OFUNATO, Iwate -- A photographer in this northeast Japan city, where a major forest fire recently destroyed over 100 homes, has provided free photos of school events he covered to a family here whose own pictures were lost to the fire.

Fourteen years ago, the family lost their home to the tsunami triggered by the Great East Japan Earthquake, and the latest fire was the second disaster for them, but seeing the new photos of their children brought some comfort.

"Here you go," said photographer Tomohiro Murata, 72, at a restaurant in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, on the evening of March 16, as he handed more than 10 printed photos to Yu Sodeno, 45, and his wife Kazumi, 47, featuring their four children's school events. Murata, commissioned by the children's elementary school to photograph various events including the entrance and graduation ceremonies and school trips, also handed the family digital data of about 500 photos from these events.

The Sodenos' home in the Akasakicho Sotoguchi district of Ofunato was completely destroyed in the recent forest fire. The 2011 tsunami damaged their apartment in central Ofunato and soaked the photos of their then 4-year-old son Mizuki, now 18, and 1-year-old daughter Yua, now 15, so they had to throw them out. The family rebuilt their home seven years ago, and made efforts to actively participate in school events and take photos of their second daughter Rino 11, and their second son Hinata, 8, who were both born after the March 2011 disaster. However, when the latest fire struck, the family had to leave the children's photos and graduation albums behind, though they managed to escape with some personal effects.

Yu Sodeno cheerfully commented, "We're really grateful for Murata's gesture." Mizuki, who is graduating from high school this spring and set to leave the family home commented, "They (the photos) brought back memories of my elementary school days, like our field trip." Meanwhile Yua, who graduated from a local junior high and is advancing to a high school in Ofunato, said with a smile, "The pictures from my early years at school makes me feel nostalgic."

While working as a photographer, Murata also runs a printing business, and he is entrusted as a photographer by the elementary school in Ofunato's Akasaki district. He accordingly attends school sports gatherings and goes on school trips. Murata's own home was also hit by the tsunami ensuing the Great East Japan Earthquake, and photos of his two sons were swept away, so he knows the power of photographs and the sadness of losing memorable items.

After seeing Yu Sodeno in an interview on TV, Murata thought, "I'm the one taking photos for the elementary school in the Akasaki district. Maybe I could hand him some," and contacted him through an acquaintance. Murata selected the pictures to hand over from about 5,000 images taken during periods when the Sodeno children had likely been photographed.

Murata said calmly, "I just did what I could. They're part of the children's records, and I'm glad I could hand them over." He plans to hand photos to acquaintances in the Akasaki district in the future.

(Japanese original by Shinichi Okuda, Sanriku Local Bureau)