Re-weaving the Memory of a Mountain Village: The Birth of the Okumikawa Eco-museum (1990s)

Re-weaving the Memory of a Mountain Village: The Birth of the Okumikawa Eco-museum (1990s)

In Japan in the 1990s, as the population of mountain villages declined and the forestry industry declined amid the urban concentration and industrial transformation, traditional culture and life skills were facing a crisis. Shitara-cho, Toei-machi, and Toyone-mura in Okumikawa, Aichi Prefecture, were in the same situation, and a major regional issue was how to pass on the culture of the mountain villages to the next generation. It was under these social conditions that the Okumikawa Eco-museum concept emerged. This concept was an attempt to record and reorganize the fragments of memory scattered throughout the region, such as nature, livelihood, festivals, and lifestyle culture, on the initiative of local residents, and to reconsider the entire region as a moving museum. In particular, the Hana Matsuri in Toei Town was in danger of being lost due to a lack of bearers, but under the concept of an eco-museum, video records and narratives were collected, and opportunities were s
ystematically created for people to experience the event. In addition, forest resources were reevaluated as the foundation of daily life, and efforts to manage satoyama and use local timber were promoted under the initiative of local residents. The Okumikawa Eco-museum concept played an important role in redrawing the future image of mountain villages as a model for regional revitalization that comprehensively deals with culture and the environment.