KUMAMOTO -- Residents in areas devastated by heavy rains in Kumamoto Prefecture paid respects to their ancestors at their homes and in front of damaged tombs on the first day of the Bon Festival on Thursday, as victims' struggles to rebuild their lives continue.
A movement to support residents in the damaged areas has spread in the disaster-hit areas.
Many homes in the southern part of the prefecture were affected by recent torrential rains, as were cemeteries.
Some temples have been helping residents to clean up disaster-hit houses, among other aid efforts and a tombstone maker has volunteered to restore gravestones in cemeteries to help the residents during the Bon Festival period.
In Hitoyoshi in the prefecture, some tombstones were still overturned at a public cemetery in the city.
Norito Yokoi from the village of Yamae in the prefecture joined his hands in prayer in front of his family's grave on Thursday.
Part of the tombstone was damaged and the cinerary urns were covered in mud, but he expressed his gratitude, saying, "My ancestors protected me."
Koyaji temple, located near the overflowed Kuma River, was flooded up to the ceiling of its main building. Some tombstones at the temple were submerged and some were washed away.
The Kumamoto tombstone industrial association offered to help the temple as it said victims would not be able to mark the Bon period in these circumstances. Association members cleared debris on the approach to the temple and used a crane to lift tumbled gravestones.
"I'm grateful that we can hold the Bon Festival safely." said the temple's chief priest Kaiko Ajioka, 47.
Buddhist altars in disaster-hit homes were also damaged during the torrential rains. Household Buddhist altar firm Senjyu has accepted residents' damaged altars and offered small ones free of charge to those who wish to have them replaced in Kumamoto and Kagoshima prefectures.
The company started the service in mid-July after receiving requests from a disaster victim who had asked what they should do with their damaged Buddhist altar as they didn't want to discard it with other disaster debris. The company said it chants sutras before incinerating the damaged altars.
So far, the firm has received such requests from 17 households in Hitoyoshi, Ashikita and Yatsushiro in the prefecture, and is expecting to receive 14 more, according to the firm.
"Buddhist altars are important for people as they're filled with the feelings for their ancestors. We will continue to support residents as best we can," an official of the firm said.
The Honganji Hitoyoshi Betsuin temple in Hitoyoshi on Aug. 8 began sending priests to the homes of its members to hold memorial services.
One family had set up their Buddhist altar in a barn as the family house had been damaged.
A traditional family document that contains the names and dates of the deaths of deceased ancestors were lost in the disaster, causing great distress to some residents, according to the temple.
According to the Kumamoto parish office, the disaster affected 10 temples in Hitoyoshi and Yatsushiro.
In addition to cleaning up temples, temple staff members have also been voluntarily visiting its members to help with clean up efforts and providing support.
"Disaster victims sometimes become unstable, so we'd like to try to communicate with them," said Kosui Yamasaki, 55, a senior priest of Hitoyoshi Betsuin.
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