**1. Introduction**

In recent years, floods and landslides caused by torrential rainfall have occurred frequently worldwide. In Japan, the Northern Kyushu Torrential Rainfall disaster in July 2017 (NKTR), torrential rainfall in July 2018, the East Japan Typhoon in October 2019, and torrential rainfall in July 2020 caused extensive damage to many areas. These are enumerated in the list of meteorological, seismic, and volcanic phenomena named by the Japan Meteorological Agency [1]. According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, the annual number of occurrences of ≥80 mm of precipitation per hour and the annual number of days with ≥400 mm of precipitation per day increased significantly between 1976 and 2020 [2]. Therefore, the frequency of cases of intense rainfall over a short period is increasing in Japan.

The NKTR was caused by a linear precipitation system that was formed and sustained by the effect of warm and very humid winds flowing into a stationary seasonal rain front in the vicinity of the Tsushima Strait during 5–6 July 2017 [3]. As a result, continued torrential rain occurred, resulting in record heavy rain in northern Kyushu, such as Asakura City and Toho Village in Fukuoka Prefecture and Hita City in Oita Prefecture [3]. The total

**Citation:** Harada, Y.; Ichinose, A.; Owake, T.; Asahiro, K.; Sato, N.; Fujiwara, T. The Process and Challenges of Resident-Led Reconstruction in a Mountain Community Damaged by the Northern Kyushu Torrential Rain Disaster: A Case Study of the Hiraenoki Community, Asakura City, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. *Forests* **2023**, *14*, 664. https://doi.org/ 10.3390/f14040664

Academic Editor: Timothy A. Martin

Received: 1 March 2023 Revised: 11 March 2023 Accepted: 20 March 2023 Published: 23 March 2023

**Copyright:** © 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/).

precipitation for 2 days in northern Kyushu peaked at >500 mm in certain areas, and new observation records (24-h precipitation) were recorded in Asakura City (545.5 mm) and Hita City (370.0 mm) [3]. This record-breaking precipitation caused severe damage in Fukuoka and Oita prefectures, including 40 casualties and 2 missing persons, and more than 1600 houses were completely or partially destroyed and inundated above the floor level [3]. In addition, torrential rain has severely damaged utilities, such as water supplies and electricity, as well as roads, railways, agriculture, and forestry, which are key industries in this region [3]. Slope failures and mudslides are frequent in mountainous areas and cause large amounts of driftwood [3]. As a result of the NKTR disaster, the Japanese government designated Asakura City, Toho Village, Soeda Town in Fukuoka Prefecture, and Hita City in Oita Prefecture as having experienced "severe disaster areas" following the related law.

Disasters caused by torrential rain also significantly impact the local landscape owing to landslides, housing damage, and the associated reconstruction work. The Landscape Law of Japan (promulgated in 2004) states that "good landscapes are indispensable for creating a beautiful and dignified land and an enriched living environment" (Article 2, Clause 1) [4]. According to this law, "good landscapes are formed through harmony between nature, history, culture, etc. and people's daily lives, economic activities, etc. in each region" (Article 2, Clause 2) and "good landscapes are closely related to the unique characteristics of each region" (Article 2, Clause 3) [4]. Consequently, the local character and regional identity of mountain village communities may be affected by damage to local forest landscapes caused by torrential rainfall disasters. Rehabilitating local landscapes in disaster-affected areas is necessary but not sufficient to recreate beautiful landscapes. Rather, rehabilitation should serve as a disaster prevention and mitigation system utilizing ecosystem services while considering the characteristics of the unique industries that constitute the identity of the region.

Local landscapes are essential to residents who derive pride and identity from them. Therefore, efforts aimed at increasing the willingness of victims to reside in the disasteraffected areas and helping their villages survive through landscape restoration can be considered "creative reconstruction" [5]. Currently, Japan is facing concerns regarding increasing torrential rainfall disasters destroying local landscapes. There have been reports of local governments being unable to adequately respond to disaster recovery owing to the downsizing of administrative operations, including personnel cutbacks [6]. Conversely, local communities have previously played the roles of assisting with dealing with matters that cannot be handled by individuals or families alone, maintenance of local culture, general interest coordination, liaison and coordination between the government and residents, and supplemental functions for the government [7]. Therefore, in situations with limited local government capacity, the role of local communities in the disaster recovery process is likely to be significant. The Reconstruction Design Council in Response to the Great East Japan Earthquake also states that "Given the vastness and diversity of the disaster region, we shall make community-focused reconstruction the foundation of efforts towards recovery. The national government should support reconstruction through general guidelines and institutional design" in the Seven Principles for the Reconstruction Framework [8]. Therefore, the Japanese government is emphasizing the role of local communities in disaster recovery.

