Paper short abstract:

Analyzing media representations of rural Japan in the context of urban-to-rural migration, I argue that the portrayal of the countryside as furusato has been updated to appeal to a new generation, while still serving as an antithesis to feelings of uncertainty and alienation in today's society.

Paper long abstract:

In recent years urban-to-rural migration or counter urbanization, know as I-turn in Japan, has extensively been covered by the media. It is often discussed as a possible solution to revitalize the ailing rural regions. Several books and blogs provide guidance on how to succeed at inaka kurashi (country life), TV series like Osozaki no himawari tell stories of personal growth and fulfillment reached by moving from the city to rural Japan, and magazines like Sotokoto or Turns mostly portray the countryside as a place where young entrepreneurial people carve out their own unique lifestyles, building their dream business in rural areas.

In my paper I look at how the media discourse around I-turn thus combines well-known nostalgic and idealized images of rural Japan with contemporary values like work-life balance, self-realization and individual lifestyle as well as healthy, sustainable living.

As Creighton and Robertson point out in their research, furusato is not a specific place, but rather a generalized one that evokes a pre-modern village community encircled by nature. Representing a search for a collective national identity after World War II, it also serves as an antithesis to the hectic modern life in the metropolitan regions where communal ties have seemingly been lost. I will analyze how actors from the media, the prefectural and national government as well as many urban-to-rural migrants themselves work together to create an image of trendy rural Japan, a new kind of furusato which is appealing to younger generations. I propose that the current sociocultural focus on the rural regions as furusato is again used as an antithesis to feelings of alienation and insecurity in the Japanese society, updated to fit the desires of a new generation.