Disater and Shrine

Abstract

Shrines along the Sanriku coastal areas affected by the Great East Earthquake, were scarcely damaged. On the other hand, not a few of the shrines on Sendai Plain were damaged.  This paper aims to offer a perspective to see the relationship between the sea, the daily life of the inhabitants and their production along the coast, through examining the location and the symbolic meaning of the shrines in each area.  Some cases that a shrine functioned effectively for safe evacuation from the tsunami disaster, and the challenges of making a good use of a shrine are shown.