3月から始まった今年の訪日ツアー。会員全員がほぼ休み無しにツアーをしてきたが、最近ようやく落ち着きを見せ始めた。会員一丸となって北は北海道、南は九州まで日本の魅力を伝えてきたところだが、今年は新たな発見があった。
This year's inbound tour to Japan began in March. All of our members have been touring almost without a break, but recently things have finally begun to settle down. We have been working as a team to convey the charms of Japan from Hokkaido in the north to Kyushu in the south, but this year I have made some new discoveries.
【2階まで押し寄せた津波の痕跡～Mark of tsunami surged to the 2nd floor】
仙台の郊外にある施設（旧荒浜小学校）を初めて案内した。東日本大震災が起きた際、ここに避難した320名の命が救われた。押し寄せる津波に児童はどれほど怖い思いをしたか想像に難くない。被災に遭った児童たちは自宅を失っただけでなく、8日後に行われる予定だった卒業式が消滅した事で、友達にサヨナラを言う機会さえ残されないまま突然散り散りになった。大切な思い出づくりの機会を奪われてしまったのだ。
This year, for the first time, I gave a tour of a facility (former Arahama Elementary School) located on the outskirts of Sendai. When the Great East Japan Earthquake struck, 320 people who evacuated here were survived. It is not difficult to imagine how frightening the tsunami must have been for the little kids. Not only did the children lose their homes, but they were also suddenly scattered without even a chance to say good-bye to their friends as their graduation ceremony, which was scheduled to take place eight days later, was canceled. They were deprived of the opportunity to make precious memories.
ツアーを通じて気付かされたのは、震災の記憶を今に伝えているのはSNSをはじめとしたデジタルツールではないという事。多くの命を救ったのは古代から受け継がれてきた言い伝え、そして、この惨事を直接伝えるメッセージこそが未来の命を救うのだとこのツアーを通じて知った。
Through the tour, I realized that it is not SNS that carry the memory of the disaster to the present. Through this tour, I have learned that it is the ancient legends that have been passed down from generation to generation that saved many lives in 2011, and that it is the messages directly conveying this tragedy that will save the lives of the future.
今では訪日客には東日本大震災の事を知る人は少なくなった。ただ、今回のツアーでゲストが最も印象に残ったのがこの施設だと言う。我々 通訳案内士に求められるのは訪日客に正しい日本の歴史文化を伝える一方、こうした日本の負の側面を伝える事も大事なミッションであることを忘れてはならない。今は、悲惨な事実があった事など想像できないほど美しい光景が目の前に広がっているが、昨年案内した特攻隊や原爆のツアーと共にここも心に深く刻まれた。
Fewer and fewer foreign tourists to Japan know about the Great East Japan Earthquake, but the guests said that this facility was the most impressive on them during this tour. We, as interpreter guides, must not forget that our mission is not only to convey the correct information about Japanese history and culture to visitors to Japan, but also to convey them about the negative aspects of Japan.
Today, the beautiful scenery spreads out before our eyes in such a way that it is hard to imagine the tragic facts that took place, but this place is as very important as Kamikaze pilot museum and the A-bomb museums to me.
