Photo/Illutration Evacuees from Akusekijima island and Kotakarajima island disembark from a ferry arriving at Kagoshima Port in Kagoshima on July 6. (Hisaki Tamanaha)

Following a series of ominous rumblings, the volcanic island of Miyakejima in the Izu island chain spat a huge plume of smoke in 2000.

The local government ordered all schoolchildren to be evacuated from the island, leaving their parents behind.

According to an Asahi Shimbun report back then, Keita, a first-year primary school pupil, boarded the evacuation boat with his older sister.

The boy was quoted as saying, “I’m OK because I brought my stuffed toy cat to sleep with.”

Sayaka, a third-year pupil, had her parents’ mobile phone numbers written on a slip of paper. Tucking it carefully into the bottom of her backpack, she said, “I’m shedding a few teardrops but I won’t dam them up.”

The scene depicted above is from a quarter-century ago, but there must be something timeless and universal about the anxiety and sadness of leaving one’s hometown after a disaster.

The recent sight of evacuees from the Tokara island chain broke my heart.

Large backpacks swayed on the backs of children getting off a boat at Kagoshima Port. All elementary and junior high school pupils were evacuated from the quake-struck island of Akusekijima.

“Sangoku Meisho Zue” (Illustrated Famous Places of the Three Provinces), published during the Edo Period (1603-1867), notes that Tokara is “takara” (treasure).

It is indeed quite a gem of a volcanic island, with its blooming hibiscus flowers and colorful fish in the coral reefs. But in nature, beauty and severity inevitably go together.

The Tokara islands were always earthquake prone, but seismic activities have grown markedly frequent since late June. There have been more than 1,600 tremors registering 1 or more on the Japanese seismic scale of 7, with no signs of abating any time soon.

How long will the islanders have to live with this?

In the case of the Miyakejima eruption in 2000, the evacuated children stayed in dormitories at Tokyo Metropolitan Akikawa High School in western Tokyo.

Akikawa is written with kanji characters meaning “autumn river.”

A haiku written then by Yuya, a fifth-year pupil, went to the effect, “In the autumn river/ A young fish/ Resists the current.”

The boy probably saw himself in the fish, determined to overcome adversity.

I imagine this feeling is probably shared by the young evacuees from Tokara. I pray for their early return to a normal life.

—The Asahi Shimbun, July 8

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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