The powerful earthquake that struck Japan on New Year's Day destroyed wooden buildings throughout Japan's Noto Peninsula, but thanks to clever architecture dating back decades, a small fishing village withstood the disaster.
Some roofs were caved in, but none of Akasaki's nearly 100 buildings collapsed when a 7.5-magnitude earthquake struck Japan, with its epicenter just kilometers away.
After the quake, Masaaki Sato drove 300 kilometers from his home in Tokyo to Akasaki to inspect the house he has owned since 2017, built 85 years ago, and runs as a summer guest house.
The 43-year-old man said, “The house is located on a very narrow area of land, and the building includes small rooms with many columns,” which makes it more sturdy.
To withstand the heavy rain, snow and ocean winds that hit the coast of the Sea of Japan, Sato's house and most other houses in Akasaki have only a few glass windows.
Its external walls are made of sturdy wood panels laid horizontally. The structure is supported by thick beams that intersect the roof.
The authorities said on Monday that the earthquake and the numerous aftershocks that followed it killed at least 168 people, while 323 are still missing.
But no casualties occurred in this close-knit village.
Even the tsunami waves, caused by the earthquake, did not reach the homes as they were built on slightly higher ground with cement columns protecting them from the sea.
At Sato's house, ceramic dishes were broken, electronic devices fell, and a newly installed wooden door was broken, sending debris scattered on the floor… and that was the only damage.
“I felt very relieved that the village was still standing… I think it was thanks to the design of the houses,” Sato said.
In turn, fisherman Seiya Shinagawa (78 years old), a resident of the village, said that the situation was the same throughout the village, where “the design of the houses is almost the same.”
He added, “Traditionally, it consists of a shed facing the coast, protected from the wind, and behind it is a narrow main house.”
Shinagawa pointed out that this design dates back to the days when every fisherman launched his boat from his shed directly into the sea.
But when a fire broke out that destroyed a large part of the village in the late 1930s, residents rebuilt the houses with a unified and more durable design.
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