In the sunlight just before the end of the rainy season
In July, Noto is hot and humid, and the moisture in the air clings to your body, making you feel like you're swimming in water. When the heavy rain stops, you can hear the sound of cicadas chirping from somewhere, one after the other.
Entering the fields and mountains, tall summer grasses create a stuffy air, and on the slopes the scarlet flowers of the daffodil (Hydrangea pedunculata) bloom in spikes that look like flames. And on the roadsides of town, white and pale purple Rose of Sharon and hollyhock, orange tiger lilies and forget-me-nots bloom brilliantly in the dazzling sunlight.
The colorful vegetables growing in the fields are a feast for the eyes. Summer vegetables help dissipate the heat from your sweaty body, and they taste even more delicious and juicy at this time of year.
Hibiscus flowers open early in the morning and wither by evening. Over the course of a summer, the flowers bloom and wither one after another on a single tree.
Forget-me-not flowers have the strength to gently comfort and support the hearts of those who have experienced an earthquake.
A cold soup made with seasonal summer vegetables and a homemade lacquer bowl. The lacquerware, carved from wood, has just the right amount of heat retention, so the food stays cold from the time it is served until you finish eating.
Circle of Water, Circle of People
The day after the earthquake, in Kuroshima Town, neighbors installed pipes for water from the mountains that they had been drawing for their own use, and prepared a space with a water pump and washing machine. This space became a place where residents could gather in search of water and exchange information.
By the end of March, the local water supply and sewage systems were restored, and households were able to turn on the taps and get water, and gradually a sense of normalcy began to return to the town.
As I walked around the town, I came across many private volunteers helping with clearing rubble and serving food, as well as people supporting efforts toward recovery and reconstruction.
At the same time, volunteers connected to Kuroshima Town gathered together to begin online exchanges of opinions and study sessions regarding future town development.
A water pump set up in a corner of a town parking lot after the earthquake. While the water supply and sewerage systems were unavailable, many residents gathered here with plastic containers and used mountain water for daily life. (Photo taken in July)
Thinking about the future of Kuroshima
In early April, the Kuroshima Future Council was launched as a preparatory organization for the town planning council, based on this community. With many townspeople losing their homes in the disaster and continuing to live in evacuation shelters, council members began to survey the state of the town's damaged buildings and the residents' opinions.
The survey was carried out with the understanding that people live in this area, their lives are maintained because of their lives, and the houses are maintained because of the houses, and so the townscape is maintained. The survey was carried out with the emphasis on listening to the voices of each and every household.
According to the survey, many townspeople want to live in their own homes, but in reality, many issues have emerged. For example, local construction companies are short on manpower, as they are overwhelmed with the work of building temporary housing and repairing the surrounding area. In addition, many traditional buildings were severely damaged, so there is a shortage of building materials such as black roofing tiles.
For households living in buildings built using traditional methods, even if they want to seek advice or have work done to repair their homes, they are finding it difficult to make progress.
To address these local issues, the Kuroshima Mirai Kaigi has begun working with the Japan Urban Planning Association, a certified NPO, to ensure the safety of homes in the Kuroshima area and support the return of secondary evacuees through a dormant deposit utilization project.
Old stone walls and stone steps in a parking lot in town. A car parked here was buried under the rubble caused by the earthquake, but was rescued thanks to the efforts of the Kuroshima Reconstruction Support Team.
Let's create a new kind of everyday life together!
There are many people in Kuroshima Town who come together as volunteers.
Immediately after the earthquake, the "Kuroshima Support Team" and the "Kuroshima Reconstruction Support Team" were organized, and they work together to provide support to the local residents. Before the earthquake, it was reported that 75% of the population in Kuroshima was elderly, and it is not uncommon to see people in their 90s living alone. In a town that is becoming increasingly depopulated, volunteers are playing an active role as the stars of the recovery and reconstruction efforts.
The Kuroshima Support Team is led by Matsuzawa Yumiko and Inagaki Tomomi, both originally from Kuroshima and currently living in Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture.
Based in Futsuji Temple in Himeji, the couple travel back and forth between the two locations, saying with a gentle smile, "We want to create a way to provide support even if we are far away, to support people even if they are far away." They are promoting events such as mental care and tea ceremonies, visits to each household, publication of the Kuroshima Newspaper, and dissemination of information using LINE as a Kuroshima contact network.
Detailed support is being provided, not only to those living at home or in temporary housing, but also to those who have left their hometowns, by creating spaces and mechanisms through which people can connect with each other and see each other's faces.
Kuroshimacho volunteer base. The wooden lattice windows are one of the distinctive features of this streetscape.
The members of the "Kuroshima Support Team" make tea for the townspeople, providing a moment of relaxation. Through casual conversation, they deepen their understanding of the local community and culture.
The Kuroshima Reconstruction Support Team is made up of members from all over Japan, and is based around the activities started by Kuroshima resident Tomoyuki Sugino as the Kuroshima Emergency Repair Team.
Each member brings their own specialty to the table to help with emergency repairs to damaged buildings, remove rubble, and provide relaxation services, helping to bring cheer to the local community.
Those who provide support, those who receive support, and those who support them - each of these small acts of kindness brings warmth and comfort to people's hearts, gives them hope for life, and they all come together to form a circle...I have a feeling that such groups will become a new shape for this region.
Through volunteer activities, a harmonious atmosphere is fostered by the human relationships that allow people to share their pain and suffering, encourage each other when they feel like giving up, and laugh together during fun and joy.
I want to preserve the heart of Kuroshima and the good old things
At the start of the new year in 2024, the New Year's Day Festival was held at Wakamiya Hachiman Shrine in Kuroshima Town. In the evening, a large tremor caused the shrine to collapse, and the portable shrine was also crushed.
The head of the shrine parishioners and local residents rescued the flattened mikoshi, and in June the Kuroshima Support Team transported the entire set in its disassembled state to the master carpenter in Himeji City, Hyogo Prefecture.
After checking the parts of the mikoshi, the master carpenter announced that it was possible to repair it.
There are many challenges ahead, including how to raise funds for the renovation of the shrine and torii gates, as well as the restoration of the mikoshi (portable shrine), and how to preserve the traditional culture, but this is a step forward towards the summer festival and the revival of the religious ceremonies from next year onwards.
A wooden torii gate located halfway up the stone steps in the temple grounds. Although it escaped collapse due to the earthquake, it fell off its keystone due to the violent shaking. (Photo taken in January)
The items donated to the shrine were also heavily damaged. The calligraphy on the boxes, written in the Meiji and Taisho eras, and the good old writing on the boxes tell the story of the town's rise and fall. (Photo taken in May)
photography by Kuninobu Akutsu
Yukiko Akiyama
Born in Kanagawa Prefecture. She graduated from Joshibi University of Art and Design High School. She graduated from Joshibi University of Art and Design, majoring in dyeing. In her high school class, she came across ``The Story of Urushi'' by the late Living National Treasure lacquer artist Gonroku Matsuda, which led her to decide to pursue a career in lacquer. After graduating from university, she moved to Wajima City, Ishikawa Prefecture to train in lacquer painting. She graduated from the Ishikawa Prefectural Wajima Lacquer Art Training Institute. She graduated from the Ishikawa Prefectural Wajima Lacquer Art Training Institute, Department of Lacquer. She became an apprentice to Living National Treasure Kunie Komori and became independent at the end of the year. She encountered the January 1st earthquake just as she was setting up her Takaura lacquer workshop in the Kuroshima district of Wajima City.
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“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.
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News from Wajima ~While looking up at the starry sky~...
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