Photo/Illutration Temporary housing units are inundated by heavy rainfall in central Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Sept. 21. (Mayumi Ueda)

Frightening amounts of muddy water are gushing down a mountainside exposed by a mudslide. Footage of crushed homes and towns submerged in overflowing rivers leaves one speechless.

More than eight months after a devastating earthquake flattened a wide swath of northern Noto Peninsula, heavy rain struck disaster-stricken areas in the central Japan peninsula, which juts into the Sea of Japan. It’s hard not to think, “Why Noto again?”

The full extent of the damage is unknown, but there have been fatalities. In the cities of Wajima and Suzu of Ishikawa Prefecture, temporary housing for quake victims has been flooded above the floor level.

It’s a cruel absurdity that people who escaped from the earthquake’s destruction must now flee their evacuation accommodations.

The town of Noto, adjacent to Wajima and Suzu, also experienced isolation and hardship after the earthquake severed roads connecting the small coastal community with other areas.

The successive disasters brought to my mind the phrase “zettai mu” (absolute nothingness) coined by Kitaro Nishida (1870-1945), a leading philosopher in prewar Japan.

Born in what is now Kahoku, another city in Ishikawa Prefecture, Nishida was an intellectual giant known for his work, “An Inquiry into the Good.”

Nishida was familiar with Zen and blended Eastern thoughts with Western philosophy. Having gone through numerous personal sufferings, including the deaths of his wife, children and friends, he continued to reflect on himself amid grief.

Ruminating over his esoteric language, I had the feeling that he reached a state of mind that is beyond one’s control in hopeless situations. The hidden message, it seems, is that he was resolved to overcome the sufferings he wanted to overcome.

Nishida also composed many tanka. “Others are others, I am I, anyway, I will follow the path I follow.”

I felt this poem has something in common with the teaching of “tendenko,” a dialect word from the Tohoku region meaning “each individual.” It used as advice for how everyone should scatter and flee to higher ground to save their lives in the event of tsunami without concerning themselves with family or others.

“There is a profound depth in my heart, remaining untouched by the waves of either joy or sorrow.”

The human heart is endlessly deep. I simply pray for the safety of the gentle people of Noto, even though my prayer may not reach the depths of their hearts.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Sept. 22

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.

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