[IWATE, Japan, 20 July 2011]
On 18 July, the 58th Iwate Prefecture Inter-Junior High School Athletic Competition sumo event was held at the sumo ring in the Prefectural Budokan. This historic competition draws considerable attention every year; a great number of people pile in from early morning to cheer the wrestlers on in spite of the sweltering summer heat.
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| On a hot summer day the students carefully rehearse their moves while gearing up for their matches. | The opening ceremony. |
At the opening ceremony, after the opening declaration, the Chairman of the Iwate Prefecture Sumo Confederation delivered a congratulatory message: “The disaster took with it many victims from our prefecture. Everybody is working very hard to move forward. Many have endured mental scars and some have nearly lost hope. It is up to you all to exhibit the fruits of your training and show everyone our lion-heart spirit, so as to resonate a message of energy and bravery in Iwate residents.”
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| Hiromasa Iwama of Otsuchi Junior High School making a pledge for fair play. |
Next, Hiromasa Iwama of Otsuchi Junior High School, the winner of last year’s competition and also a victim of the Great East Japan Earthquake, returned the championship flag and made a pledge for fair play, saying, “Our school was severely damaged in the disaster, but we pledge to present those that supported us with a good show and wrestle fair.” A champion flag was donated by local junior high school graduates as the real champion flag was washed away in the tsunami.
Without further ado the first group matches began. The first matches were loaded with excitement as players utilized an array of techniques to force their opponents down or push them from the sumo ring. The finals of Category 1 of the group competition pitted last year’s winners, Otsuchi Junior High School, against Nishine Daiichi Junior High School, who took second place last year. The instant that Nishine Daiichi sealed the victory the crowd erupted in a roar of applause in a message of awe and respect for the wrestlers.
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The singles followed with a series of heated matches. Six students made it through the preliminaries, and there were two third-year students that scored four wins and one loss in the finals, so a second final match was held. Both the winning and losing player exited the ring in tears after a mighty, spirited performance.
Victory went to Tomoya Matsuura, a third-year student at Nishine Daiichi Junior High School. Tomoya told us how happy he felt, “I am absolutely thrilled. Before today I had never beaten Takuya Ohara of Otsuchi Junior High.”
Coming in second, Takuya Ohara of Otsuchi Junior High School told us how he felt after winning a ticket to nationals. “There were some hard times, but I am happy that I was able to practice and compete today. I took first place last year so my loss today is very frustrating.”
Hiromasa Iwama from Otsuchi Junior High will also being going to nationals. Hiromasa told us about how enthusiastic he is, commenting, “Thank you for your support. I was able to make it this far because of my friends. I intend to fight just as hard as students from other prefectures.”
Hiromasa’s mother, Sachiyo, also commented, “I did not think he would be able to go to nationals, so I am pleasantly surprised. Our house was washed away in the tsunami and we have been living in temporary housing, so not everything goes our way. That is why I am so happy that Hiromasa was able to make it this far.”
After the competition was finished, Mr. Sugiura, the sumo coach at Otsuchi Junior High School, told the students, “We didn’t make it as far as we hoped, but we did what we came here to do. Also, I would like to thank everyone for streaming the event live. We weren’t able to practice for about a month and a half after the disaster, so taking that into account, you all did very well today. We have only been able to work this hard because of the support from everyone in Japan. I intend to show how hard you guys work to our supporters.”
The Japan Committee for UNICEF has provided assistance for this event so that junior high school students in Iwate Prefecture’s disaster-stricken coastal areas have the same opportunity as other junior high school students to aim for the national competition, and have an equal opportunity to demonstrate the fruits of their training. The sumo event was broadcasted live on Ustream in efforts to encourage more support for the sumo team of Otsuchi Junior High School, a school that was heavily damaged in the Great East Japan Earthquake. People from all over Otsuchi Town gathered to cheer on their junior high school.
