Days filled with ups and downs
After an on-site inspection of the house we had been living in until January 1st, we received our Disaster Damage Certificate in mid-May.
This is an official document that certifies the extent of the damage caused by the natural disaster to the house you live in. It was at this time that I ended up staying with a neighbor and started living in Kuroshima town again.
A large aftershock occurred in the early morning of June 6rd, bringing back memories of six months ago and giving me a fright.
In the middle of the month, the evacuation shelter at Kuroshima Community Center was closed, and a "thank you party" was held to mark the milestone. As the days of danger approached, the residents were able to feel the change in seasons and think about the future. Sometimes they were moved to tears, but they also savored the happiness they felt as time passed.
This was an event held at the "Thank You Party." It was a scene from a performance by an artist who had participated in the "Kuroshima Art Project" held last fall.
Changing environment, new ways of living
Perhaps due to the effects of the earthquake, the surrounding natural environment has also changed. Wild animals that were not seen before can now be seen wandering around near residential areas.
On the raised beach, the seabed changes to a white landscape and spreads out, and the sounds of waterfowl I've never heard before echo through the air. It seems that a new ecosystem is developing, including due to recent climate change!
The same is true for us humans. While we are forced to respond to many social issues due to our awareness of having been affected by a disaster, as living beings we also experience inner conflicts and spiritual changes.
The movements of the Earth are expressed as large tremors, and in an instant, our fixed ideas collapse, and we are forced to accept the situation at that time. And by accepting this reality and tolerating the present, I think it is also a golden opportunity to let go of those fixed ideas from within ourselves, surrender our previous ways of being, and develop new methods and ways of living.
The sand, which was originally the bottom of the sea, is soft and makes your feet slippery. Land plants are sprouting there, and creatures are living in the puddles. As you walk around, you can clearly feel the changes in the ecosystem.
The exposed seabed changes from reddish purple to white. The plants growing on the seabed are delicate and beautiful. However, they are as brittle as chalk and will crumble to pieces if touched. (Photo taken in March 2024)
Earthquake forces change in dream of opening guesthouse
Tomoyuki Sugino, owner of Guest House Kuroshima, which opened in Kuroshima Town, is one of those whose situation was greatly shaken by the earthquake and who chose to live a new life.
Sugino was born in Tsubata Town, Ishikawa Prefecture, and has many memories of going fishing with his father on weekends since he was a child on the Noto Peninsula. He moved to Kuroshima Town in 2021 as if to retrace his nostalgic memories. While living in an environment where he could enjoy his favorite activities of surfing and mountain climbing, he began to enjoy cooking the fish he caught with his own hands and having dinner parties with friends at home, and gradually the idea of a guesthouse began to grow.
To make this dream a reality, they began renovating an empty house near Wakamiya Hachiman Shrine and the Kakumi family home in 2023. According to Sugino, the previous owner of this house, located at Kuroshima Scramble Crossing, was an enthusiastic person who was involved in preparing and practicing for festivals, and the house was a place where local people often gathered.
While working as a civil servant for Ishikawa Prefecture during the week, he spends his days off decorating the guest rooms with DIY projects and creating a bar space in the storehouse, steadily making preparations for the hotel's opening in June 2024.
However, due to the big tremors on New Year's Day, the house that had been renovated was deemed to be completely destroyed. It was no longer safe to use, and it became difficult to start a guesthouse in this location.
Not giving up on his dream, he opened "Guest House Kuroshima" with the concept of "living by the sea and the mountains."
The entrance hall of "Guesthouse Kuroshima." The crimson-colored wooden planks and earthen floor, painted with lacquer, are unique to buildings in this area.
In the aftermath of the earthquake, when life and work were difficult, Sugino-san continued volunteering as a member of the Kuroshima Reconstruction Support Team to help restore and rebuild the town. The family home of Matsuzawa-san, a member of the Kuroshima Support Team who is also engaged in volunteer activities, was set up as the "Kuroshima Town Volunteer Base," and as the two groups worked together, a cooperative system was built.
Continuing to hold on to his dream, Sugino quit his job as a civil servant after 14 years this spring, took over the Matsuzawa residence, and decided to start a guesthouse in this new location.
