Winter sea in NotoWinter sea in Noto

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News from Wajima - Looking up at the starry sky - Text and photos by Yukiko Akiyama

2025.1.23

Manpower is needed now more than ever ~ Wajima News ~ The current state of Wajima as written by young lacquer artist Yukiko Akiyama

When sunlight filters through the clouds and illuminates the horizon, you're enveloped in a divine atmosphere.



While the shock of the earthquake has not yet died down



When I woke up on the morning of New Year's Day 7, it was bright outside and the sun was shining brightly. It is rare to have such a warm New Year's holiday in the Noto Peninsula on the Sea of ​​Japan coast, so I was happy and went out.



A 15-minute walk from the temporary housing, gazing at the sparkling horizon. Along the way, the sounds of wind and waves echo. After climbing the stone steps, I arrived at Kuroshima's Wakamiya Hachiman Shrine, which sits on a small hill. The shrine grounds are still in the same state as they were damaged in the earthquake a year ago, and emergency measures have been taken to prevent the main shrine building from collapsing. Looking at the buildings, left untouched and exposed to the rain after the earthquake, and the furniture that has lost its temperature, I am overcome with mixed emotions.


Wakamiya Shrine Wakamiya Shrine

Wakamiya Hachiman Shrine on New Year's Day. It is quiet and still, with a dignified atmosphere.


Wakamiya Shrine Wakamiya Shrine

After sustaining serious damage in the earthquake, the shrine building continues to lean due to aftershocks, wind, rain, etc. Thanks to the efforts of those in the construction industry, emergency repairs were carried out last fall.


Departure from Home



At the end of last year, I met an elderly man over 90 years old on the side of the road in my neighborhood. As I saw him walking up and down a narrow alley, I called out to him, "Grandpa, what's up?" He replied, "Who are you?" As we chatted about each other's lives, I learned that the grandfather had started living in a facility in Kanazawa after the earthquake, and that he had come back to Kuroshima that day to see his house.



He said that after catching a limited express bus bound for Wajima from Kanazawa Station and getting off at a stop along the way, he finally made it to Kuroshima because the local bus routes had been discontinued. He said that he could no longer live in his own home, so he stayed at a friend's house for the night and planned to return to Kanazawa the next day. His ability to answer the questions conveyed the pride he has in living in this place.


Wajima Bus Stop Wajima Bus Stop

Even if you wait for a local bus, it never comes. The bus stop sign is still down. Due to the effects of the earthquake, the local transportation network is still not working as usual.




In the cold wind, the old man walked in a bright blue down coat. His words were filled with a sense of resignation to the things he couldn't do anything about. At the same time, he seemed to be acting strong and not show any sadness in his expression as he said goodbye to his hometown, which was full of memories, and to the house that he may never see again.

 




Adding brightness to your chaotic daily life



Like my grandfather, there are an increasing number of residents who are finding it difficult to return to their hometowns after the secondary evacuation, and those who are forced to move to new places. I think that the culture that inherited the traditions and spirit of the region has survived because the people who were rooted in this area have been working towards recovery from the Noto Peninsula earthquake in 2007. It's heartbreaking to think that some of the blood vessels and cells that flowed through the town community are no longer functioning properly.



Just as shoots sprout from dead trees in the forest, and other living things use the old trees as nutrients to give birth to new life, can this town be reborn? Even though people can talk about their dreams in words, the reality for the residents is still chaotic. After praying at the shrine, I looked out over the waterless port and the un-cultivated fields, and picked some daffodils blooming in the withered fields before heading home.


Narcissus Narcissus

Daffodils blooming in a winter field. In the changing scenery of the fields through the seasons, I sense that each living thing has its own time and scale.



Walking with the deceased



Rain began to fall on the evening of New Year's Day, and at 16:10 p.m., the time the earthquake occurred, an announcement of a moment of silence was made throughout the city. The faces of those who passed away come to mind, and nostalgic voices echo. Although we cannot see it, we feel like we can connect by striving for the world we once spoke of.



The sweet fragrance of daffodils placed in a room gently gives you the courage to look forward. In Wajima, daffodils are flowers that bloom in the snow. They bud and bloom in December, but when there is a lot of snow, they overwinter underground and bloom again in the spring. Their dignified appearance and strong vitality make you believe in the fate of life, no matter what form it takes.



Demarcation and limits




On New Year's Eve, we finished moving our belongings out of our house that was damaged in the earthquake. The fact that we have moved into temporary housing means that, according to the current regulations, we will have to decide on a place to rebuild within the next 6-1 years and move out. We are now faced with a situation where we have no choice but to consider our priorities and make a choice.


Home repairs Home repairs

Members of Community Support Hiroshima carry out emergency repairs on an old house on Kuroshima. Wearing safety ropes, they lower the leaking roof tiles one by one to the ground.



In the new year, we will be thinking about how to live while establishing the foundations of our lives. That being said, all I can think about is doing the best I can here and now, fulfilling the roles I've been given, and chasing the light that lies ahead.

 



Changes surrounding vacant houses



Before the earthquake, Wajima had so many vacant houses that dealing with them and making use of them became a local issue. After the earthquake and torrential rains, the number of vacant houses that could be lived in decreased dramatically, while demand for them has increased in the wake of reconstruction efforts, and we are now experiencing a vacant house bubble.



At one point, I also tried to repair an old house in Kuroshima that was damaged and uninhabitable, and use it as my home and workshop. However, there are few construction companies and laborers in Noto, and there are long lines to do emergency repairs on the house, to get a repair estimate, and to actually do the work, so I have no idea when I will be able to live there again. As the seasons go by, the house, damaged by leaks, will deteriorate further, and I feel at a loss when I think about living my daily life.



What the Noto Peninsula needs now is manpower to carry out demolition at public expense and construction of houses and lifelines. National Route 249, which circles the Noto Peninsula, was able to be restored in its entirety at the end of last year thanks to the efforts of those who worked on the construction at the dangerous site of the collapse.


Port and shovel car Port and shovel car

During the day, heavy machinery is operating all over town and large trucks loaded with cargo are coming and going.



It is no longer possible to restore and rebuild the area based on the power of local people and traditional customs, and there is a feeling that the area cannot survive without energy and stimulation from outside the Noto Peninsula. However, when construction workers need many vacant houses as bases and accommodation, it is easy for competition to arise, and I have heard that an imbalance is occurring between the local residents and the people working on the construction.




The cold season is the time to prepare




As the cold weather sets in, this is the time to think about and prepare for the new year ahead. Normally, the Sagicho festival is held at a shrine in Wajima, where people pray for good health and a good harvest in front of a dazzling red flame. In Noto, the bad weather continues, and the hours of daylight are getting shorter, which makes housework more enjoyable.



Oshiruko Oshiruko

After the Sagicho festival, we walk home through the snow and eat oshiruko to warm ourselves up.



For example, on Kagami-biraki and Koshogatsu days, we make oshiruko and porridge made from boiled red beans, miso paste made in the winter, and turnip sushi made by pickling seasonal ingredients from the mountains and sea in koji. Dishes made with koji made during this season have a deep, rich flavor because the fermentation process progresses slowly. They look just like light snow, and are perfectly suited to life in a snowy country.



Turnip sushi Turnip sushi

Kabura sushi is made by placing fillets of mackerel or yellowtail between slices of turnip and fermenting it with koji. The flavor changes with each passing day after preparation.














































































































































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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