Ball That Crossed the Pacific Returns to Japanese Teen Misaki Murakami
Call it a message on a ball rather than a bottle. A soccer ball became a shoreline courier after the 2011 Japanese tsunami, carrying a simple note from a friend and a boy’s name across the Pacific. Misaki Murakami, a teenager from Japan, is set to be reunited with the ball that made that remarkable journey, tumbling through ocean currents in the wake of the disaster.
David Baxter, while exploring Middleton Island in Alaska, spotted the ball more than a year after the tsunami. The ball bore Murakami’s name, his school, and a handwritten message of good luck. In 2005 the ball had been given to him as a parting gift when he changed schools, making it a cherished keepsake with a history that reached far beyond a simple piece of clothing or equipment.
Baxter’s wife, who shares Japanese heritage, translated the words on the ball and they notified authorities in the United States. Murakami confirmed the find, telling TSN that he was thrilled to have the ball returned to him. He said he was very grateful, noting that up until then he had not found anything that had belonged to him.
The tsunami touched many towns, including Rikuzentakata in the northeast of Japan, when it struck on March 11, 2011. NOAA notes that this ball ranks among the first items recovered from the disaster and restored to its rightful owner, a small but meaningful victory amid widespread loss.
Soon the ball will be mailed back to Misaki, offering him one of the few personal items to endure the tsunami and travel across international waters to reach him again.