Hideko Igarashi, a 78-year-old resident of Soma, in Fukushima Prefecture, lost her husband and her uncle in the tsunami that hit the city in March 2011.

She works as a storyteller for the city¡¯s tourism association, handing down memories of her loved ones and underlining the importance of protecting lives.

Before the disaster, Hideko Igarashi was living together with her husband, Toshio Igarashi, then 67, and her uncle Tetsuya Igarashi, then 84, in the city while running a small guesthouse.