Museum destroyed by 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake to reopen nearly 12 years later

The Yomiuri Shimbun

14:59 JST, November 4, 2022

RIKUZENTAKATA, Iwate — The municipal museum in Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture, is set to reopen to the public on Saturday for the first time since it was destroyed in the tsunami following the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake 11 years and eight months ago.

About 7,300 items, including bird and shellfish specimens that were restored with the help of other museums, will be on display at the newly rebuilt municipal museum. It is now integrated with the Rikuzentakata Sea and Shell Museum, which was also destroyed in the disaster.

About 460,000 of the 560,000 items that were housed at four facilities, including the municipal museum, were recovered. More than 70 museums and other institutions worked to remove mud and salt from the artifacts, and as a result, about 300,000 items have been restored.

A Baird’s beaked whale specimen — which is 9.7 meters long, weighs 525 kilograms and served as a major attraction at the sea and shell museum — was restored and is now on display at the newly rebuilt museum. The museum held its opening ceremony on Thursday.