IDEAS FOR GOODDepopulation within each region of Japan has become a serious issue. One big question these regions ask is, “Is it possible to create a local circular economy?” The answer may be hidden in small villages within the country itself.
Kamogawa City, located in Chiba, is around two hours east of Tokyo Station by car. An abundance of lush, green land covers its surrounding area. Terraces in varying sizes where produce depend on rain water to grow. Here lies a beautiful space with clean water and organic food.
Most residents in Kamogawa City are senior citizens between the ages 70s and 80s. Villages with more than half of the residents are 65 or older are famously called Genkai Shuraku in Japan. These villages face depopulation as well as an aging population.
Many visitors often come this peaceful part of Japan. There are also many settlers who have made this part of the country their new home. One hub which connects many of these people is an old house by the name of Yugitsuka, which is situated on a small hill.
Yoshiki Hayashi runs and operates Yugitsuka and relocated to Kamogawa 19 years ago. Currently, Hayashi is spreading knowledge about the richness of villages and their conservation through various lectures and workshops. In this way, he is connecting people and communities with one another.
Speaker Profile: Hayashi Yoshiki
Originally from Kisarazu City in Chiba Prefecture, he is the chief director for Uzu, a non-profit organization. After gaining experience with various types of jobs across Japan, he took trips through the U.S., Asia, and Europe. After fulfilling his wanderlust, he relocated to Kamogawa in 1999. While immersing himself in a small town lifestyle with his family, cats, dogs, and birds, he is currently active as both a farmer and an artist. He now runs and operates Yuugitsuka, an old Japanese-style house.
01. A community currency to help families raising children
When Hayashi and his wife first moved to Yugitsuka in 1999, the walls had already began to waste away. They even lived in it without access to running water or electricity. At the time, his wife was already seven months pregnant and they were in dire need of a space to conceive their child.
Although Hayashi began working at a sawmill after his child was born, his stress level reached its limit. This was because he was rebuilding the house, and he was raising a child in a place where he didn’t know anyone. In order to overcome these hardships, he started attending local gatherings such as festivals and grass cutting. He desperately sought to build relationships with the locals and others in order to give him guidance with child rearing in the local region.
Issuing the Awa Money
Yoshiki Hayashi’s first involvement came in the form of issuing a local currency by the name of Awa money. Used in the southern parts of Chiba Prefecture, including Kamogawa, it can be spent in the exact same way as real currency with 1 awa equaling to around 1 yen.
Hayashi introduced this as a tool for locals living in the area to support one another. Kurukuru City Market also launched at the same time. It was a small retail exchange that provided a group of retailers to trade small items and unwanted child clothing. Barter exchanges began with only around 10 people, but through the spread of the internet, it soon evolved into a communication tool for mutual aid and the trade of information.
Apart from being used as a communication tool, Hayashi also felt there was a necessity to bring circulation and a boost to the local economy. Following the events of the 9-11 terrorist attacks in the US, he wanted to create a mechanism that would help prevent the distortion of globalization.
Hayashi’s travels helped inspire him to create a local currency. While traveling around the world he found that independent currencies were a huge deal in some communities. This included India’s eco villages (which were some of the largest in the world) and biker communities in US cities where bikers would congregate. He was also impressed by how the use of local currencies was a hot topic on television programs related to finance.
02. Creating a community through resident communication
Hayashi shared that it is easy to talk the talk, but much harder to walk the walk. New activities and mechanisms that weren’t understood by residents and penetrate local lifestyles would soon disappear.
In addition to Awa money, Kamogawa also has plenty of activities created by resident dispatches such as the Awanova Community Cafe as well as NPOs. One example is the Awane gathering events held within the local community.
This local event invites anyone engaged in social activities within the area to participate in short lectures which are similar to TED Talks. In fact, their first event invited an Australian environmental activist to come speak. After the lectures, a BBQ party commenced, encouraging participants to form collaborations among the community.
There are also various activities and communities for settlers of all ages. Even though each has its own activities, it is also a welcome opportunity to collaborate between one another. Much credit has been given to Chris Harrington, who helped popularise the idea of the Awane Gathering.
03. Using local resources as an incentive
One of the most charming aspects about Kamogawa is the close-knit atmosphere that both locals and migrants share. One of the bridges which helps connect cities and regions is the Kamanuma Kita Tanada Owner System.
The Kamanuma Kita Tanada Owner System helps new residents. Anyone migrating from the city can become self reliant by helping them acquire small farms. Simultaneously, this conserves small paddy fields by renting out a portion of them which can not be cultivated due to their owners growing older with age. It is a chance to be self-reliant for food that could normally only be bought at supermarkets. This also creates a form of communication through farming, regardless of which country or region you hail from.
The lack of a local community meant that the rural paddy fields were losing worth, even to the point of abandonment. But it is now becoming a place for domestic exchange and an entry way for new settlers. Furthermore, it is also providing new value to the surrounding area.
04. Company partnerships
Within a capitalist economy, it is natural for something to discontinue due to lack of economical factors. This is why it is important to create partnership with businesses.
Hayashi also operates the Uzu NPO. Uzu NPO has collaborated with one of Japan’s most popular brands, Muji, in order preserve the area as a shared property of society that values the village’s time and space. In April 2018, the Satoyama Office had its grand opening. What used to be an abandoned school, the Satoyama Office is now a workplace that allows you to take in the beauty of the surrounding area while working.
The space receives a substantial amount of sunlight with a freshly renovated interior.
The collaboration with a popular business like Muji has becomed a channel to promote the charm and beauty of these villages and Japan’s countryside. These places would even be worth a visit for anyone, even for those who have no interests in environmental activities.
05. Leveraging on the charm of farming areas
The beauty of Kamogawa has not only captured attracted the interests of people like Chris and Hayashi. It has also allowed foreign visitors to see one of Chiba’s most fascinating places. For example, the couple Anna and Mick came all the way from Denmark to visit the Yugitsuga, commenting on how wonderful the village was.
In the summer of 2017, Hayashi had made a visit to both Mick and Anna’s home in Denmark where they practiced permaculture and learned about sustainable living. The Danish couple learned about how beautiful the village was and decided to take a trip to visit.
Hayashi first began thinking about relocating to a rural farming area when he was traveling outside of Japan. While visiting a rural farm in Italy, an organic farmer told him that there was no need for him to explore the world in order to experience this type of culture. It could also be found within the wonderful countryside of Japan.
Rice paddy fields which only needed rainfall to grow exist in Japan. The abundance of nature is still accessible too. Moreover, it coexists with modern technology. Although it might not be apparent because of our fast paced lifestyles, you can truly see the value and beauty of Japan if you decide to look at it from a different perspective.
What we can learn from Kamogawa
Even now, reconnecting society with something that has been forgotten is a common theme among Hayashi’s activities. Connections with people, nature, companions who are raising children, locals and migrants, cities and rural areas, the way of living and the earth, NPOs who are aren’t chasing profits, and Japan with the world… all of these are essential in making a better world for all of us.
Hayashi embodies the “Think globally, Act Locally” mindset. Local activities, such as Awa money, have sustained themselves because they have slowly grown from a small scale of only ten people to match the economic scale of the region. This is a local, democratic and sustainable way of life in its purest of form.
This article was originally published on IDEAS FOR GOOD
Translated by Maurice Skinner
