“The sea has been taken away!” The beach has moved several tens of meters offshore.

Two to three hours had passed since I fled to the parking lot of a community center on higher ground, thinking, ``A tsunami is coming!'' Besides the big earthquake, I didn't know what was going on and was in a state of confusion. The radio waves on my smartphone were cut off, and the Earthquake Early Warning alarm and tsunami warning remained on the screen. By exchanging words of concern for each other with those who had fled into the parking lot, I somehow managed to stay calm and make sure that I was alive.

Meanwhile, the town's fathers, without thinking about the danger to their own lives, went door to door in the town to see if there were any people left behind in their homes, and rescued those who were unable to escape from the completely destroyed homes. , were checking on the safety of everyone in Kuroshima Town. It was freezing cold and pitch black, but there was no sign of a tsunami.

We decided to spend the evening of New Year's Day at the community center, and the people who had been waiting outside went into the illuminated interior of the community center one by one. In addition to people who normally live in this town, about 130 people, including families of children who had returned home for New Year's, were evacuated. I had only moved to this town for about a month, so these were all people I met for the first time. Many of them were born and raised in Kuroshima and have family ties to them. I can't believe how reassuring it was to be surrounded by people like this, and when I was feeling alone, someone would open up the cushion for me and say, ``Come here!'' We huddled together with our neighbors to stay warm in a small space, and for dinner we shared emergency food stockpiled at the community center.

The completely changed appearance of Wajima shown on TV

After a while, the TV turned on, and the scene of Wajima city burning in bright red was projected on the screen. It was a video of the fire continuing to spread around the morning market. What caught my eye was a completely changed scene of Kawai-cho, where I had lived until recently. I always see the faces of people I know who live in the city, the people who line up seafood, food, and lacquerware at the morning market. I was just fidgety, unable to contact her or rush to do anything, and I just hoped from the bottom of my heart that she was still alive.

Throughout the night, I couldn't get the images of Kuroshima town and the city that were being shown on TV out of my head. I couldn't accept whether this was really real, and I didn't know what was going on, so I curled up or lay down on my cushion as the night progressed.

In the early morning, TV signals were cut off, making it impossible to obtain information, and eventually the electricity also stopped. When it became bright outside, I headed down the hill from the hill to the beach to go home with my mom across the street, and what I saw was a scenery I had never seen before.

There is no water in the sea! A beach where the sound of waves has disappeared

For about a month before the earthquake, I lived in an old house near the beach, both as my home and as a lacquer painting workshop. Peaceful days surrounded by rich nature and warm neighbors. On days when the weather is nice, I enjoy watching the sunset and the moon on the horizon, and listening to the sound of the waves. When a storm comes, the spray from the waves fogs up the windows, the sea breeze shakes the house, and the sand blows into the house, turning the entire floor white. There were pros and cons, but it was a life in harmony with the changes of nature.

When my mom and I arrived at the beach near our house, lo and behold! Where there used to be ocean, there is no water anymore, and the reddish-brown ocean floor is now exposed. It was a thrilling sight, as if I had come to another world. Due to yesterday's big tremors, the shoreline of the waves had moved several tens of meters offshore.

“The sea was taken away” - the heartbreaking cries of local people

Kuroshima Town flourished as a port of call for the Kitamaebune ships that were active in shipping on the Sea of ​​Japan from the Edo period to the Meiji period, and as a colony of shipowners. At that time, various exchanges took place from the south to the north of Japan through Kuroshima Port, bringing with it a variety of cultures. Its atmosphere and atmosphere can still be felt in the town. The tangible and intangible culture that was born from a combination of the pride of our ancestors who have been involved in sailing and trade, and the reverence for nature has taken root in this area, and has been passed down in the town's daily life. There is. For many of the fathers who were born and raised in this type of land, their purpose in life was to go out to sea on their own boats and fish throughout the year, except during the coldest months.

I returned to the community center in the evening and asked the fathers on duty at the entrance lobby about the movement of the beach.

