“There’s this famous town in Japan that is known to have more scarecrows than people. 35 residents and hundreds of scarecrows. And they’re all made by this one little old lady, who’s like 65 years old and has lived there her whole life. Every scarecrow she makes is of a person who’s moved away from that town and died. And she’s doing it because the town is slowly dying off. It used to be a big business hub, but then things slowed down and everybody started leaving. It’s the only home she’s ever known so she wants to keep it alive by doing everything she can to keep the memory of this place alive, using scarecrows. She even says at some point she knows she’ll be the last person there. I think it’s a tragically beautiful story. I want go talk to her and share her story with as many people as I can before it’s too late.”
Matt is a photojournalist and English teacher from Boston, Massachusetts. He came to Japan on a whim, while backpacking in Croatia, and has since fallen in love with the place, the people and food. For more on his adventures, visit https://www.mattvachon.com/
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