For almost 10 years, the clock hanging in Bunshun Sakano’s temple was a reminder of the day nature’s force came close to destroying his community.

The clock, which is thought to be about 100 years old, stopped ticking after the north-east coast of Japan was struck by an earthquake and tsunami that killed more than 18,000 people on 11 March 2011.

Fumonji temple, which lies a few hundred metres from the tsunami-hit coast in Yamamoto, a town in Miyagi prefecture, was hit by the waves, with only its pillars and roof spared by the deluge.

Sakano rescued the clock, cleaned it and wound the spring, but its hands refused to budge.

Then late on 13 February this year – just weeks before the 10th anniversary of the disaster – the same region was struck by another powerful earthquake, described by seismologists as an aftershock of the March 2011 quake.

The following morning Sakano, the Buddhist temple’s head priest, went to check the main hall for any damage when he heard a ticking sound. The clock, which had remained silent even after being repeatedly cleaned, was moving again.


Full story here;
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...r-japan-tsunami-starts-ticking-a-decade-later

All credit to The Guardian newspaper