As reconstruction efforts are underway after a 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck Japan’s Noto Peninsula on Jan. 1, 2024, specialized workers are in demand to preserve and repair damaged temples and shrines. These specialized teams have the material and the know-how to fix the locations, but the cost has proven to be difficult.
That’s where The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints stepped in.
The Church had already provided donations of food, water, supplies, workers and funding to Japan in the days after the earthquake struck. Local members of the Church and full-time missionaries jumped into action to aid their community members and provide them with supplies the community might have needed.
Several weeks after the disaster, members of the Asia North Area presidency visited the devastated region to determine how the Church could best help. Additional support from the Church was given to the Japanese Red Cross Society, helping the nearly 300 doctors and nurses who were providing medical care across the affected areas.
Now, as residents began to wonder how they would be able to afford the cleanup efforts, the Church donated funds to different cities, allowing them to begin restoration work, reported ChurchofJesusChrist.org (in English and Japanese). The Church gave financial support to two shrines, Mishima Kintohira Shrine and Nishinomiya Shrine.
The Mishima Kintohira Shrine had been rendered structurally unsafe by the earthquake and needed to be demolished before it could be rebuilt. Many historically important documents and objects, considered sacred treasures by Nanao City and the Mishima Town Council, were removed from the building, but the demolition cost was an obstacle. The Church aided financially to assist in those costs, allowing the shrine, a source of faith and vitality for many residents, to begin the process of repair.
The Church also provided financial support to four Buddhist temples located in the affected region: Nichiren Buddhist Temple, the Kuonzan Chojuji Temple in Kojima Town, Jodo Shinshu Otani Shoganji Temple on Noto Island, and Jodo Shinshu Honganji Sect Phoenix Mountain Kokenji Temple also on Noto Island.
According to ChurchofJesusChrist.org, the Sect Phoenix Mountain Kokenji Temple will be the next sacred building to receive assistance. Financial support has already been provided to repair the roof of the main hall of the Kokenji Temple and reconstruction on the Shoganji Temple.
On June 15, two local stakes — the Kanazawa Japan Stake and the Kanagawa Japan Stake — participated in a large-scale Helping Hands activity at Jodo Sosainenji Temple to clear rubble, according ChurchofJesusChrist.org. The roof had collapsed at the temple, leaving many of the interior artifacts at risk of water or mold damage. Volunteers removed the debris by hand, as it was too difficult for vehicles to enter the location.
More than nine truckloads of debris were removed from the site during the clean-up. Workers and volunteers worked carefully to ensure that roof tiles and historical artifacts were not damaged during their removal, so they could be returned once the temple has been repaired.
On June 29, another service project included volunteers from Sweat Together and groups of Jodo Buddhists who came from Tokyo. The groups interacted with one another in a friendly, relaxed atmosphere, regardless of differing belief systems.
“It seems that this group is taking care of the poor, and they were talking about each other’s charitable activities while working on their charitable activities,†said Mitsuru Takase, who participated in the event.
While these service projects have repaired some of the damages caused by the earthquake, other shrines and locations still need additional work to become safe. Additional contractors and other organizations are still working to repair the damages and reopen these historic and sacred locations back to the public, the Church reported.
