Machiko Taniguchi read a handmade picture book to students at an elementary school in Gunma Prefecture on Wednesday [1].
Taniguchi visited the school, located at the foot of the Osutaka Ridge where a Japan Airlines jumbo jet crashed, to pass the memory of the tragedy to a new generation [1, 2]. Her goal was to provide hope and healing to children who have experienced similar losses [1, 2].
The disaster killed 520 people [1]. Taniguchi lost her husband, Masakatsu, who was 40 years old at the time of the accident [1]. The crash will mark 41 years next month [2].
During the reading, Taniguchi shared a story describing her husband's life and the void left by his absence. The book details how her husband planted persimmon trees for his children, and how Taniguchi kept his shoes by the door every day after he died [1].
Taniguchi spoke about the enduring nature of her grief and her longing for her husband. "I want to see him. He doesn't even appear in my dreams, not very often," Taniguchi said [1].
She described the habit of looking at the sky when aircraft fly overhead. "When I see a plane flying, I still think, 'I wonder if he will come back on that plane,'" Taniguchi said [1].
The event served as a living history lesson for the children in the village of Ueno, where the community continues to maintain a relationship with the site of the crash [1, 2].
“"I want to see him. He doesn't even appear in my dreams, not very often."”
The visit by Taniguchi underscores the long-term psychological impact of the 1985 JAL crash, one of the deadliest single-aircraft accidents in history. By transforming personal trauma into a pedagogical tool through a picture book, survivors are attempting to bridge the gap between historical record and emotional reality for generations born long after the event.
