Showa-gurashi Project
After the Great East Japan earthquake, many people wanted to move to Okayama prefecture. My family and I were also in the same situation. Then I started this project with colleagues in which we have prepared for welcoming such people to the rural area in Okayama. We made a little tour by this participants could spend time with local people by learning something from them. For example, we learned about traditional foods (Umeboshi, Konnyaku, tea, amazake, and so on). We walked the streams with local people. We picked many gorgeous flowers at the top of the mountain where an old lady has been growing them by herself. We also encouraged local children to make a film interviewing older people growing up there through workshops, etc.
Our project has run supported by the Okayama prefecture government and Soja city government. While I was a representative of our organization, I realized that I needed to have a good policy for both participants and local people, or rather, for our future society. It means that I should at least draw some preferable images out for this area. I had met many local people and had various relationships with them. These relationships made me strong, warm, and amazed. I sometimes found it hard to deal with their upset attitude or negative impression when they faced unknown or different cultures and thought. I noticed it is a diversity issue that we will address. Although, no matter how I was disappointed with that many times, I deeply loved to work with ordinary people who have been living there just simply nice.
They told me many stories of them, which were amazingly impressive for me.
Products
Every year I determined to make something site-specific to connect between local people and their history.
OVERVIEW
After I retired, this project is ongoing and developing by great staff contains newcomers through this program. They still hold many empty houses in this area. It is seemingly just the same issue as other rural areas in the world currently. This project keeps providing a tour guide to the houses for people interested in living in the area.