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Village of scarecrows

5 Comments

Tsukimi Ayano arranges a scarecrow at a bus stop in the mountain village of Nagoro, Shikoku. Ayano made her first scarecrow 13 years ago to frighten off birds pecking at seeds in her garden. The life-sized straw doll resembled her father, so she made more. Today, the tiny village of Nagoro is teeming with Ayano's hand-sewn creations, frozen in time for a tableau that captures the motions of everyday life. Nagoro, like many villages in Japan's countryside, has been hit hard by inhabitants flocking to cities for work and leaving mostly pensioners behind. Its graying community is a microcosm of Japan, whose population has been falling for a decade.

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5 Comments
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Our local community has an aging society, too. Some day there will be a lot of scarecrows here.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Population growth? Or, is it a game of, spot the scarecrow?

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

They're more than scarecrows. They're scarehumans!

1 ( +1 / -0 )

You can virtually tour the village from the main road that cuts through it on Google maps.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

This is a fantastic idea to liven up rural communities in this country or maybe in any other countries with similar problems. Good on you, Ayano-san!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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