There is something magical about “kakigori,” a frozen treat of shaved ice drizzled with sweet syrup.

When its welcome coldness impacts your brain, you feel as if all your woes are forgotten, even if just for a moment.

This delicacy melts in no time, but it has special powers.

I visited Kumamoto Prefecture’s earthquake-damaged areas over the weekend. Under the brutally hot and blinding sun, kakigori was being served at evacuation centers.

In the Kagamimachi district of the city of Yatsushiro, where many homes were destroyed, a traditional “kori-bata” (ice flag) fluttered on a river bank.

Hiroe Yamasaki, 78, a yakitori shop owner, was handing out free bowls of kakigori next to her tilted........

© The Asahi Shimbun