japanese islanders cling to a life under their volcano - stand up air purifier

By kantaro suzukidec.
2011 Miyagi, Japan-
Pointing to the air purifier in her living room, Kitkitagawa said: "I turned on the machine when the house smelled sulfur . ".
"I was wondering if we could really stay here again, but I'm used to the smell of sulfur now," she said . "Kitagawa, 63.
Sanzhai is a small island in the Pacific Ocean, 120 miles south of Tokyo. from the 17 th century to the mid-century, it is a colony. 19th century.
Now, it attracts scuba divers seeking to swim with dolphins and turtles.
In the light blue waters of Sanzhai's life, the colorful tropical fish Tom.
But it is not a typical resort.
An active volcano regularly sends residents of the island to a safe area on the Japanese mainland, most recently between 2000 and 2005, when Sanzhai was evacuated all his life.
For centuries, the deep attachment of islanders to this strange and ruthless place has allowed Sanzhai to survive, just as the Japanese attachment to their ancestral homes saved many endangered communities across Japan from
But these figures show that the future of Sanzhai's life is uncertain.
Six years after the Islanders were allowed to return, only 70% of the original population returned.
The population peaked at 4,700 in the 1970 generation and has now shrunk to 2,700.
There used to be five small villages on the island, each with its own elementary school, but it has been merged into a village and a school.
The number of students in Sanzhai lifetime high school has been declining, and many parents have sent their teenagers to schools in Tokyo.
Like most towns in rural Japan, Sanzhai has little work to keep young people. Many of the young islanders who were evacuated to experience life in Tokyo stayed on the mainland.
Even today, the island is filled with the subtle smell of sulfur dioxide gas, and the landscape dotted with trees killed by gas and lava flows reminds us that as it breaks out every 20 years, islanders may experience several major volcanic events in their lives.
Nevertheless, due to the Japanese attachment to the ancestral home, despite the danger, many islanders continue to return here after each evacuation.
In fact, tens of thousands of people living near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant have been forced to evacuate after the March disaster, and have become one of the toughest problems facing Japanese leaders, who recently finally told angry residents, they have been unable to return home for decades. For Ms.
Beichuan's husband, the 65-year-old Beichuan wild wulang, was his third eruption in 2000.
North Island residents, like many islanders, were evacuated to Tokyo.
He said: "In Tokyo, there is nothing to do except spend money on weekends . "
Beichuan takes care of watermelons, cucumbers and other vegetables in his backyard.
"Anyway, there's nothing I can do after I wake up in the morning.
Islanders were asked to carry gas masks, although it appeared that few people did so during a recent visit, and most residents did not appear to be interested in the smell of sulfur.
Due to the high volcanic gas content, some areas of the island are still restricted;
Cars can pass through these areas, but often drivers close windows.
Every morning, the local government announces sulfur dioxide levels on the island through loudspeakers.
An alarm signal of blue, green, yellow and red is attached to the pole to indicate the gas level in the area.
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The remaining sulfur makes the remote island more inaccessible.
Flights connecting Miyagi and the mainland are often canceled as winds carrying volcanic gas can damage aircraft engines;
Instead, most islanders rely on six
It takes an hour to get to Tokyo by ferry.
The only Clinic is the responsibility of four medical staff who force residents to travel to Tokyo for any serious illness or injury.
Okiyama Yuichi said he never thought about returning to Miyagi after attending university in Tokyo.
But after the evacuation order was lifted in 2005
Okiyama, 44, came to the island to clean up his ancestral home.
The ceiling was leaking, the garden was overgrown, and a household truck was rusted by ash.
After the visit, he decided to quit his job in Tokyo and move back to Miyagi.
He now runs a souvenir shop.
The recovery of Sanzhai's life, Sir
Okiyama said that it is not possible to leave his parents to the generation of people in their 70 s.
"I had to stand up," he said, however, adding that his wife and two daughters had been staying in Tokyo for the education of the girl. One of Mr.
The 40-year-old Yamada sisters arrived on the island from Tokyo.
In 1983, the volcano erupted and the flowing lava rushed through her school, family and community.
"Everything has passed," she said . "
"I don't have pictures of my childhood.
All my memories are buried under the lava.
"I miss the island sometimes," she added, "but it always prevents me from returning when I think of the risk that I might lose everything again.
Another returning person is Kikuchi Kenichiro, 36, who owns a bar here.
He said he was obsessed with Tokyo when he was a child.
"I really believe Tokyo is above the clouds because the plane that took off from Miyagi flew into the sky," he said . ".
"When a three-life ferry approached Tokyo's pier, I smelled Tokyo.
He joked that for a child who grew up on the island, Tokyo's exhaust gas represents "the most advanced and fresh smell ".
Still, after the evacuation was lifted six years ago, he chose to return here.
When asked why, he smiled shyly and said, "It's simple.
I was born here, so this is where I came back.
"A version of this article was printed on page A11 of the New York edition on December 10, 2011, with the title: Japanese islanders stick to life under fire.
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