Takasu, in the mountains of Gujo, Gifu Prefecture, is a village known as a winter sports mecca. It’s a drive from Gujo Hachiman, the historical castle town of the region, famous for the summer Bon dancing festival. I’ve been visiting the Gujo region for four years, coming first for the dancing and then returning for the food and scenery. And while this visit was my first time visiting Takasu, I was reminded of why this region is so special to me—the people.

四年前から定期的に郡上へ遊びに行っている。はじめは郡上踊りに参加したのがきっかけだったが、食べ物にもハマってしまい、今では大好きな場所だ。きれいな川や滝、冬には雪景色も広がり、とにかく見所が多い。ただ、郡上がわたしにとって特別な場所になっているのは、人に魅力があるからだ。

Especially at a time when the population is dwindling throughout rural Japan, Gujo, and Takasu in particular has shown me that it’s the people in rural areas that make a region special. One way of thinking about the history of Japan in the modern era is as a history of urbanization. Starting in the 19^th century, and then in the high economic growth era of the immediate post war, the rural areas were emptied out as villagers moved to the cities in search of employment. And with urbanization led to a stagnating economy in rural, depopulated areas. Of course, Gujo was no exception to this. It is within this historical context that the inhabitants of Gujo and Takasu are seeking to create a mountain region suited to the twenty first century. Instead of empty slogans and mascots that do nothing, these villagers are working with each other to create a new vision of rural Japan.

明治以降、特に戦後の高度経済成長期の日本では、多くの人が田舎から都心に引っ越し、工場やオフィス街で働いた。その結果、全国の地方自治体では過疎化が進んだ。勿論、郡上も例外ではない。

だが、そのような社会背景の中でも、郡上の人たちは新たな生活様式を模索し、楽しく住みやすい21世紀のまちづくりを行っている。それはただの空疎なスローガンやマスコットづくりではなく、人と人との交流を通じた田舎づくりなのだ。

Though Takasu is known for winter shorts, in recent years, climate change and changing economic patterns has significantly decreased both the ski season and the number of visitors to the region. Farming remains a hard life, as it has always done. The villagers have as of late, been seeking out new ways to entice tourists to their area. But, the work the villagers are doing extend beyond mere tourism promotion. Starting with the project this article is a part of, the Takasu-no-su project, the villagers of Takasu are seeking to revitalize their village and make it an enjoyable place for locals and tourists. They are seeking to create a rurality that they want to live in, suitable for elderly and young residents alike.

今回取り上げる高鷲町は、郡上市郊外にあるウインタースポーツで有名な山間の町だ。しかし、温暖化の影響により雪山を楽しめる時期が短くなり、さらにはスキー人口も減っているため、新たな観光資源の模索をしなければならない状況にあるそうだ。高鷲は郡上市の中でも若者の割合が高く、地元愛が強い若手たちが町を盛り上げようとしている。この記事を製作している「たかすのす」チームもそんな若い人たちの取り組みのひとつだ。

I visited Takasu last December. It hadn’t snowed much, but the weather was refreshingly cold with a soft mountain breeze. The trip had everything I enjoy—mountains, onsen and tasty food. I was also able to meet some of the locals who are trying to create a new Takasu.

去年の１２月、高鷲に遊びに行った。まだ雪は少ない時期だったが心地よい寒さを経験した。山、温泉、宿、美味しい食べ物。好きなもので満たされた旅だった。そして、観光客も地元の方ももっと楽しめる町を作っていこうと取り組んでいる人たちにもお会いできた。

Take Shunsuke Minoshima. His family owns Kozaemon, a local minshuku, a Japanese style bed and breakfast, with a history that goes back eight hundred years. Until recently, the bulk of the guests were domestic skiers. Now, Minoshima, who spent many years travelling extensively abroad, is trying to make his family business more welcoming to a wider range of visitors. There are English signs everywhere, and the website is bilingual too. But it’s not just about widening his customer base. For Minoshima, he’d like to use his family business as a tool to make more people within and outside of his region more aware of the beauty of Takasu. That’s why he started working on the Takasu-no-su project. “There’s no rural region like this in the world. We have beautiful nature, and it still feels like a rural hometown. And yet, it’s easy to get to from urban areas. It’s easy to live here. It’s a unique village.” That’s why Minoshima is building off of what’s already here and trying to make it more livable in the 21st century.

