Nine months after a disastrous earthquake struck off the Northern coast of Japan, the government has completed the first of 500 monuments that are meant to commemorate the lives lost in the tsunami that was generated by the powerful quake. The first “Tsunami Memory Stone” is located above a beach in Kamaishi, Iwate Prefecture. The monument is inscribed with a traditional Japanese proverb concerning tsunamis. The monument also plays host to a QR code, which will let people remember that fateful day.
The QR code can be found at the base of the monument, below the English translation of the Japanese text. When scanned with a smart phone, visitors to the monument will be taken to a mobile website where they can find videos of the tsunami. They will also be able find pictures of what the landscape looked like before and after the disaster. Each of the 500 monuments will have the same QR code.
The endeavor comes from the National General Association of Stone Shops, which has partnered with more than 300 gravestone contractors throughout Japan to establish the monuments. The association expects that the project will take several months to complete, especially as many of its members continue to volunteer their time to aid in recovery after the disaster.
The English translation of the Japanese text on the monument reads:
Memorial Stone of the Tsunami. Just Run! Run uphill! Don’t worry about the others. Save yourself first. And tell the future generations that a Tsunami once reached this point. And that those who survived were those who ran. Uphill. So run. Run uphill!
