Disaster-stricken Structure: Bridal Palace Takano Kaikan

Overview

The Disaster-stricken Structure: Bridal Palace Takano Kaikan was a wedding hall that suffered extensive damage from the tsunami of the Great East Japan Earthquake. The building was inundated up to the third floor, with the first and second floors completely gutted, leaving exposed steel frames. The fourth floor and above remain largely intact, offering a stark view of the building's structural integrity and the extent of the damage caused by the tsunami. Following the earthquake, many damaged structures were demolished. However, in Miyako City, to prevent the fading of memories and to pass on the lessons of the disaster to future generations, a decision was made to preserve Taro Tourist Hotel as a disaster-stricken structure, and a request for government funding was made. The Reconstruction Agency outlined a policy to provide funding from national coffers for the preservation of disaster-stricken structures where local residents support the initiative. On October 19, 2013, Shinjiro Koizumi, then Parliamentary Vice-Minister of the Reconstruction Agency, visited the site and expressed his intention to consider funding the preservation using reconstruction grants. On November 29 of the same year, the Reconstruction Agency announced that Taro Tourist Hotel met the requirements for national funding, and would provide 210 million yen to cover the necessary preservation work. This was the first case of national funding being allocated for the preservation of a disaster-stricken structure. In March 2014, Miyako City purchased the land from the hotel operator and received a free transfer of the building. After renovation work by Tansei-sha, the building reopened to the public as a disaster-stricken structure on April 1, 2016. Internal access is possible through the paid guided tour "Learn about Disaster Prevention" conducted by the Miyako Tourism and Cultural Exchange Association. This tour also includes viewing footage taken from the hotel during the tsunami. To preserve the building with parts remaining damaged, it underwent an examination by the Iwate Prefectural Building Inspection Committee and obtained approval under the Building Standards Law. This was made possible by restricting visitor access to the undamaged upper floors, while classifying the lower floors, where walls were swept away by the tsunami leaving only the steel frame, as the foundation. Initially, access to the building for visitors was limited to the emergency stairs. However, in 2020, a visitor elevator was installed at a cost of 100 million yen, enabling elderly and other individuals who cannot use stairs to visit the building. While the preservation costs were covered by national funds, Miyako City bears the approximately 10 million yen annual maintenance costs. As of the end of fiscal year 2020, approximately 49.48 million yen has been accumulated through local tax donations and private/corporate contributions; however, approximately 43 million yen is projected to be needed in fiscal year 2025 for concrete repairs and anti-rust work. The hotel operator subsequently relocated and rebuilt on higher ground nearby, reopening as "Nagisa-tei Taroan" in April 2015.