例えば地元育ちの蓑島俊輔さん。小左衛門という800年前から名前が残る民宿を経営している。俊輔さんは長年海外で旅をしてきた後、最近民宿を継ぎ、集客の多様化を目指している。英語のホームページや標識を作り、海外のお客さんも歓迎している。だが、観光客だけではなく地元に住んでいる人にも高鷲の魅力を伝えたいそうで、地元の人にも役立つ情報を「たかすのす」プロジェクトとして発信している。「自然があって、田舎らしいものがちゃんと残っていて文化もあり、都会からも来やすい。住み心地もよいし、こんな田舎は他にないと思う」と話してくれた。

Another villager working hard to revitalize the area is Tank café owner, Takaya Kawabata. He also grew up in the region and is trying to find a way to make Takasu the ideal village by staying true to its roots and making it more suited to current lifestyles. He started the café because he wanted a place he could go hang out at with his friends. Part of the reason was also to make a place that tourists would want to come visit all year. “Summer is so great in Takasu, and I wanted to create a place where I could share that with people.” In addition, he was thinking about revitalizing the region for locals as well. “When I was young I had nowhere to go and ask advice. Now I realize that if I had had that, there would have been a lot of short cuts I could have taken.” So, Tank café is also meant to serve as a hub for Takasu locals—a place to hang out, eat good food, and get some advice. Tourists and locals alike come for hot pot in the winter and barbecue in the summer. I bet its popular precisely because Kawabata successfully created a place he himself wanted to frequent.

「Tankカフェ」というカフェを経営する川端孝哉さんも同じく地元の方であり、高鷲の魅力を守りながら新たな理想の町を作っていこうとしている。「高鷲って実は夏にもめちゃくちゃ魅力があって、それを伝えられる場所を作りたかった」と言う。また、若い頃に相談しに行ける場所がなかったそうで「アドバイス聞ける人いたらもっと近道あったじゃん、と今となっては思う。」と話され、それもカフェを始めた理由のひとつだそうだ。今では料理が美味しい所として地元でも有名で、相談しにくる若い子も多いそうだ。観光客もバーベキューや冬の鍋を楽しみに来ている。川端さんが観光客も地元の方も好きになれる場所を作れたのは、きっと自分が行きたいお店を考えて作ったからなのだろう。

But it’s not just Kawabata who is building places that are needed in Takasu. Two years ago, local mothers created a community spot called San-san House using an empty shopfront next to the food store San-ei. They wanted a place they could bring their kids to and talk with each other. Complete with a hearth, it’s a warm and inviting place. Now, babies play here, as grandmothers have tea, and moms sit and chat. They saw a lack in the community, and they solved it. They are creating the rural village that they want.

必要な場所を自分で作っていこうと思って実現した例は他にもある。サンエイ食品という地元のスーパーの横に2年前にできた「さんさんハウス」だ。子どもを連れてくつろげる場所がほしかった地元のお母さんたちが作った集会所で、囲炉裏まである暖かい空間だ。赤ちゃんが遊べたり、おばあちゃんがお茶を飲めたりできる。誰でも利用可能で暮らしに欠かせない場所になりつつある。高鷲で元気よく子育てをしようとしているお母さんはとって魅力的だった。

From visiting Takasu, I realized that what’s special about a rural village is not its scenery or farms but the fact that rural communities help each other out. As someone who grew up in Tokyo, and has never lived in the countryside before, visiting Takasu and learning this was a revelation. I came to see that this has the potential to create new forms of community in the twenty-first century. Perhaps this is too obvious and every day for locals to merit notice. But that’s the importance of an outsider, every so often. They show you the things changing around you that you don’t necessarily notice.

田舎は山や畑だけではなく、人がお互いに助け合うコミュニティーが強みだ。それを高鷲の人たちに見せてもらった。私は東京育ちで田舎には住んだことがない。だが余所の人だからこそ実感できるものはあると思っている。毎日見ている周りの人や場所の変化に気がつかないのはしょうがない。その日常生活から日本、さらに世界の未来を考えるのはなおさら難しいかもしれない。余所の人は地元の人が気づかない変化に敏感という点で、たまには重要な存在となる。

I have come to see from my visits to Gujo that the future of Japan must come from somewhere like Takasu. It isn’t enough anymore to think about economic growth in in century. We have to consider nature, history, community. From the country can come forth new interpretations of traditional relationships to nature. We have to learn how to create a new generation of young people who love their hometowns, and have an eye on the world. This has to come from working with each other, in tandem. That’s why it must start from Takasu. And guess what? It already has.

日本の未来は高鷲のようなところから生まれなければならないと私は思う。自然、人、伝統を顧みずに、ただ経済成長を考えるだけではもう不十分だ。それは２０世紀の考え方であろう。これからは自然とうまく交流しながら環境問題を解決していかなければならない。世界に目を向けながら自分の地元を愛する子どもを育てていかなければならない。２１世紀の問題は人と人との間でしか解決できないものだ。だから高鷲から始めなければならない。いや、もう始まっている。

Writer　キャサリン・ワトレー