More than three years after an earthquake and tsunami devastated Japan, a sign is returning home to a small fishing village after drifting thousands of miles across the Pacific to Hawaii.

The sign belongs to Tanohata Village, a hamlet in Iwate prefecture, Japan, on the northeast coast of Honshu, population roughly 3,550. The village was hit hard by the March 2011 disasters, which destroyed 200 structures and killed some 40 people, said Dan Dennison, senior communications manager for the state Department of Land and Natural Resources.

Part of a vast flotilla of debris, the sign that says "Shimanokoshi Village Housing" in Japanese was found on a beach in Kahuku in September and reported to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Marine Debris Program, said Kyle Koyanagi, regional coordinator for NOAA’s Hawaii program. In January the Japanese Consulate General in Honolulu positively identified the sign as belonging to Tanohata Village, which wanted it back.

"It didn’t take me long to realize that this sign didn’t just represent a sign to them," Koyanagi said. "It was a symbol that reminded them of the 2011 event that impacted so many people in Japan and devastated many villages and killed many lives. It was also a symbol of hope, I think, for the survivors and also kind of helped them realize that there was hope to rebuild."

Hawaiian Airlines flew the sign to Sendai International Airport free on Thursday.

"In Tanohata Village, three years since the disaster, we are slowly but surely walking on the path to recovery as a united body," Mayor Hiroshi Ishihara said in a letter to NOAA."Although we are still on our way, we believe that the power of compassion and inspiration that you delivered to us through this matter will drive us strongly through our recovery efforts."

After arriving in Sendai, the sign was to be driven nearly 200 miles to Tanohata.

Koyanagi’s program and the consulate have identified 15 items that have washed up on Hawaii’s shores as coming from that event, according to Koyanagi, but the sign is the first object being returned home at the request of its owner.

"When staff found this sign at the beach in Kahuku we knew it was special and so we took very good care of the sign, knowing that at some point in the future someone was going to ask for it," William Aila, DLNR director, said in a statement.

To report debris findings, call the DLNRat 587-0400 or email dlnr.marine.debris@hawaii.gov or disasterdebris@noaa.gov.