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Paper short abstract:

This paper discusses healing and care in the context of urban-to-rural migration on the Japanese Miyako Islands. I place interactions between emigrants and Miyako’s natural world in their socio-historical context to draw attention to the way notions of care shape social life on the remote islands.

Paper long abstract:

Within the borders of Japan, the Miyako Islands have primarily been known for their emerald-green sea with healing (iyashi) properties. Especially since 2015, the remote islands have become a popular destination for emigrants who aim to find alternative ways of living and working outside of the urban centers of Japan. What draws attention is that after individuals “fled society” (shakai kara nukedasu), they feel a need to “do something in return” (ongaeshi suru) and become greatly involved in protecting Miyako’s natural world. In this paper, I historically trace the image of “healing islands” (iyashi no shima) to contextualize present-day notions of care that Miyako as a place provides to newcomers, and vice-versa. Understanding local practices and experiences of care as relational, I argue that they are shaped by sociocultural understandings of nature and place that largely originate elsewhere. These conceptualizations have nevertheless fargoing consequences on the ground. Based upon data derived from on- and offline interviews, participant observation, archival material, and more, I demonstrate how practices of care are important mechanisms for in-and exclusion and as such shape social life on Miyako. In doing so, I aim to provide meaningful insights into the situatedness of environmental concerns and their social implications. Moreover, by providing a case from the Japanese context, I contribute to debates within the environmental humanities and beyond on the diversity of ecological discourses and practices, as well as the complexity and ambiguity of healing and care.