A Scene Preserved by its Community
In total there are 727 islands in the Setouchi Region. Once upon a time it was a mountainous region, until the ocean came flooding in. One can sense this geological history, particularly in Ogijima Island’s mountains, which reach out from its plains and fields.
Ogijima’s community has preserved this natural, pristine landscape while averting depopulation. Actually, about 30 percent of the inhabitants migrated in from outside the island. Because the younger population has increased in recent years, libraries, nurseries, elementary and middle schools, and bistros have popped up one after another.
Why do people flock to Ogijima Island? We asked a few non-natives, and many of them told us that, despite being moderately remote, they were charmed by an atmosphere of camaraderie and reliability in tough times. So, what inspires such generosity?
According to people who’ve lived there for a long time, there are two reasons: one, the island is very small and this is its one and only settlement, and two, its mountainous terrain. Houses stretch along the face of the mountains, with narrow roads threading between them. Actually, those roads were originally paved stone stairs, impassable for wheeled vehicles, which meant that everything had to be transported by hand. For instance, if someone were building a home and needed wood, they would need to head to the pine forest at the top of the mountain, cut the tree down, and by manpower alone carry it to Takamatsu for processing, before then carrying that lumber by hand back up the slope to the building site. It’s said that long ago, the adults would carry wood whenever ships ferried into the harbor while the children carried tiles on their heads, showing that it takes a village to raise a village. Nowadays those stairs have been paved over, but because cars still cannot drive through, that spirit of jolly cooperation has remained intact.
Ogijima Island has a word called “kōryoku,” that expresses how its community pools their strength and wits to move forward. Vegetable harvests and fish catches are shared. A veggie whose owner is unknown is left as is on the kitchen counter. This is everyday life in Ogijima. Thanks to their cooperative spirit, their halcyon days have never gone away.
