right. >> reporter: misaki's hometown is otsuchi in iwate prefecture.here are six in her family. her parents and two grandparents, plus her younger brother. she began learning traditional folk songs when she was 8. as her singing improved, she began to dream about becoming a professional singer. then on march the 11th last year, misaki's hometown was devastated by the monster tsunami. her family survived and her home was safe. but her school caught fire and burned down. she also lost one of her closest friends. >> translator: it was really scary. everyone was crying. >> reporter: following the disaster, misaki didn't feel like singing for a while. >> translator: it was such a hard time for everybody. it didn't seem right for me to sing out loud. in fact, i really didn't like sing i singing anymore. >> reporter: but one day earlier this year, things changed. she was asked to sing again as part of a performance for people who are still suffering from the disaster. even though she still felt reluctant to sing, she decided she should. but during her perform