Certain recovery activities that do not rely on local governments were reported. For example, in the case of the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake, reconstruction activities centered on community development councils were undertaken in rural villages, which account for most of the affected area [9]. In the case of the NKTR, an agricultural cooperative collaborates with the Non-Profit Organization (NPO) to accept volunteers and plays a role in connecting stakeholders, thus contributing to the recovery of local agriculture [10]. However, depopulation and aging are serious concerns in Japan owing to the rapid population decline, particularly in rural and mountainous areas; moreover, local communities are at risk of extinction [8]. This trend is even more pronounced in communities where the population has been reduced by natural disasters.

Many studies on disasters and resilience were conducted outside Japan. For example, Eakin et al. investigated the linkages between household vulnerability and resilience through the case of torrential rains associated with Hurricane Stan which devastated farm systems in southern Mexico in 2005 [11]. The authors argued that policy interventions not only enable individual survival but also enhance resilience at local, community, and landscape scales, helping to provide local strategies and knowledge on risk management [11]. In Pakistan, which is considered highly vulnerable to climate change impacts, Memon and Ahmed indicated that the lack of multi-sectoral productive economic opportunities had a negative impact on the resilience of rural households and women, and that female-headed households were more vulnerable than male-headed households [12]. Sun et al. identified the disaster types historically faced by rural settlements in Xinjiang, China, and divided the landscape carrier based on the evolution of these settlements [13]. The authors also proposed the resilience mechanism of adaptation to disasters for rural communities in Xinjiang based on the experience of disaster resilience and adaptation in traditional rural settlements [13].

Some European countries are also facing depopulation problems. MacDonald et al. reported a decline in traditional labor-intensive practices and abandonment of marginal agricultural land in many areas, particularly in mountain areas [14]. Lasanta et al. also mentioned that farmland abandonment had a far greater impact on mountain areas because of rural depopulation as well as biophysical constraints and that it would continue in the following decades [15]. Westhoek et al. carried out a scenario study (termed EURURALIS) to stimulate the strategic discussion among national and European Union policymakers on the future of rural areas in Europe and the role of policy instruments [16].

Therefore, it appears that the case of resident-led reconstruction in a mountain community damaged by a natural disaster in Japan can provide valuable insights and information for further discussions on the resilience of communities affected by natural disasters and depopulation. There are many studies focusing on community recovery processes in Japan; however, the majority are cases of communities affected by earthquakes such as the Great East Japan Earthquake [17,18] and few studies have been conducted on torrential rain disasters. However, the potential destruction of local landscapes by torrential rain disasters in Japan is concerning. Given the limited capacity of local governments, the role of local communities in disaster recovery is regarded as crucial. In addition, local communities in rural areas are at risk of extinction. How is the restoration of local landscapes in rural areas affected by torrential rainfall disasters? How have these landscapes affected the revitalization of local communities? What challenges do these landscapes face? To the best of our knowledge, no previous study has addressed these questions.

Therefore, this study aimed to discuss community revitalization through landscape creation and related challenges in the Hiraenoki Community, Asakura City, Fukuoka Prefecture, an area affected by the NKTR.

#### **2. Materials and Methods**

#### *2.1. Study Site*

We conducted field research in the Hiraenoki Community, Asakura City, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The present "Hiraenoki" Community was formed by merging two communities ("Daira" and "Enoki" communities) during the Meiji period. Although the two communities have become less distinct, residents remain aware of the distinction. Currently, 20 households live in the Hiraenoki Community, 1 of which is an immigrant from outside the community. In addition, two households live outside the community as "semi-community residents" and commute to their homes purchased in the Hiraenoki Community.

The Hiraenoki Community is located on a fan-shaped site. The community has no rice paddy fields; rather, most residents cultivate persimmons, the main agricultural crop in the community. Original Shiwa persimmon (a persimmon species in Japan) trees planted in 1926 remain in the community, and residents have been producing persimmons for >100 years [5]. These persimmon orchards are an essential income source for residents. They also form the center of the local landscape and have become a symbol of the community (Figure 1).

