KESENNUMA, Miyagi -- A man here whose father disappeared in the March 11 tsunami while protecting the supplies of sake in the family's shop has reopened business at a new temporary location.
Toyoki Sugawara, 37, is the fourth generation to run the shop, which has been in business for over 90 years.
"My father protected this sake. My family and I are going to do our best to continue this business, working toward the day we can return it to the land it began on," says Toyoki.
On the day of the earthquake, Toyoki was inside the shop, which doubled as a house, when he heard an emergency radio network broadcast: "A large tsunami warning is in effect. Please evacuate to high ground."
His father, 62-year-old Toyokazu Sugawara, said to him and his 35-year-old brother Hideki, "Take one of the cars to high ground."
From the family's three cars, the brothers took one which the family had just recently bought and fled to high ground. Afterwards, the shop was struck by the tsunami.
Toyokazu had closed all six of the shops' shutters. However, the muddy waters still rushed in via the entrance of an attached storehouse, and in mere moments the waters were up to Toyokazu's waist. From the second floor, his wife Ayako, 61, descended the stairs and called for her husband. She reached out her right hand, but the moment she grabbed a hold of Toyokazu's outstretched hand, he was swallowed by the waters. They had risen in an instant.
"Run!" Ayako heard the yells of her parents-in-law, Toyotaro, 91, and Noriko, 89. She fled, heading past the second floor living room they had been in to the roof.
The next day, Toyoki and Hideki, who had spent the night on high ground, returned to the shop, which was still filled with water. On the rooftop, they saw a towel-wrapped clothes drying pole being moved around. It was Ayako, trying to signal to a helicopter that was flying overhead. The two brothers cried tears of joy in seeing she was safe.
However, Toyotaro and Noriko had passed away on the second floor, and Toyokazu had disappeared. The damage to the shop was severe, and Toyoki couldn't rally himself to try to reopen. However, regular patrons of the shop began asking when it would start again, and a construction company that had built the current shop during his father's generation offered to lend land for a temporary new building. Furthermore, although the shop had been flooded to the second floor, the stores of sake had not been carried off thanks to Toyokazu closing the shutters. Toyoki decided to reopen.
On April 23, Toyoki opened the shop for business at a temporary site consisting of a tent and prefabricated building. Having carefully cleaned off the mud that was stuck to around 300 bottles of sake and shochu liquor in the shop, Toyoki is selling them for 1,000 yen a bottle as he carries on the family business.
(Mainichi Japan) April 27, 2011
東日本大震災：「父が守った酒」再起誓う４代目 気仙沼
東日本大震災の大津波で２階までつかった宮城県気仙沼市本浜町の「すがとよ酒店」が仮店舗で営業を始めた。９０年以上続く老舗の酒を津波から守った３代目の菅原豊和さん（６２）は今も行方不明。４代目店主の長男豊樹さん（３７）は「父が守った酒。創業の地に戻るまで、何とか家族で頑張りたい」と再起を誓う。【小林努】
あの日、激しく揺れた。防災無線は「大津波警報です。高台に避難してください」。店舗兼住宅にいた菅原さんは豊樹さんと次男英樹さん（３５）に言った。「車を高台に上げろ」。３台ある車のうち、１台は買ったばかりだった。兄弟が車で高台に向かった後、津波が店を襲った。
菅原さんは店の６カ所のシャッターをすべて閉めた。しかし、濁流は棟続きの倉庫の出入り口からどんどん流れ込んだ。見る間に菅原さんの腰にまで達した。「お父さん」。２階に避難した妻文子さん（６１）が階段を下りて右手を差し出した。菅原さんが伸ばした手を文子さんがつかんだ瞬間、菅原さんは濁流にのまれた。
またたく間に増水した。文子さんは父豊太郎さん（９１）、母のり子さん（８９）の「逃げて」との叫び声で、一緒にいた２階の居間から屋上へ上がった。
高台で一夜を過ごした豊樹さん、英樹さん兄弟がまだ水につかった店に戻ると、屋上でタオルをつけた物干しざおが動いているのが見えた。文子さんが、上空を飛ぶヘリコプターに救助を求めていた。無事に、２人とも泣いた。だが、豊太郎さんとのり子さんは２階でこときれていた。
３代目は見つからず、店も損傷が激しい。豊樹さんは再開する気持ちになかなかなれなかった。それでも、お得意さんは「いつ店を始めるの」と声をかけてくれる。菅原さんの代に店を建てた建築会社は「仮店舗用の土地を貸そうか」と言ってくれた。２階まで浸水しながら、店の酒が流出しなかったのは、菅原さんが店のシャッターを閉めたからだ。豊樹さんは考え直した。「３代が守り抜いた店。自分も守らなければ」
プレハブにテントの仮店舗は２３日にオープン。残っていた日本酒と焼酎約３００本についた泥を丁寧にふき、豊樹さんは１本１０００円で店に並べた。
英訳毎日新聞 2011年4月27日 12時16分（最終更新 4月27日 12時45分）
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