Earthquakes and floods | A life of drama for a Japanese septuagenarian

(Wajima) Two massive earthquakes 17 years apart left Shoichi Miyakoshi without his wife, then his home. Now, his home is flooded by torrential rains in central Japan, and he has to start over again.

“I thought I was finally settled here and would have a warm winter,” laments the 76-year-old, looking at the damage to his small two-room apartment in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture.

Shoichi Miyakoshi was relocated to this apartment, which is part of a temporary complex built after the earthquake of 1^er January which devastated areas of this coastal region.

“It’s September and soon October, then winter will be here,” says the septuagenarian sitting on a folded futon covered in mud. Around him: soiled belongings.

Seven people have died in floods and landslides that have hit central Japan over the past two days, local media reported Monday, citing local authorities.

According to the Ishikawa prefecture government, about 4,000 homes remain without power in the region, which is still reeling from a 7.5-magnitude earthquake in January that caused widespread destruction and killed 374 people.

Shoichi Miyakoshi’s wooden house was severely damaged in the earthquake.

A new tragedy in his life after the one that occurred in March 2017, when a 6.9 magnitude earthquake had already struck the Noto peninsula: his wife Kiyomi Miyakoshi, then aged 52, had died.

His wife, “the only victim”

“She was the only victim of that earthquake 17 years ago,” he says.

Kiyomi was in the garden when the strong tremor knocked over a traditional stone lantern, fatally blowing him in the chest.

Shoichi Miyakoshi continued to work as a chef, specializing in sushi, until ten years ago, when he had to be hospitalized due to severe back pain.

When he was released from the hospital, a photo of young Kiyomi smiling shyly in a red kimono was there to greet him in his living room, he recalls.

After the January earthquake, the former cook spent a few months in an evacuation center before moving to another shelter.

“I had left pictures of my wife in the destroyed house, but one night she appeared to me in a dream,” he said. “She told me to take the pictures with me wherever I went.”

So Shoichi Miyakoshi returned to his half-destroyed house to retrieve these precious memories, including a photo from their wedding.

He brought Kiyomi’s photos and ashes to his temporary accommodation in Wajima, but they are now soaked in brown water.

For now, the septuagenarian is sleeping in a hospital waiting room with other flood victims.

He was only able to take essential items with him, but he plans to return to his temporary accommodation to retrieve the photos.

Despite his life marked by drama, Shoichi Miyakoshi seems the embodiment of resilience. “I’ll see you again when the city recovers,” he says with a smile.