Ryota Anjo of Yonesaki Apples

A door opens through human connection

As a high school student, Anjo traveled the Sanriku coast to see the tsunami-affected region for himself. During his travels, he happened to stop by the Rikuzentakata Hamanasu Fruit Market. Anjo had already been attending an agricultural high school to train as a farmer, so as a result of this meeting, he got the chance to train at a Rikuzentakata apple orchard in May 2013.

“The orchard was quiet and peaceful, enough to make me forget I was in a city devastated by the tsunami,” he said of his early days in Rikuzentakata. “The people were kind and friendly, and I realized that I wanted to stay in the city.”

This April, he moved into a temporary housing unit and started his new life in Rikuzentakata.

A reconstruction that keeps the best parts of the past intact

“When I first visited Rikuzentakata, the main part of town was still a barren field,” says Anjo, “but now, thanks to the giant conveyor belt and the land-raising projects, things seem to be slowly looking up.”

Anjo has hope for the future. “I think to a certain extent, you can’t change the fact that some people will move away. But I know there are more and more people like me who have fallen in love with this city and want to move to the area,” he told us. “Rikuzentakata has long been a great place to grow delicious apples. I hope people will preserve the good parts of the past as they were, while continuing to move forward toward reconstruction little by little.”

Profile

Ryota Anjo

Originally from Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture.

As a second-year at Kanagawa Prefectural Hiratsuka Agricultural High School, Anjo visited the tsunami-affected region, and met with Yonesaki Apple producers in Rikuzentakata on the southern coast.

His training as an apple farmer began through this connection, but a sudden illness brought a halt to his activities. When the other farmers heard about this they sent him apples and get-well e-mails. It was then that Anjo decided to grow Yonesaki Apples.

In April 2015, Anjo moved to Rikuzentakata to grow apples.