“The turban shells, sea urchins, and abalone are stuck on rocks and wave-dissipating blocks, so I can walk to collect them now! They can survive for about three days without seawater, so it’s time for now. ”

One of the fathers was speaking jokingly, but his words were a little slurred.

At this time, my father acted bravely and tried to cheer up those around him, but inside he must have been screaming in pain. What used to be a port had dried up, and it was no longer possible to sail a ship, and I could feel the feeling of being at a loss, feeling like the sea had been taken away from me. These words come from the fact that I have lived my life as if I were entrusted to this climate, enjoying the blessings and harshness of nature. From the margins, I could feel the depth of my disappointment as well as my pure love for this place.

It wasn't until more than 10 days after the earthquake and when he was able to obtain information from outside that he finally solved the mystery of the ocean. According to experts, the large earthquake caused the fault along Kuroshima's coastline to rise by about 4 meters. Although the tsunami had struck on the evening of New Year's Day, the height of the seafloor bulging canceled out the movement of seawater, and the waves did not reach the land.

The mountains start laughing, let's get started!

Even though more than 100 days have passed since the earthquake, somewhere in my heart I feel as if time has stopped, just as it was on New Year's Day. The lacquer that had been prepared for the final coat work in the new year was left scattered, and the lacquerware that had been prepared for a year for a solo exhibition this spring remained unfinished. Although I feel discouraged by the reality that there is nothing I can do about it, and sometimes my heart tightens, the sun rises and eventually sets, and the seasons change.

From the end of March, I started seeing swallows. The sky in the east turns slightly red, and by the time it becomes bright, a variety of wild birds begin to chirp. Although I'm still sleepy, I wake up to the sound of beautiful singing voices echoing over each other, and I can't help but get up early and take a walk.

Spring in a snowy country is powerful, with the brightness of life condensed everywhere. Flowers that have survived the winter, buds that have been waiting for spring, and grass roots that have been dormant in the soil are suddenly sprouting and opening. Then, the fields and mountains become colorful all at once, and the air is filled with fragrance, as if you can hear laughter. When you take a walk during this season, you will be greeted by enchanting scenery that will make you feel like you are dancing with nature like butterflies and insects moving around the flowers.

One of the joys of this season is picking wildflowers and cooking them. Looking around the riverside, you can see soft, fragrant grasses growing here and there, such as kogomi and daylilies, Japanese parsley in the rice fields, Japanese knotweed and horsetail in the fields, and wasabi leaves and watermelon in the springs of the mountains. Every time I taste it, I feel like my mind and body are becoming more and more in tune with the season.

The season of spring has finally arrived in Noto. Start exploring your future life and work and start moving!

An exhibition of Ms. Akiyama's works was scheduled to be held in April at Space Takamori, but due to the earthquake, the original scale was reduced and the exhibition was changed to a ``Mini-Mini Exhibition'', displaying only a few of the works that survived the disaster. ' will be held for two days only.

“Wajima News ~While looking up at the starry sky~” is…

Yukiko Akiyama, a lacquer artist who lives in Wajima, writes ``Wajima News ~While looking up at the starry sky~''. 30 minutes by car from the center of Wajima City. The Kuroshima area, located in the northwestern part of the Noto Peninsula, flourished as a residence for Kitamae-bune ship owners and sailors, and its beautiful landscape with black-tiled roofs has been designated as a nationally important preservation district for groups of traditional buildings. I did. After 16 years in Wajima, lacquer artist Yukiko Akiyama set up a workshop in an old private house in the Kuroshima district, and was just about to work on her work while restoring it, when she was struck by the earthquake. Like many buildings, Akiyama's workshop collapsed. Although there is no prospect of resuming production in her workshop, she will continue to work with lacquer here, and while working on the town development of Kuroshima, she will aim to rebuild the Noto Peninsula and solidify her resolve to start a new life. I am. The rich lifestyle of Kuroshima in the past, the beautiful nature, the interaction with people, the passion for lacquer, and the current situation of the disaster area... She is a woman who lives her daily life in the disaster-stricken area and strives for reconstruction, but at the same time, she depicts the true image of Noto as depicted by a woman who deals seriously with lacquer.