Photo/Illutration Smoke rises in the area that was home to the “asaichi” morning street market in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Jan. 2 after a powerful earthquake and fire on Jan. 1. (The Asahi Shimbun)

I imagine many of the victims of the powerful earthquake that struck the Noto region of Ishikawa Prefecture on Jan. 1 were celebrating New Year’s Day at home with family and friends or out and about enjoying family trips.

The temblor triggered widespread tsunami along the Sea of Japan coastline from Hokkaido in the north to Kyushu in the south.

My chest felt tight from anxiety as the television screen repeatedly flashed warnings such as “tsunami danger” and “flee!”

The sun sets early in winter. How harrowing it must be to have to evacuate in the dark and freezing cold.

Power and water outages added to the general misery, as have communications difficulties. Some victims remain trapped under collapsed buildings awaiting rescue. I pray they will swiftly be brought to safety.

According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, the quake damage was “extensive.”

The level of destruction was starkly visible the following morning. Buckled roads with deep cracks; mountainsides denuded of vegetation; quaint stone castle walls in ruins and homes that didn’t survive.

In Wajima, a huge blaze destroyed the area that was home to the city’s famed morning market. A popular tourist draw, it attracted around 200,000 visitors even during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2022.

The last time I was there, jolly “obachan” middle-aged women, selling vegetables and knickknacks, made me happily loosen my purse strings.

A poem by the late Sute Yamashita, a resident in Wajima, goes to the effect: “When the snow becomes deep, absent from the stalls at the morning market are the ‘obasan’ ladies who always sold ‘negi’ scallions there.”

A regular contributor to the Asahi Kadan poetry section of The Asahi Shimbun in the 1980s and the 1990s, Yamashita was something of a star and had many fans.

Another piece by her goes to the effect, “Embroidering a small flower on the ‘han-eri’ decorative collar of an under-kimono, I listen intently to the sound of the New Year arriving from over the sea.”

Nature, which announces the arrival of seasons, also turns violent at times. I know all too well that a natural disaster can happen at any time. Still, I can’t help asking, “Why on New Year’s Day?”

--The Asahi Shimbun, Jan. 3

* * *

Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

Related News