From trauma to healing and remembrance – the ‘Tsunami Violin’

On March 11, 2011, a magnitude-9 earthquake shook northeastern Japan, unleashing a savage tsunami that caused immeasurable destruction and suffering to the country.

Among those deeply moved by the shocking TV images of wreckage and uprooted trees, were violin maker Nakazawa Muneyuki and his musician wife Kimiko.

To manage the grief and trauma they were feeling, Nakazawa decided to create a violin using wood salvaged from the place hardest hit by the tsunami: Rikuzentakata in Iwate. For the violin’s sound post, which determines its tone, he chose a twig from the Miracle Pine – the only tree left standing there by the tsunami.

Today, 10 years after the disaster, Nakazawa’s instrument, which he calls the ‘Tsunami Violin’, still plays at concerts around Japan, ensuring the experiences of that traumatic day will never be forgotten.

View the original video here.

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