The Roles of I-turn Migrants in Revitalizing Rural Communities: A Case Study of Some Selected Rural Areas in Kansai Region

Obikwelu, F.E.; Ikegami, Koichi; Tsuruta, Tadasu

doi:10.7310/arfe.54.125

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…I-turn migrants are urban born who move to the countryside, especially notable among younger generations (Chandran, 2019). Obikwelu, Ikegami and Tsuruta (2018) suggest I-turn migrants not only favourably impact villages in terms of demography and economy, but they have the potential for positive social roles including sustaining pre-existing social functions and introducing fresh ideas into village communities. They do note, I-turn migrants need to work with their host communities in order to be accepted.…”

Section: Depopulation In Japan and Rural Declinementioning

confidence: 99%

Life beyond growth? Rural depopulation becoming the attraction in Nagoro, Japan’s scarecrow village

Hashimoto

Telfer

Telfer³

2020

Journal of Heritage Tourism

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Rural villages in Japan are rapidly ageing and depopulating. On Shikoku Island, in the remote mountainous Iya Valley, is the village of Nagoro. Residents who have left or passed away have been replaced with 'kakashi' or scarecrows in the form of lifelike dolls. Currently, scarecrows outnumber the village residents and appear throughout the community-waiting at bus stops, working the fields, and studying at the closed school. The attempt to preserve village life and identity through the scarecrow displays has begun to attract the attention of media and tourists. This paper examines this emerging rural tourism attraction in the context of Japanese rural depopulation and peripheralisation. Nagoro is representative of many Japanese villages where the rural lifestyle is disappearing. It has adopted a unique form of quiet resistance to the ending of an era viewed in the context of museumisation and abandoned landscapes. Rural communities are transitioning finding themselves between government rejuvenation policies and learning to live beyond growth.

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Section: Depopulation In Japan and Rural Declinementioning

confidence: 99%