Based on the concept of "living by the sea and mountains," Guesthouse Kuroshima is a place where you can travel while enjoying a Noto-style lifestyle, and also a place where travelers can interact with locals.
Sugino-san talks about his ambitions, saying, "I want to coexist with nature and create a rich lifestyle with my own hands." Here, an initiative is underway to capture Kuroshima's unique culture from a new perspective!
"Guest House Kuroshima" is located in a corner of the typical Kuroshima townscape. It is a traditional wooden building with a panoramic view of the Sea of Japan from the front entrance. Mr. Sugino is all smiles as his dream comes true.
Paying tribute to the local deity
On the day of the annual festival, curtains are hung over the eaves of the houses. From the open frontage, you can get a glimpse of the furnishings and decorations used for the special occasion. (Photo taken in August 2023)
The Tenryo Festival is held every year on August 8th and 17th in Kuroshima Town. Normally, the sounds of Tenryo drums reverberate throughout the town, and Hikiyama (floats) and mikoshi (portable shrines) parade through the streets, creating a scene that makes you feel as if you've traveled back in time to the good old days.
This year, the Wakamiya Hachiman Shrine and the mikoshi (portable shrine) were damaged, so the rituals cannot be held, but the float parade event will be held. Local people who love festivals and those who care about the town's recovery and reconstruction are joining forces to prepare for the event. This may be a good opportunity to think about who will carry on the festival in the next generation and how it should be passed on.
The Kuroshima Tenryo Festival in 2023. Men wearing whitish hats called "Panama hats" and happi coats made of Noto-jofu cloth called "dako" parade through the town with the floats.
When walking through the various areas of Wajima City, you can see the destruction of many shrines and temples caused by the earthquake. The places that the ancestors of this area protected as spiritual anchors, and the customs that have been handed down in the lives of the people rooted in the local culture, are on the verge of being lost.
The Sojiji Temple in Monzen-machi was severely damaged in the New Year's Day earthquake. It had just been restored after the earthquake 17 years ago, but it has collapsed once again.
The peak of heat
The lotus flower blooms early in the morning. Attracted by the alluring fragrance, insects gather around the central receptacle. The lotus grows from muddy water and its elegant flowers bloom for about four days before falling.
The rainy season just ended in Noto recently. The lotus flowers are in full bloom in the early morning.
Shortly after dawn, the fist-sized buds begin to loosen and bloom between 7 and 9 a.m. The air is then enveloped in a fresh, sweet, and seductive fragrance.
Drawn to the scent like insects gathering around a flower thrush, you lose track of time and become entranced. In this purified air, you can feel the start of a refreshing day.
The oleander planted in the garden has grown over the wall, its branches growing rapidly and flowers blooming. I wonder if this town will recover in the same way as this strong life force.
Soon the sun will rise high in the sky and shine down with a dazzling light. The eye-catching flowers of crape myrtle and oleander will stand out against the blue summer sky. During the day when sweat is pouring out of your body, you can eat lots of summer vegetables to release the heat from your body.
As the scorching heat continues, rice flowers are blooming and the rice is beginning to ripen. It feels like the god of the rice fields and the eight million other gods are dwelling here and there in anticipation of the coming season.
A bowl of Wajima sea somen noodles and chopped summer vegetables. Enjoy the refreshing taste and smooth texture. The light, crimson-patterned bowl is a handmade "bunwan."
Curry with plenty of summer vegetables. The spicy heat made me sweat, but I felt refreshed after eating. The homemade lacquer spoon had a good taste and made me want to eat more.
The wind dances over the green rice fields, and dragonflies flutter about. I feel that various aspects of Japanese culture blossom from this scene.
Kuroshima Tenryo Festival and Float Parade Event
Date and time: Saturday, August 8th and Sunday, August 17th, 18:13-16:XNUMX
Location: Kuroshimacho, Monzencho, Wajima City, Ishikawa Prefecture
The floats depart from the Kitamae-bune Museum in the center of Kuroshima Town and parade along the north side on the 17th and the south side on the 18th.
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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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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