Noto Earthquake Damaged Homes Set for Demolition Have Joinery, Other Material Saved for Reuse

The Yomiuri Shimbun
Chubu University Associate Prof. Aya Yamagishi carries a sliding door on Dec. 23 in Suzu, Ishikawa Prefecture.

A project is saving salvageable joinery and building material of houses set for demolition after being damaged by the Noto Peninsula Earthquake on Jan. 1, 2024, in order to be reused. This has been appreciated by quake survivors as it can help preserve a part of their cherished homes filled with memories, and also the reuse helps preserve the culture and way of life in Noto.

On Dec. 23 in Suzu, Ishikawa Prefecture, five volunteers removed fusuma sliding doors, shoji screens and glass doors that survived the disaster from a 76-year-old house that had been heavily damaged by the quake. The house is scheduled to be demolished with public funds in March.

“I’m delighted that the fittings that my ancestors had taken care of will be used again by someone else with care,” the 74-year-old homeowner said.

Chubu University Associate Prof. Aya Yamagishi started Tategu Zarae Project (joinery salvage project), which gathers the still usable material from houses set for demolition. Yamagishi, a first-class architect, has a deep connection to Suzu, such as participating in the 2021 Oku-Noto Triennale held in the city. “Joinery has sufficient value as a symbol of local culture,” she said.

Yamagishi said many of the houses in Suzu have elaborate decorative transoms and highly designed doors. The collected fittings will be used as material for houses or public housing for disaster victims, while the damaged items are expected to be used in stage art.

Noto Fukko Laboratory, a general incorporated association in the prefecture’s Wajima City, buys the beams, pillars and lacquered flooring in damaged houses. The idea came about after hearing a quake survivor say, “I wish I could bring even one pillar to my next house.”

The group will sell them as interior fittings and other items to raise funds for their activities and is also considering using them in public housing for disaster victims.

Fokko Lab member Junichi Koshida, 38, said: “Collecting material that would otherwise be discarded of is part of caring for survivors’ mental health. We want to pass on material with emotional value to next owners as much as possible.”

According to the prefecture, as of Jan. 7, a total of 107,749 houses were damaged by the earthquake and the torrential rains in late last September, with 34,839 having applied for public demolition as of the end of last year.