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Paper short abstract:

In the era of shrinking peripheries, the continuation of village festivals is a crucial challenge for many local communities. Based on fieldwork, I look at approaches of how to continue such festivals with limited resources that can provide an important factor of hope for declining communities.

Paper long abstract:

The continuation of rural festivals—in most cases shrine festivals (matsuri)—is a crucial challenge for many local communities in Japan. Besides the spiritual and ideological notion of such festivals, which was emphasized by Yanagita Kunio (see Morris-Suzuki 1995), they provide exclusive and representative annual events for villagers to express their (imagined) community. If a festival disappears, the local pride and social bonds might also weaken. Therefore, village festivals are still an important indicator for a local community's "health," as the example of festivals in Tohoku after the triple disaster illustrates (Thompson 2014). In the era of over-aging and shrinking peripheries (Matanle and Rausch 2011), however, the abolition of village festivals is one of many seemingly inevitable symptoms of rural decline, which might also affect the locals' happiness and well-being (Holthus and Manzenreiter 2017).

In this research project, I look at the contemporary challenges of village festivals' continuation and approaches of how to handle them. The data derives from ethnographic fieldwork on a small-scale shrine festival in the Noto Peninsula (Ishikawa Prefecture), which was visited several times over the last decade; in addition, interviews with the local people in charge, such as settlement leaders, were conducted. Against popular presumptions, the village festival in my case study is barely considered an unchanging institution of the past, but the matter of steady negotiations and dynamics. In particular within the last five years, conservative (invented) "traditions" like the prohibition of female participants became loose and so opened up potentials for carrying-over the festival, even if the village population drastically shrinks. The lack of helping hands eventually led to technical solutions on one side and new recruitment strategies for participants on the other, while both together seem to guarantee the festival's continuation in the near future. Thus, this study provides a vivid image of rural Japan, in which hope, creativity, and pragmatism became strong antidotes against the fear and nonchalance of the forecasted sociocultural decline.

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Paper short abstract:

Past and present efforts to reignite declining rural communities by reconsideration and exploitation of their architectural assets.

Paper long abstract:

Secluded Nanyo (South Ehime) showed early awareness of the fragility of its built environment. Uchiko was one of the first councils in Japan to implement large scale patrimony protection policies, targeting the Yokaichi-Gokoku District, menaced by a rapidly declining context (Important Traditional Townscape registration process, 1975-1982, 八日市護国町並み保存). A series of innovative plans followed: the Ishidatami cultural landscape regeneration project -muranami hozon- (1987-1994, 石畳村並保存) or the reconstruction of Ozu Castle 's keep (1994 - 2004, 大洲城天守閣復元). All pioneering projects nationwide.

Although acclaimed and successful in restoring edifices, such efforts did not suffice to reignite economies or tackle decay. Ageing communities, abandoned houses and a lacklustre economy still pervade nowadays.

During the last decade a new set of preservation initiatives have been launched with a similar aim: to rejuvenate the area and find remedy against depopulation (mostly under a tourist development agenda). The vast majority of them spurred by the decision of the MLIT via the Japan Tourism Agency to create DMO's -local management organizations- (2015) and its engagement to renovate a myriad of kominka 古民家 under the supervision of the rekishi shigen wo katsuyoshita kankomachidukuri advisory panel (2016), 歴史的資源を活用した観光まちづくり.

Through the detailed study of four different scenarios we would like to illustrate these newer strategies and confront them to past initiatives in order to contribute to the debate on urban resilience and ailing rural communities. Artistic driven Kiya Ryokan 木屋旅館 (Uwajima, 2012), community enhancing Uchiko Bare 内子晴れ (Uchiko, 2017), a corporate initiative resulting in a set of inns at Uchiko no Yado 内子の宿 (Uchiko, 2018) or an intricate network of inns, shops and co-working spaces promoted by Ozu's municipality (Ozu Nipponia + Castle stay, Ozu, 2020) are believed to be representative of current efforts implemented in the region to challenge the future.

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Paper short abstract:

This study aims to summarize the main ideas of recent youth studies in Japan, focusing on those living in non-urban areas, and examine the presence/absence of disparities in the living conditions, resources and values among those living in different regions on contemporary Japan.

Paper long abstract:

This study aims to (1) summarize the main ideas of recent youth studies in Japan, focusing on those living in non-urban areas, and based on these ideas (2) examine the presence/absence of disparities in the living conditions, resources and values among those living in different regions on contemporary Japan based on the sociological and youth study perspectives.

Regarding (1), the following three points are considered necessary when studying non-urban youths in contemporary Japan.

(a) Diversity in non-urban areas: In the past, there were noticeable differences between urban areas and other areas. However, recent studies have pointed out that the impacts of the differences between provincial cities and disadvantaged rural areas are even more significant (Abe 2013; Kutsuwada 2017).

(b) Mobility: The target of this study was not only based on location points (residence) but was also based on lines (range of livelihood in the daily life, the possibility and conditions of individual actions and movements). Due to the relatively high mobility of young people compared to the other age groups, we will also consider the effects of the characteristics of such research subjects on their actual conditions and values.

(c) Trans-locality: This concept was recently coined in Japan by the research team that the author participates with the following two implications. The first is to think of the target individuals as humans who can overcome the local restrictions. The second is the building of a theoretical framework that is applicable to many localities that considers the limitations of studies that cite particular local cases.

Regarding (2), the data from the surveys that the author participated will be analyzed (the results of mail-in surveys that target people with ages 16-29 years old in all of Japan in 2014 and people with ages 20-39 years old in two areas in Aomori Prefecture in 2018 will be explained). Based on analyses of life satisfaction, evaluation of areas, human relationships, etc., we will show that recent discourses in Japan on the happiness of living in rural areas have been overturned and that people's values do not merely correlate with the level of urbanization.