned earlier, only one tree from the entire forest survived the tsunami. Referred to as the Miracle Pine, it has been preserved and made into a memorial of the disaster. A silhouette of the tree also serves as a symbol for the city. 

Busloads of tourists come daily to see this tree and eventually an entire forest will be recreated either from pine cones that had been previously collected or from DNA that was reclaimed from the Miracle Pine before it died.  

The Miracle Pine and now this nursery full of saplings are excellent examples of Hope and Vitality, but also reflect the strength and character of the residents of Rikuzentakata – whose roots go back centuries, literally. This is why it is so culturally significant to reclaim the Takata Matsubara.  

Confidence and Opportunity are most reflected in the rebuilding strategy that Rikuzentakata chose to undertake. While many of the surrounding municipalities got right to work restoring their towns to how they were before the disaster, Rikuzentakata opted to take this once in a millennium opportunity to start over from ground zero and build a totally new, modern town, which is easier to live in.  

Currently, many neighboring towns are finished with reconstruction and the towns look just like they did before the tsunami. On the other hand, Rikuzentakata is just getting started and it looks like a construction zone. However, five to ten years down the road and beyond, the residents of Rikuzentakata will be so glad that their town chose the more difficult and lengthy path.  

From his book, the following statements are indicative of the vision Mayor Toba has for the city:

• Agriculture: Most of the fields were either washed away by the tsunami or covered in salt water – leaving them highly degraded and/or unusable to grow rice. Essentially a blank canvas, many ideas for new crops have emerged: tomatoes, sweet corn, and sunflowers to name just a few. Although sunflowers do not produce food per se, they remind the residents to be happy.  
• Aqua Farming: Rikuzentakata raises scallops, oysters, seaweed, and shellfish – all of which were dramatically impacted by the tsunami itself, changes in salinity, and the resulting debris that sank into the ocean just off shore. Committed to the future of aqua farming, farming companies started anew and bravely endured until the first harvest – 3 years later.
• Agritourism: Perhaps the most innovative was the origination of the Marugoto Rikuzentakata Project. This agritourism project offers guests the opportunity to work together with local farmers, fishermen, or craftsman with the hope that they learn more about the city and its residents. 

Using aggregate reclaimed from the local area, the new 12.5 meter sea wall makes it impossible to see the ocean from sea level. It’s a sad thing, to give up, forever, a view of the ocean, but it’s one of the many sacrifices Rikuzentakata has decided to make for the safety and peace of mind of those living there, now and well into the future.  

Despite the strength and perceived sanctuary the sea wall offers the city, reclamation efforts optimally seek to balance traditional and nature-based infrastructure solutions with the local ecosystem. The combination of the sea wall and the Matsubara will be a good example of this.

Janet Kirkton

As Caterpillar’s Industry Steward for Dredging, Ports & Waterways, Jan is constantly in pursuit of new opportunities and solutions to serve this vast industry. Her kids liken this job to being a "Master Transformer" - and truthfully, it kind of is.

In collaboration with customers and external partners, Jan leverages Caterpillar core products to develop new and innovative solutions for dredging companies and contractors. Whether you’re working on land or in the sea, our unique custom products benefit from the same incredible support from our dealer network as our standard Cat machines. How great is that?

Have an idea? She would love to hear about it. Connect with Jan on LinkedIn or email her at HMS_solutions@cat.com!

Dylan Chapman

Coordinator for International Relations (CIR), City of Rikuzentakata

Dylan is a Germany-born American who's never lived anywhere longer than three years, so instead of having one hometown he has about a dozen. As the CIR for Rikuzentakata, every day is different, as he has to adopt a "jack of all trades" persona to help the city with whatever English-language support it needs, be that translating, interpreting, coordinating social media, or giving "foreigner's perspective" input on tourism initiatives. When not outside exploring the north of Japan, he likes to spend his time cooking, reading, and playing tennis.

We would like to thank Dylan for his input on this blog post and the insights he was able to provide to help us tell the story of Rikuzentakata.