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 folk 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 at the workshop, she is determined to continue her lacquer work here and start a new life, working on the town development of Kuroshima and aiming for the reconstruction of the Noto Peninsula. Mr. Akiyama writes ``Wajima News ~While looking up at the starry sky~''. The rich lifestyle of Wajima in the past, the beautiful nature, the interaction with people, the passion for lacquer, and the current situation of the disaster area... This is a picture of Wajima as it really is, drawn by a woman who works hard to rebuild her life while also living her daily life and seriously facing lacquer.

Happy New Year interrupted by a magnitude 7 earthquake

Just after 2024pm on New Year's Day 16, I was writing a New Year's card while eating oshiruko when a big earthquake occurred. It's the New Year that I welcomed in an old private house in Kuroshima-cho, Wajima City, Ishikawa Prefecture in November of the previous year. In recent years, there have been many earthquakes like this on the Noto Peninsula, so at first I thought it was normal and got away with it.

After about 5 minutes, there was another impact that felt like a thud rising from the ground, and the room felt like it was shaking. The shaking continued for a while, and I was unable to sit or walk straight, so I hid under my desk. The next moment, the inside of the house began to collapse, and the interior began to become hazy due to the dust.

``This is bad,'' he said, deciding to run away from the house. After pushing through the fallen and broken sliding doors, crumbling sand walls, and scattered items, I managed to reach the entrance. However, the glass door was broken and I couldn't open the sliding door, so I hurried to the back door, but the door was also tilted and wouldn't open. Losing my sense of balance and panicking, I found a window that could be opened and jumped through it, and was finally able to escape.

"A tsunami is coming! Let's quickly escape to a community center on higher ground."

The house is located on the corner of a crossroads, and when you go outside, you will find that three sides are blocked by rubble. The storehouse diagonally across the street was completely destroyed and collapsed towards our house.

I checked with the person across the street and next door to see if they were safe, then called out to each other, ``The tsunami is coming! Let's quickly escape to the community center on higher ground,'' and hurried to higher ground along the remaining one-way road. Black tiles were falling from the roofs of houses in the neighborhood, like snowfall after a heavy snowfall, and they were scattered along the road, along with pieces of broken window glass.

The road was bumpy, and when we finally arrived at the community center, there were many people gathered in the parking lot. I think it was around 16:XNUMXpm. My confused feelings were calmed down by the voices of the town's fathers, who said, ``The high tide will reach high tide in a while, so let's wait here and see what happens until then.''

As the sun sets towards the sea, it gets colder. There are people around me who have run barefoot and are freezing and are lying on the ice-cold ground because they are not feeling well. As the residents who fled with only the clothes on their backs huddled together, it became so dark that they could no longer see each other's faces. I ended up spending the night inside the community center, and my life as an evacuee began.

The Noto Peninsula was also hit by an earthquake on March 2007, 3. The following year, I moved to Wajima to train in lacquer painting. In our daily lives, we see local people finally starting to restore shrines and temples after spending several years, sometimes more than ten years, on traditional buildings such as their homes and storehouses. I'm here. This earthquake happened just when we thought the construction blueprint had finally been lifted.

At the beginning of spring, the yellow flowers of the stoneflies begin to shine.

The Noto Peninsula was originally formed by the rise of the ocean floor, and while preserving its natural landscape, it is an area where our ancestors built their lives by taking advantage of the blessings of the mountains and sea. During this season, the climate continues as if it is moving back and forth between winter and spring.

At the beginning of spring, when the heavy snow begins to melt, the yellow flowers of the stoneflies begin to shine. At this time of year, there are still few brightly colored plants in the snow-covered natural world, and you can feel the dynamism of life when you see these sparkling flowers on the roadside.

Occasionally there is a light snowfall, but when the soil becomes visible on the ground, butterbur bushes (fukinotou) appear. Perhaps the ground temperature differs depending on the location, or even within the same region there are differences in the season. Pick a few at just the right time, cook quickly, and enjoy the bitterness and aroma of spring on your table.

Spring usually makes me want to play like a child...

As the sun emerges from between the thick gray clouds over the Sea of ​​Japan and the air becomes warmer, the buds on the trees begin to move and the plum blossoms begin to bloom. Occasionally, you will see birds gathering on the branches.

Seaweed is in season in the sea, and various types can be harvested from the freezing season to the warm season. Each seaweed has a different shape, and you can enjoy its flavor and texture. The variety of fish on display at local markets and stores is increasing, and as you encounter the ingredients and enjoy the dishes, your body gradually transitions from winter to spring.

As you can see, Noto is surrounded by Satoyama and the sea, and if you live there, you can experience the scenery of each season firsthand. As the winter weather feels harsh, every time I catch signs of spring with my five senses, I feel like playing like a child. However, this spring, my vision is blurred by the feeling of having nowhere to go. At the same time, I feel inspired to live my life straight.

Kuroshima's typical warmth of people sharing their wisdom and helping each other

As of March 2024, people in Wajima have moved to new bases outside the city, are undergoing secondary evacuation, or are continuing to live in local environments where lifelines are not in place. Some people are surviving this winter in houses that have tilted and are on the verge of collapsing, enduring the cold winds and leaking rain.

There is a priority order for moving into temporary housing, and households living in such danger are also waiting for their turn, with no future in sight. Furthermore, each person's disaster situation and environment are different, and each person is forced to make different choices regarding their future prospects.

Water and sewage systems are still not available in Kuroshima Town. Still, a handful of residents continue to live here. Under these circumstances, resident-led volunteer activities for recovery are progressing, as well as active exchange of opinions, discussions, and study sessions regarding future recovery.

Following the previous earthquake, which caused devastating damage to the entire town, there is an momentum to explore new ways to connect the circle of life and community, while preserving the townscape where old traditions are still alive. It's starting to happen. After this earthquake, I feel even more of the warmth that is typical of Kuroshima in the spirit of local people sharing their wisdom and helping each other, even though they are still trying their best.

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.