All photo credits: © Japan Committee for UNICEF
| Receiving Prefecture |
Type of Emergency Supplies |
Arrival Date |
Quantity | Donating Company |
Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miyagi | Water | 19 Mar. | 12,288 bottles |
VanaH Co., Ltd. | Two-liter plastic bottles |
| Fukushima | Water | 22 Mar. | 12,672 bottles |
VanaH Co., Ltd. | Two-liter plastic bottles |
| Miyagi | Underwear for boys and girls | 22 Mar. | 200,000 | ||
| Iwate | Underwear for boys and girls | 23 Mar. | 30,000 | ||
| Fukushima | Water | 23 Mar. | 4,680 bottles |
KIRIN MC DANONE WATERS Co., Ltd. | Two-liter plastic bottles |
| Miyagi | Children’s shoes | 23 Mar. | 10,000 pairs |
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| Miyagi | Children’s diapers | 24 Mar. | 80 packs | P&G Japan | |
| Iwate | Children’s underwear | 24 Mar. | 9,700 | ||
| Fukushima | Water | 24 Mar. | 12,288 bottles |
VanaH Co., Ltd. | Two-liter plastic bottles |
| Iwate | Shoes | 26 Mar. | 1,404 pairs | Achilles Corporation | |
| Iwate | Underwear for boys and girls | 27 Mar. | 28,266 | ||
| Iwate | Boots | 27 Mar. | 7,462 pairs | ||
| Iwate | Wipes | 28 Mar. | 1,200 | P&G Japan | For babies |
| Miyagi | Recreation kits Early Childhood Development kits |
2 Apr. | 50 of each | Procured from the UNICEF Supply Division | |
| Iwate | Recreation kits Early Childhood Development kits |
2 Apr. | 50 of each | Procured from the UNICEF Supply Division | |
| Miyagi | Book bags | 6 Apr. | 70 | Nihon New Bag Chain | |
| Iwate | Book bags | 6-7 Apr. | 340 | Seiban | |
| Miyagi | Schoolbags | 8 Apr. | 18,000 | Procured from the UNICEF Supply Division | |
| Iwate | Schoolbags | 8 Apr. | 18,000 | Procured from the UNICEF Supply Division | |
| Miyagi | Personal security buzzers (for crime prevention purposes) | 8 Apr. | 5,000 | ||
| Iwate | Personal security buzzers (for crime prevention purposes) | 8 Apr. | 5,000 | ||
| Miyagi | Minicar | 8 Apr. | 3 cars | ||
| Miyagi | Nutritional supplements | From early April | 4,000 bottles | ||
| Fukushima | Water | 11 Apr. | 1,536 bottles | VanaH Co., Ltd. | Two-liter plastic bottles |
| Miyagi | Replenishments for recreation kits | 12 Apr. | 60 sets | ||
| Miyagi | Miniature toy cars | 12 Apr. | Approx. 1,200 | TAKARA TOMY | |
| Sagamihara* | Water | 12 Apr. | 12,288 bottles | VanaH Co., Ltd. | Two-liter plastic bottles |
| Miyagi | Play mats | 13 Apr. | Two types; 80 of each type | IKEA | |
| Miyagi | Drawing sets | 13 Apr. | 60 sets | IKEA | |
| Iwate | Preschool-size chairs, tables and low tables | 14 Apr. | 75 chairs; 11 tables; 9 low tables | Donated to preschools, primary schools, junior high schools and high schools in the disaster area as well as their new locations | |
| Miyagi | Mopeds | 15 Apr. | 5 | ||
| Iwate | Notebooks and stationery sets for primary and junior high school students | 15. Apr. | 16,700 sets | ||
| Miyagi | 183 computers; 57 copiers and fax machines; 61 printers | 18-21 Apr. | Distributed to preschools, primary schools, junior high schools and high schools in the disaster area as well as their new locations | ||
| Fukushima | Movable blackboards | 21 Apr. | 10 | ||
| Fukushima | Temporary toilets | 22 Apr. | 20 | ||
| Iwate | Geiger counters | 28 Apr. | 14 | For schools in Soma City | |
| Iwate | Dressing room/ breastfeeding partition system | 28 Apr. | 21 sets | ||
| Saitama* | Milk | From late April | Shelter in Futabamachi, Kazo City | ||
| Saitama* | Yogurt | From early May | Danone Japan | Shelter in Futabamachi, Kazo City | |
| Iwate | Color pencils (120 sets) and paint (240 sets) | 13 May | |||
| Iwate | Student lamps | 14 May | 15 | ||
| Iwate | Stationery sets | 16 May | 840 sets | ||
| Fukushima | Lockers | 16 May | 22 sets | For the Board of Education of Minamisoma City | |
| Fukushima | Computers | 16 May | 1 | Ishikawa Town Board of Education | |
| Miyagi | 2 copiers; 2 computers; 2 printers | May | For Higashi-Matsushima Day-Care Center and Watari Day-Care Center | ||
| Iwate | Water receiving tank, water purifier tank, water supply tank | May construction | May construction | ||
| Miyagi | Solar-powered vaccine refrigerator | 18 May | |||
| Fukushima | Fans | 30 May | 112 | Minamisoma City Board of Education | |
| Fukushima | Masks | 30 May | 100,000 | Minamisoma City Board of Education | |
| Iwate | 1 copy machine | 2 June | |||
| Saitama* | Shoes | 15 June | 460 pairs | Converse Footwear Co., Ltd. |
-Number of UNICEF Children’s Mini Libraries distributed: Approximately 150,000 books to over 900 locations (as of 20 June 2011).
-Number of children that have participated in the UNICEF “Let’s Play! The Outdoors Playtime Project” in Fukushima Prefecture: Approximately 5,600 (as of 26 May)
*Areas receiving disaster victims.
*In certain cases some supplies may be taken from prefectural supply storage warehouses and distributed to shelters and disaster sites in other prefectures.
As of 9:00 a.m. on 17 June 2011 (compiled by the Information and Public Affairs Division).