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Paper short abstract

This paper examines how digital archives can move beyond traditional, growth-oriented preservation models to support craft revitalization and post-growth convivial futures in depopulating regions like Akita Prefecture (highest aging rate in Japan).

Paper long abstract

This paper examines how digital archives can move beyond traditional, growth-oriented preservation models to support craft revitalization and post-growth convivial futures in depopulating regions like Akita Prefecture (highest aging rate in Japan). Current digital archiving prioritizes "high culture," leaving vital folk crafts—such as Kawazura lacquerware—vulnerable and neglecting the "unheard voices" of underrepresented artisans. We introduce The Tohoku Digital Archives, The Voice of The Unheard, an interdisciplinary, participatory model designed to capture the material and cultural richness of craft while navigating internal community conflicts. Crucially, the archive captures multiple, divergent perspectives (e.g., gender, technique, or economic stress) from artisans side-by-side, moving away from monolithic cultural narratives and fostering empowerment. A primary challenge is the sensory gap: informants highlight that digital presentation (even with VR/AR technology) fails to convey the power derived from the physical reality of craft and ritual—the smell of materials, the heat of the workshop, or the texture of a finished object. This sensory deficit underscores the archive's limits in representing authenticity. To achieve genuine revitalization, the project integrates a sustainable educational model where youth use the archives to research crafts from three different perspectives. This strategy counters the region’s dominant "nothing (nani-mo-nai)" deficit narrative by fostering local pride, identity, and well-being—a critical non-economic objective in a prefecture facing serious social challenges. By focusing on youth engagement and identity rather than purely market-driven outcomes, this research demonstrates how collaborative digital archiving can mobilize craft to reimagine a more resilient, post-growth future for rural Akita.