Husband searching for wife lost in tsunami for 13 years at the bottom of the sea

Last Updated on June 27, 2024 9:19 am

The divers brought out pearls by diving into the sea. But former Japanese army man Yasou Takamatsu has been diving into the sea for 13 years in search of his wife, who was swept away by a terrifying wave. His skin has become dirty after diving into the sea. However, he does not give up. He must find his wife – as if he had made such a bet in his heart.

Takamatsu is now 67 years old. In 2011, his wife Yoko went missing after the devastating tsunami in Onagawa, Japan. In the last text message to her husband, Yoko wrote, ‘Are you okay? I want to go home.’

It was his wife’s words that brought Takamatsu this far in his search for Yoko. Takamatsu is still searching for his wife after 13 years.

11 March 2011. A catastrophic tsunami (ocean wave) hit the mainland of Japan. A large part of the north-eastern coast of the country was severely affected. More than 20 thousand people died. Many disappeared. Yoko is one of them.

I thought it was hard work. I found it very difficult in reality. But this is the only task before me to get a wife. I have no choice but to continue searching for him. When I go to the sea, I feel him very intensely.

Yasu decided to learn diving at the age of 56 to go into the deep sea to rescue Yoko. Since 2013, he has searched for Yoko at least 600 times. Unfortunately his remains have not yet been found. However, Takamatsu’s undying love for Yoko could not make him so impatient. He believes that one day he will find him.

According to a New York Times report, Yoko-Yasu first met in 1988. Yoko was 25 years old. Worked at Seventy Seven Bank in Onagawa. Takamatsu, on the other hand, was a soldier in Japan’s Ground Self-Defense Force. A senior official introduced him to Yoko.

Yoko-Yasu fell in love at first sight. At one point got married. Yasu said about his wife, “She was polite. I loved her smile and gentle nature.’ He further said, ‘Yoko loved to listen to classical music. He had a strong penchant for painting. Watercolor was used on canvas. However, these pictures were not shown to anyone but me.

Finding the remains of his wife lost at sea is no easy task for Takamatsu; And when 13 years have passed. Many people discouraged him from continuing this difficult task. Because pulling up Yoko’s remains from the bottom of the vast ocean is like pulling a needle out of a great haystack. But Takamatsu is unyielding. He said, ‘I learned diving at the age of 56 because I wanted to find my wife from the sea.’

Takamatsu admits that the task is not easy. Said, ‘I thought, this is a difficult job. I found it very difficult in reality. But this is the only task before me to get a wife. I have no choice but to continue searching for him. When I go to the sea, I feel him very closely.’

Are you okay? I want to go home’—this is the last Yasu hears from his wife Yoko. This is what motivates Yasu to run to the sea in search of him. He wants to find his wife and take her home.

A few months after the tsunami, Takamatsu found his wife’s cell phone in the parking lot of his workplace. A small message was written on the phone; Although he did not get it in time. The message read, ‘A very big tsunami.’

Tetsuya Takagi, a forensic pathologist at Tohoku Medical and Pharmaceutical University in Sendai, spoke about the bodies washed up at sea.

Tetsuya said, ‘It is difficult to say anything about a body lost in the sea. No one can tell which way it will go on the waves of the sea. However, if the body sinks to a certain depth, it can remain there. Again, it may not remain intact even there.

Meanwhile, a short film has been made on Yasu Takamatsu’s life. It has also been screened at various film festivals. Eric Shirai and Masako Sumura directed this documentary titled ‘Nowhere to Go But Everywhere’.

Source: Gulf News, Unilad.com