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■As a photographer...as a victim...Fireworks bloomed in the cold Noto sky, praying for recovery. Looking into the viewfinder with a special feeling was photographer Odawara Hiroshi, who is from Wajima City, Ishikawa Prefecture. One year ago today, he was also filming. Hokuriku Asahi Broadcasting photographer Odawara Hiroshi: "The mountain behind us has collapsed." "What is this...?" He rushed out of his house and headed to the fire scene. He arrived about an hour and a half after the earthquake. Photographer Odawara Hiroshi: "We are in Kawai-cho, Wajima City. A large fire has broken out. The wind is fanning the flames high into the air." Asaichi Street, which has welcomed many tourists. It was also a place that Odawara had been familiar with since he was a child. Photographer Odawara Hiroshi: "It's like an air raid, the whole place is a burnt wasteland. What is this...?" 181 people died in Wajima City, and more than 10,000 houses were damaged. Odawara's house near the river was also partially destroyed. There was no fuel or water. Photographer Odawara Hiroshi: "It's frozen pork, but there's no electricity in the refrigerator, so it's all going to melt, so I'm going to use it up." At the time, there was only a little battery left in the camera. Moreover, the subject he was focusing on was a disaster victim like himself. Photographer Odawara Hiroshi: "Residents were rescued from here and came out. I was taking pictures at that time, but I stopped. I thought this was no good." I wondered if it would help his wounded hometown. He was conflicted. Photographer Odawara Hiroshi: "It's hard for a local person to take pictures of this disaster area. People I know are suffering, people I know are crying, so it's a bit difficult to take pictures. It's hard. I feel so sorry." Roads were raised here and there, and the main artery connecting Kanazawa City and the Noto Peninsula was cut off. This hindered the recovery. The situation has not changed even after several months, and frustration wells up. Photographer Odawara Hiroshi: "They've destroyed our beautiful city." And then, an incident that added insult to injury... Photographer Odawara Hiroshi: "It's so overwhelming I'm speechless. This is a road. This is a road. I left my house to go on an interview, but I can't even leave the village. It's flowing like a mudslide. The rice fields are flooded. The difference in water level between the rice fields and the river is almost gone." The nightmare of New Year's Day flashes through my mind. We were forced to evacuate in our cars due to the risk of a landslide. Photographer Odawara Hiroshi: "The rain is getting stronger again. It's going to be a very difficult night." The September floodwaters swallowed up people's hopes as well. Mud flowed into Odawara's rice field, and the rice he planted after the earthquake was almost completely destroyed. He watched its growth as a sign of recovery, but it was destroyed just before the harvest. Photographer Odawara Hiroshi: "We managed to restore it and it grew safely, and we thought we had overcome that terrible earthquake. But that torrential rain destroyed it in an instant." When I was about to give up, it was the people of Wajima who supported me. They provided us with the necessary heavy machinery so that we could start again, and even found a new place for rice planting. Photographer Odawara Hiroshi: "It was the same in everything. Everyone helped each other. I was saved, and I went to help many people, and everyone helped each other." I also want to support the reconstruction of Wajima. I started volunteering on the side of my work. Today I'm helping the shipwrights. Yamazaki Shipyard's Yamazaki Aoi: "(Q. With Odawara there?) It's fun. We're all yelling. It's no fun to work in a gloomy atmosphere." We'll build a temporary factory and aim to reopen by spring. Photographer Odawara Hiroshi: "It's fun. It gives you a real sense that we're supporting the reconstruction and working together to rebuild." In December, demolition work was being carried out at the morning market where the fire occurred. Photographer Odawara Hiroshi: "When I was taking pictures, there was a lot of people around there with the heavy machinery. It seems like a long time ago." For 15 years, I've been reporting on the current state of Wajima from this place. Photographer Odawara Hiroshi: "Everyone loves this place, so they're staying here, gritting their teeth, and desperately trying to get it back to its original state. People are starting to think that Wajima and Noto are okay. That's not true. It's not over at all. We need to keep reporting on the current state of this town." On this day, elementary school students in Nagaoka City, Niigata Prefecture, planned a fireworks display for reconstruction. The earthquake on New Year's Day and the flooding that no one expected. It's been a year of looking at and supporting our hometown. Elementary school students from Nagaoka City, Niigata, who planned the fireworks: "(Q. What did you think of the fireworks?) They were very beautiful, and I was glad that they were successful. I hope that the people of Ishikawa will be encouraged through this." "I want them to work hard towards reconstruction, and although they lost something important, I hope that they will continue to work hard and face the future." As soon as the camera stopped... Photographer Odawara Hiroshi: "I was encouraged. I'm not sure if I'm here to interview them or to get encouraged. When they tell me to work hard so much, I can't back down." [TV Asahi News] https://news.tv-asahi.co.jp