30 Years On, Sunflowers Spreading in Japan as Ray of Hope from Disasters

Kobe, Jan. 17 (Jiji Press)--Sunflowers growing in an empty plot of land in the western Japan city of Kobe that was once a home hit by a massive earthquake 30 years ago have spread throughout the country as a symbol of reconstruction from disasters and remembrance of victims.

For Itsuka Kikuchi, the now 45-year-old who lived in the quake-hit home at the time, the sunflowers were a psychological burden at times, as she was still trying to deal with the death of her then 11-year-old little sister Haruka Kato in the Jan. 17, 1995, quake.

Now a mother, Kikuchi is passing on the stories of her experiences to the younger generation who were born after the 7.3-magnitude quake, which killed 6,434 people.

The quake struck when Kikuchi, who was a junior high school student at the time, was fast asleep in the second floor of her home.

She pushed aside a chest of drawers that had toppled over in the temblor in hopes to go down to the first floor, but ultimately opted instead to go outside through the balcony, as she could not locate the stairs.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]