Navy divers instructed in properly
honoring remains of Ehime Maru victims
By Wayne Specht, Misawa
bureau chief
A University of Hawaii-based Japanese religion professor says the
U.S. Navy should be commended for the sensitivity it is showing in recovery efforts for
the victims of the Ehime Maru disaster.
“They are spending upwards of $40 million to attempt the
recovery and making sure divers are given instructions for honoring the dead,” said
George Tanabe Jr.
The Ehime Maru, from Uwajima Fisheries High School in western Japan,
was sunk Feb. 9 by the nuclear-powered submarine USS Greeneville, while the 6,080-ton sub
was conducting an emergency surfacing maneuver for a group of civilian visitors.
Tanabe said Navy officials in Hawaii asked him to provide instruction
in handling of any remains found after the Ehime Maru is pulled to shallower waters.
Tanabe gave several cultural lectures on Japanese customs and
Buddhist philosphy to more than 100 divers to prepare them for the recovery.
According to Tanabe, the divers must pay respect to the bodies of the
missing people.
Japanese believe that there is still a physical presence in the
deceased and that the remains must be respected accordingly, said Tanabe, author of
“Myoe, the Dreamkeeper,” and editor of “Religions of Japan in
Practice.”
The spirits are believed to remain active and must be honored at
special times of the year.
A common practice in Japan, Tanabe said, is placing offerings of
liquor, cigarettes and money to be enjoyed in the afterlife by the deceased.
“If this isn’t done, it is said the deceased develops a
distended stomach seen to symbolize a hungry ghost,” he said.
Japanese cultural customs also call for handling body parts in
certain manners.
Leg bones are handled first when transferring cremated remains into
an urn so the deceased can stand up in the afterlife.
“Most of the divers seemed to understand the concept of
religious philosophies,” Tanabe said. “They handled the classes quite
well.”
Tanabe also taught how to place bodies in body bags while underwater.
Many divers asked questions about specific body handling protocols.
“This will be a difficult task, especially in instances where
only portions of victims are being recovered, as may be the case,” he said.
“Several asked questions about this, and I told them there is only so much that can
be done in most circumstances.”
Officers who will receive body bags on the ship have been told to pay
respect to the remains by covering the bags with white sheets, and standing at attention
and removing caps.
“It’s a matter of showing reverence for the deceased that
counts for so much,” Tanabe said.
After the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force submarine rescue ship
Chihaya arrived in Honolulu last week, Tanabe said several Japanese divers joined the
second lecture class.
About 130 sailors accompanied the Chihaya from Japan. They will
support the Navy’s efforts to drag the Ehime Maru from its current depth of about
2,000 feet to a shallow shoal off Honolulu International Airport.
There divers will search the ship for the remains and personal
effects of nine victims, including four high school students,
After the Navy completes its recovery, about 30 JMSDF divers will
enter the ship to make a final inspection before the vessel is permanently sunk in deeper
international waters.
It will be a new experience for the Japanese divers.
“We have never experienced putting people at the bottom of the
ocean to do recovery work,” Capt. Masao Kuramoto said at a news conference after
arriving in Honolulu. Kuramoto said one of the greatest challenges for the divers will be
navigating the ship’s narrow corridors, which may have been heavily damaged.
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