Noto Earthquake-hit Areas Mark First Bon Period Since Disaster; Many Graves Still in Disrepair

The Yomiuri Shimbun

20:00 JST, August 14, 2024

Areas hit by the Noto Peninsula Earthquake on Tuesday observed their first Bon holiday period since the disaster. At a municipal cemetery in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, which still bears traces of the violent quake, many residents came to offer flowers and incense in front of fallen tombstones and graves covered with blue tarps.

The cemetery stands on high ground in the city’s center, and most of the 2,000 or so graves in the cemetery had tombstones that had fallen over and were damaged.

A self-employed man, 71, who visited the cemetery for the first time since the earthquake found that the tombstone on his parents’ grave had tumbled down. “I wanted to repair them as soon as possible, but I was too busy taking care of myself,” he said.

One stone dealer in the town of Noto has received about 150 requests for repairs so far. The company’s president said many people had asked for repairs in time for Bon, but the company could only handle four or five cases a day. Other dealers are booked up for the next two or three years, and it will likely be some time before cemeteries are back in shape.