More Sacred Japanese Tsunami Debris Found on Oregon Coast

Published 04/09/2013

(Florence, Oregon) – Another piece of what appears to be a sacred object from Japan was recovered from a central Oregon coast beach today – clearly from the Japanese tsunami of 2011. (Above: photo courtesty Oregon State Parks and Recreation)

Oregon State Parks and Recreation (OPRD) officials said the object appears to be part of a torri, a sacred arch that is part of the entrance to a spiritually significant spot in Japanese culture. Much like the one found at Oceanside in March, it is red, curved and clearly handcrafted. The arched object itself is called a kasagi, similar to the one found on March 25.

This kasagi was found near the south jetty of the Suislaw River in Florence. It is approximately 14 feet long and 3 feet wide and painted black and red. (Above: the kasagi from Oceanside).

The Consular Office of Japan in Portland has been contacted about this second find by state officials. The exact origins of both the Oceanside and the Siuslaw South Jetty objects are not yet known.

Leisure Excavating from Florence transported it from the Siuslaw River South Jetty to a nearby state park maintenance compound for safekeeping around noon on Tuesday.

The object was first spotted by a visitor late in the day on Monday. State park staff responded early in the morning on Tuesday to begin the removal process.

The piece in Oceanside was among the first such culturally significant finds from the tsunami debris. But on the same day – March 25 - five fish were found inside a boat that had washed up on the Washington coast, and one of them is now at the Seaside Aquarium. Nicknamed the “tsunami fish,” it is a Striped Beakfish (Oplegnathus fasciatus), which lives in the waters off the Japanese coast.

That fish was distressed by being moved around at first, but now Seaside Aquarium reports it has started eating again and is expected to do well. (Above: the striped beakfish from Japan, photo courtesy Seaside Aquarium)

To report marine or unusual amounts of washed up material, you can call 211 while on the Oregon coast.

State officials say unpainted, raw pieces of wood do not need to be reported, even if they have notches or holes cut into them. These are not necessarily tsunami debris and are common to the Oregon coast. Officials say even if it turns out these are tsunami debris, they are not considered an issue.

“Regular beach clean-ups are organized by the Oregon Marine Debris Team, a nonprofit coalition,” OPRD said in a press release.

You can sign up to volunteer for these online at http://tinyurl.com/oregonmarinedebris

See here for constantly updated tsunami debris news. .

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