Simple family Party for Japanese baby whose birth saved father from Japan tsunami
In a fortunate twist of fate, Sato, a wiry descendant of fishermen in his coastal hometown of Minamisanriku, took time off from work to see his third child, Haruse, born at a hospital in a nearby port city.
Hours later, the only thing left of the nursing home where he would usually have been was a skeleton of steel pillars.
Nearly all 70 residents were swept away by the tsunami set off by the 9.0 magnitude offshore earthquake that devastated Minamisanriku, one of the worst-hit towns. Sato and his work mates set about the task of searching for them.
Because of Haruse's birth, Kazuko also took the day off from her job at the Minamisanriku town hospital. A boat still perches atop the 5-storey building, a chilling reminder of the height of the walls of water that ripped through the town.
Haruse was born around 4 a.m., a month prematurely, weighing 2.6 kg (5 lb, 11 ounces) and requiring intensive care due to low body temperature. But while the hospital in the nearby city of Ishinomaki was spared the brunt of the disaster, patients from across the region poured in, straining facilities.
"That's why I was told to leave him and had to check out three days after his birth," said Hiromi, 34, Sato's wife. Most Japanese women stay in hospital for a week after giving birth.
A year on, the Satos, who all survived since their house was built on a hill, are planning a quiet birthday with some cake and ice cream for the child who, his grandmother Kazuko insists, "was born to save us."
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