**Figure 1.** Local landscape formed by persimmon orchards in the Hiraenoki Community (obtained by Yoshio Harada [the first author] on 28 November 2019).

The Hiraenoki Community was severely damaged by the NKTR. Although there were no fatalities in the community, some houses were completely or partially destroyed, and the mountain slopes collapsed in numerous areas. When we conducted this study in the community in 2019, i.e., more than two years after the disaster, slope protection construction was ongoing in several places. Roads within the community were severely damaged. The road to the south of the community had been restored, whereas the road to the north had not. Persimmon orchards were also severely affected by the NKTR. For example, landslide damage in certain areas completely inhibited persimmon production. In other cases, roads leading to persimmon orchards were damaged and became impassable, and persimmon orchards were bought to establish facilities for erosion control. As a result of the NKTR, the population decreased from 37 households (83 residents) before the NKTR to 19 households (45 residents) as of January 2020. In addition, some residents felt that the landscape had deteriorated owing to fallen Japanese cedar (*Cryptomeria japonica*) and cypress (*Chamaecyparis obtuse*) trees from landslides in forests, bamboo encroachment, and slope protection construction (Figure 2).

**Figure 2.** Ongoing road restorations and slope protection constructions in the Hiraenoki Community (obtained by Yoshio Harada [the first author] on 12 December 2019).

#### *2.2. Hiraenoki Reconstruction Committee*

After the NKTR disaster in July 2017, volunteers mainly restored and reconstructed the living environment, including the restoration of infrastructure and houses, as well as the removal of soil and sand encroaching on the roads. Government-led work on collapsed slopes and the restoration of rivers and roads was ongoing at the time of the present study. The Hiraenoki Reconstruction Committee (HRC) was based on the "Road Committee," which was formed by several residents before the NKTR. The Road Committee conducted activities such as reporting collapsed roads in the community to the local government and collecting money for road repairs.

When the living environment for residents in the community was secured to a certain extent through restoration work by volunteers and the government, the HRC was established by agreement among the residents in the regular community meeting on 14 April 2019. The establishment of the HRC was based on the residents' sense of crisis regarding the survival of the community, and the committee members' desire to "make the community a place where residents and others are happy to live."

The HRC comprises seven members, i.e., six residents and a community head, and has three main objectives: (1) community development, including early completion of restoration projects, creation of a living environment, and safety measures; (2) maintenance of persimmon orchards in the community for ≥10 years; and (3) creation of a local landscape. Landscape creation is currently the main activity of the HRC and mainly involves the maintenance of the "Kunugiyama Observation" scenic overlook in the community. The landscape creation is funded by the community budget.

During the establishment of the HRC process, the opinion arose that "it would be difficult for community residents alone to carry out reconstruction activities". Therefore, the HRC chairperson consulted an acquaintance who was an alderman. The alderman then introduced the Asakura Extension and Guidance Center of Fukuoka Prefecture (hereafter, Asakura Extension Center) and the Kyushu University Disaster Recovery and Reconstruction Support Team, including the Faculty of Agriculture and Faculty of Design, Fukuoka (hereafter, Kyshu University Team), and requested assistance with the construction activities. Consequently, the Asakura Extension Center and Kyushu University Team participated in activities commencing in June 2019.

The main activities of the HRC include information-sharing meetings held once a month with the HRC members, Kyushu University Team, and Asakura Extension Center; landscape creation work with the community residents; preparation of grant applications for HRC activities; coordination of community events; and petitions to the local government regarding the infrastructure in the community.

### *2.3. Data Collection*

We conducted long-term participant observations between June 2019 and January 2022. We participated in activities organized by the HRC, focusing on local landscape creation, hearing the residents, and observing and recording these activities. All regular meetings by the HRC were in-person meetings. In addition, we conducted semi-structured interviews with all the households in the community in January 2022. Question items included (1) awareness of HRC activities; (2) participation in HRC activities; (3) expectations of the HRC; (4) evaluation of HRC activities; (5) challenges faced by HRC; (6) participation in the Hiraenoki Reconstruction Tree Planting Ceremony; (7) visits to the observation site outside of maintenance activities; (8) impression of the landscape at Kunugiyama observation site; (9) impression of the landscape seen from the Kunugiyama observation site; and (10) interaction inside and outside the community after the establishment of the observation site.
