A World Heritage Town: Past and Future - Hometown Stories

[Music] stories about people stories about life Hometown stories [Music] [Applause] A Small Miracle is happening in a town in the mountains of shimane prefecture Western Japan [Applause] [Music] the town of fomori sits at the foot of the iwami ginsan silvermine a U.N world heritage site with a population of about 400 the small town still Bears traces of Japan as it was centuries ago when the area flourished from the Bounty of its Silver Mine after the mine closed in the mid-20th century the town declined to a point where its survival seemed uncertain but now [Music] ten years ago the local Nursery School had only two children but now there are more than 20. [Music] [Music] thank you and the number of elementary school students has more than doubled in three years [Music] the population of little children continues to grow in this small town [Music] the town's charms are proving attractive to more young people prompting them to relocate there [Music] monster foreign has arrived and another father and daughter have moved to the town in a small town at the foot of a world heritage site people are raising children and nurturing a community here's their story [Music] it's early March [Music] some new residents have arrived in omori town and his daughter seven-year-old ichka have moved West from their former home which is close to Osaka [Music] they relocated along with their dog foreign they'll be living in a renovated house that's over 50 years old it's nothing like their previous home a condominium in a big city hahaha okay [Music] [Laughter] foreign as a graphic designer in and around Osaka this place will be his home and his office he used to lead a busy life handling designs for all kinds of advertisements [Music] but around the middle of 2021 he lost his wife to a sudden illness she was only 37. [Music] he wondered how he was going to raise his daughter maska [Music] at first tetsuro tried hard to juggle working and taking care of ichika but he was finding it increasingly difficult to raise a child in an urban setting um foreign [Music] master matsubanalco lives here tetsudo met her when he visited omury town on business they've known each other for nearly five years [Laughter] after Local Elementary School students get out of school nalco holds a class that opens them up to a variety of new experiences every day 15 students or more gather for the class she's helping the children connect with the community tetsuro decided to move here partly because of nautical [Music] thank you nalco is taking ichika out for a walk around town along with her eldest daughter Yuko [Music] thank you [Music] naoko wastes no time introducing ichika to people in town [Music] [Music] in this small town everyone knows each other [Laughter] [Music] this will be ichika's school it marked its 150th anniversary in 2022. wait today [Music] guys good morning [Music] will she get used to the new school nalco has invited tetsuro to her home some of this [Music] is [Laughter] naoko's husband matsuba tarashi they have five children foreign [Music] knuckle actually moved back to this town with her family she gave birth to her first child in Tokyo after that she decided to come back here so she could work and raise children in a more tranquil surroundings her eldest son Kota will start sixth grade from April foreign [Music] [Laughter] [Music] are enjoying the first evening after their move and it's a lively one [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] flourished from the early 17th century through the mid-19th century thanks to the iwami ginzon silver mine thank you in the 17th century Japanese silver is said to have accounted for a third of Global Production even until the early 20th century the town continued to attract Artisans and Merchants from all over Japan [Music] but the mine eventually closed sapping the town's vigor people wondered whether the area would be able to survive the hardship foreign but survive it dead thanks to two companies that were founded in the town [Music] one is Nakamoto brace which develops medical equipment such as prosthetic limbs the company places a high value on the craftsmanship passed on by the many Artisans who once lived in the town [Music] now it has established itself as an Innovative firm with orders coming in from around the world the other one iwami ginsan gungendo specializes in clothing and household goods [Music] The Firm produces items that make use of local nature and traditional Fabrics it has 30 stores nationwide including some in Tokyo and Osaka [Music] designer landed a job at the company and relocated from Kanagawa prefecture near Tokyo foreign also moved to the town after getting a job at the company in 2012. [Music] he loves the rich natural setting and walks in the mountains almost every day today is [Music] along with the local lifestyle are attracting younger people to omori town [Music] A Small Miracle is starting to happen okay here is Nelco with her after school children's class as a volunteer she takes care of nearly 20 kids every day [Music] the group is off to dig up bamboo shoots a fun event that happens in Spring oh the children have really got the hang of it they dig up one shoot after another local residents help organize the children's class all kinds of people from teenagers to those in their 70s assist with seasonal events foreign Google now when children are walking around people in town always talk to them [Music] scenes like this haven't changed since her own childhood images together people in the town watch over the children as they grow thank you nalco's eldest son Kota is now a sixth grader he's leaving home early in the morning to do some bird watching Ohio is 68 years old people call him harusan [Music] thank you [Music] Haruki has been a bird watcher for 45 years walking around the hills and Fields with him has gotten Kota into observing Birds he spotted more than 100 kinds of birds already foreign ish right now Kota is trying to photograph Asian house Martins they build their nests in Spring they move fast so it's difficult for him to get good shots Kota is learning a lot of things [Music] one morning in April it's been a month since tetsudo moved to omori town thank you foreign [Applause] [Music] thank you the first time ichika visited the school she was a little nervous maybe now she's getting used to her new environment um [Music] some of ichka's school friends have come to our home it's her eighth birthday [Music] foreign they're also celebrating the birthday of ichiga's late mother thank you [Music] happy birthday [Music] had been worried that his daughter might not feel at home in the town but he was pleasantly surprised foreign [Music] [Music] has reduced his workload so he can spend more time with ichika [Music] he's received some requests to do design work from businesses in town [Music] today [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] this town at the foot of the iwami ginzan silver mine was once prosperous and well populated foreign the spirit of welcoming newcomers with a warm open heart is still alive and well [Music] no because [Music] [Music] the changes raising children and nurturing a town the story has only just begun [Music] oh Money Town in shimane prefecture soon it will be summer the children's favorite season foreign

Channel: NHK WORLD-JAPAN

Views: 127,988

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Id: 07PWgdoRbcQ

Length: 29min 21sec (1761 seconds)

Published: Wed May 17 2023