Paper short abstract:

This research investigates the relationships between residents, out-migrants, lifestyle migrants in rural depopulated villages by focusing on a traditional festival. The research case is the festival called Kanmai in Iwaishima Island, Kaminoseki town, Yamaguchi Prefecture.

Paper long abstract:

This research investigates the relationships between residents, out-migrants, lifestyle migrants in rural depopulated villages by focusing on a traditional festival and discusses how out-migrants and lifestyle migrants can support depopulated villages. Moreover, it aims to show the possibility of local festivals to empower communities because they play the role of mediation among residents, out-migrants, lifestyle migrants.

The research case is the festival called Kanmai in Iwaishima Island, Kaminoseki town, Yamaguchi Prefecture. In this island, most of the inhabitants have opposed to the construction of nuclear power plants on the other side of the island since 1982. After the Great East Japan Earthquake and the accident of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in 2011, the island attracted attention of people in Japan as an island opposed to nuclear power plants, and some people migrated to the island. They sympathize with residents of the island opposed to nuclear power and trying to continue living mainly on fishery and agriculture. About 10% of the population in Iwaishima are lifestyle migrants in 2019.

The researcher participated in various preparation of Kanmai in 2012 and 2016 and will do in 2020. In this research, through interview with residents, out-migrants, and lifestyle migrants on the island and participation observation of preparations for the festivals, he analyzes how their relationships and collaborations have changed from 2012 to the present. The role of out-migrants and lifestyle migrants has become more important in the festival.

In particular, it focuses on how residents have shared local knowledges and techniques with out-migrants and lifestyle migrants, how migrants have been familiar with the culture and lifestyle of the island through preparation of the festival. The traditional festival is an opportunity for out-migrants to revive their childhood memory participate in the reciprocal relationship in the village again, and to keep the network with other out-migrants. And for lifestyle migrants it is a chance to make affective bonds with residents, and to show all residents their skills and motivation to contribute to the village community.

Paper short abstract:

My research on Kotaki in Nagano prefecture shows how people strengthened the bonds among neighbors after the March 12, 2011 earthquake, helping people rebuild their lives quickly. Their approach is also applicable to the many communities facing aging and depopulation across Japan.

Paper long abstract:

The important things in everyday life become clear during emergencies such as natural disasters. The risk of losing the relationships between families and their neighbors has been increasing, and this risk is often pointed out when disasters occur. Aging and depopulation are big issues across Japan. Communities in many mountainous areas face challenges maintaining people's livelihoods, and it is a critical situation for maintaining communities.

It is relatively easy for people in urban areas to move to other areas, but it is difficult for people working in primary industries to move to other areas. This is particularly true for seniors; when they give up working in the rice fields or on the sea, it means that they might lose what gives their lives meaning. But if people are unable to earn their living and are unable to make a long-term plan for revitalizing their community, it is impossible for them to live there. Thus, it is very important that we consider how people rebuild and develop their community from the perspective of their everyday lives based on their cultural and social background. I will focus on Kotaki in Nagano prefecture and the system they have used to maintain their community. In addition to aging and depopulation, Kotaki was damaged by the Nagano earthquake on March 12, 2011. The media was slow to report this earthquake, and this area has been called "the forgotten disaster area." People in Kotaki have tried to overcome the problem of aging and depopulation on their own initiative for 40 years.

Through my research, I found that they strengthened the bonds among neighbors for economic activities. The approach in Kotaki has been based on a series of changes and the invention of a system for maintaining their rice fields for a long time. These changes and invention helped people rebuild their lives soon after the earthquake. Therefore, this approach is not limited to the reconstruction of disaster areas but can be shared by many other communities facing aging and depopulation across Japan.

Paper short abstract:

This paper scrutinizes the recent trend in rural revitalization policy that stress economic potential of local traditional craftsmanship. I demonstrate how such policy creates hope for a better future in rural provincial areas of Japan from the perspective of local craftsmen.

Paper long abstract:

Post-war Japan is renowned for its miraculously rapid economic recovery and societal development. However, social problems such as regional disparity and rural depopulation have also emerged in this process. In response to these challenges, the state government has proposed various regional development policies that support creating an attractive and ideal representation of the countryside using the local tradition of craftsmanship. In this course, many local municipalities have adopted tourism industry that can attract external capital to the region with endogenous resources, and local traditional craft works have been actively re-discovered and invented. The past-oriented tradition that are deemed to be preserved and protected have been re-imagined as progressive and creative capital. However, such attempt to enhance symbolic value of craftsmanship masks the actual problems that craftsmen face on a daily basis.

In this paper, I will critically examine the persistent belief in the "panacea" of craftsmanship in public policies that are aimed at revitalizing the local economy in Japan's countryside (Kirchberg and Kagan, 2013). Based on rural revitalization policy of Tamba Sasayama, Japan, I will look at how the local tradition of Tamba pottery is being invested as an alternative cultural/economic capital of the region. Then, I will demonstrate how such discourse of romanticized craftsmanship is perceived and performed by the actual craftsmen by tracing the actual process of producing Tamba pottery.