Photo/Illutration Manami Kajiwara, left, and Miki Ando (Provided by Miki Ando)

Manami Kajiwara will soon mark the 12th anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake with sadness, as her mother died in the ensuing tsunami. 

But thanks to someone who helped put a smile back on her face when she was young, it will also be a special day when she can see her again. 

“I am eternally grateful to the person,” said Kajiwara, a 20-year-old university student in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture. “I have spent more than half my life with her.”

The special person is Miki Ando, 35, a former top figure skater who won the world championship twice.

One of the world titles that Ando captured was at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Moscow in April 2011.

The event was originally scheduled to be held in Japan.

But the massive earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011, forced the event to be canceled and Moscow became the fallback host.

After winning the gold medal in the women’s singles competition, Ando said about people in the disaster-stricken areas, “I, too, understand how it feels to lose a family member.”

She was referring to her father who died in a traffic accident when Ando was young.

“Figure skating was the one thing that chased away my sadness,” she said. “I hope my performance brought a smile back to as many people as possible.”

After returning to Japan, Ando wanted to support children who had lost their parents in the disaster.

She held a charity event in Yokohama on March 11, 2012, on the one-year anniversary to support children in the disaster-hit areas.

In November the same year, Ando visited an elementary school in Ishinomaki through JEN (Japan Emergency NGO).

In 2013, Ando briefly returned to competition so she could not visit Ishinomaki that year.

But since then, Ando has personally visited Ishinomaki every year. During one such visit, Ando met Kajiwara, who was 9 at the time and a third-grader.

Kajiwara’s mother, Kikumi, died in the tsunami. She was 37.

Kajiwara’s grandmother, Seiko, 72, said, “Before Kikumi died, Manami was an upbeat child, always bouncing around.”

But the disaster changed her into a “quiet child.”

On March 11 every year, Kajiwara and Ando have met and chatted for about two hours. Topics range from casual episodes at her school to fun or sad things.

Gradually, Kajiwara opened up to Ando. Seiko said Manami rarely shows her genuine smile.

“But when she talks with Miki-chan (Ando), she has a big smile,” Seiko said.

“It’s like ‘Tanabata,'” Seiko said, likening the annual meeting of the two to the July 7 Star Festival, when Altair and Vega are allowed to meet.

“They meet only once a year but I truly appreciate Miki-chan,” the grandmother said.

In the past few years, Ando has participated in a volunteer group based in Ishinomaki. Through social media, such as Instagram, Ando has shared what she sees in the rebuilding city. 

Ando said she hopes people see her posts on social media and take steps to do something for the areas hit hard by the earthquake and tsunami. .

Ando is expected to go to Ishinomaki on this year’s anniversary, too.

She will finally see Manami as an adult, who recently celebrated Coming of Age Day.

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