Incurable Disease: Is NFT the Miracle Cure for the 'Population Decline'?
Next Local DAO Candidate: Shiiba Village, Miyazaki
Hi there, my name is Ken. I live in Japan. I’ve been running a shared residence and campground in a deep mountain village called Shiiba village in the Miyazaki Prefecture. It has been 7 years since I moved here from Tokyo to pursue my ideal life in a small village, and to this day, I have faced the inevitable realities of living in a region that is naturally blessed.
For those of you who have not heard of Shiiba village, it is actually one of Japan’s most hidden villages. So, I believe that the knowledge and skills of the villagers who have been able to survive in this severe natural environment should be passed on to future generations. However, the reality is that the declining decline threatens us really badly. In fact, it’s said that some Japanese villages may not even survive for another 10 years, let alone 30 years.
To overcome such a situation, I believe that the key is to break away from conventional ideas and lead an interesting life in tune with the changing times. The city and the local village are two sides of the same coin, and not everyone necessarily has to choose to reside exclusively in one or the other. However, I wonder how we can use NFTs as a tool to globally foster a new type of community that inherits the vitality of life and distributes the population to sustain villages.
One of The Three Great Hidden Villages of Japan
The village I live in is labeled as one of the three great hidden villages of Japan because it is located in the northwestern part of Miyazaki Prefecture, almost in the middle of the Kyushu central mountain area. The village alone spans an area as Awaji Island(592.2 km²), with the current population of 2,300. While this might seem like a lot for a village, the population density is only 5 persons/km². It truely is a hidden village nested in the mountains as depicted in the photo above.
Unlike the warm weather typically associated with Miyazaki, some people refer to Shiiba village as the "Hokkaido of Kyushu," indicating the opposite climate. The daily life of harvesting and hunting, while maintaining a balance with nature, has fostered the traditional cultures that include Kagura—a form of Shinto prayer for a bountiful harvest. The traditional way of life preserved in this village has gained recognition both in Japan and internationally as an agricultural model to be passed onto the next generation.
The villagers often claim that "there is nothing here" as it has all become normal to them. However I am truly captivated by the simplicity of life here, surrounded by fresh water and beautiful nature. In it, there is nothing superfluous.
A Collection of Small Communities
Shiiba village is, in fact, a collection of small communities and communities. It is comprised of 10 districts as a municipality, encompassing a total of 91 communities. Consequently, it is not uncommon for some villagers have never visited certain districts, leading to a perception of diverse cultures within the same village, each marked by distinct accents and characteristics. Shiiba Village, with its unique traits, can be viewed as a conglomerate of small villages forming a cohesive whole.
I reside in a place in the southwestern part of the village called "Kawanokuchi". This area is surrounded by beautiful headwaters where you can play in the river and enjoy the fresh water. Adept at diverse life skills, and visitors coexist harmoniously.
Early on in Kawanokuchi, we recognized that neither a local village nor a city could independently function or thrive on its own. Consequently, we build a community-based farm organization, guided by the concept of "the intersection of the city and the local" aiming to foster increased interactions with the cities and people.
I am also involved in managing a shared residence with a "Self-Sufficiency 2.0" concept, striving to create a space where the lifestyles of the city and local village seamlessly merge. While I initially believed that attracting a younger population from the city would benefit the future of the village, I was shocked to realize that it was no longer sufficient.
Population Decline is like an Incurable Disease
I think we can all agree that population decline is a significant issue of a country, especially in Japan. However, I honestly felt, at first, that I did not fully understand the real problem associated with it.
I used to think that population growth was something that would continue to increase, which is now a prehistoric fantasy, and I had no idea why population decline would be such a bad thing.
But once I made the decision to live in this village, the reality of the situation became more apparent. Over the past seven years, the population of Shiiba village has decreased by 400 people. It is not only the number that is quite shocking to me, but there are also many friends who are no longer with us and are leaving.
Kawanokuchi is still thriving, but we acknowledge that the future is challenging. While people in their 50s are still considered young here, what will happen when the veterans in their 60s, who has been supporting the life of the village, retired? Who will be responsible for firefighting in this village where there is no public fire station? How will we manage tasks that cannot be automated, such as mowing the grass and maintaining the communal water supply system? Relying on the government for subsidies has its limits, and money itself cannot directly solve the problem if there is no manpower to begin with.
The most significant problem is that there are simply not enough children. As people often say that children are the future, it is literally difficult to imagine the future of a community without children. As we grow old, we become physically and mentally weaker, and there seems to be a mood of giving up, thinking that the end will come after we are gone. I am painfully aware of what a declining decline brings: giving up on the future. Inviting a few young people to the village will not be the real solution anymore.
But I still want to live in this village. And I’m hoping that this community will continue to thrive.
This is partly to give back to the people who helped me find a place, but more than that, I want to do whatever it takes to inherit the important things of this village and its strong spirit of "doing whatever it takes to live a happy life on our own”.
Even if the population decline is like an incurable disease, I do not want to sit and wait for death. Even if we cannot figure out how to cure it, we have no choice but to keep on trying. This is when I came across Nishikigoi NFT and digital villagers.
Hope in the Form of Digital Villagers
To me, as I understand it, digital villager is a type of relationship where individuals desiring involvement with a specific local village become a part of it using NFT as a token of their participation. The concept of “relational population” has gained recognition in the Japanese local villages, and, from my understanding, I consider it to be a "relational population with face-to-face relationships."
A relational population means that you do not have to live in a certain local village to be a part of it. In the past, I have been committed to creating and working on this, but it has tended to be a temporary endeavor to be honest. Projects are more likely to be funded by subsidies and can provide a quick fresh start, sometimes making people feel as if they have accomplished something worthwhile.
While it's true that this type of endeavor takes time, I believe that increasing the number of people whose faces you cannot really see will not affect the future you want to change.
One of the great aspects of being digital villagers is that it creates a sense of continuity and belonging in the relationship. It goes well beyond merely "seeing faces" and it can also be a place where people who may not be able to move or reside physically but wish to be part of it can find motivation. The Nishikigoi NFT has proven that there is no limit to the online relationship just because the project is launched online, and that a bond and a sense of ownership can be created through a series of physical interactions.
As a villager of Shiiba, I am sometimes thanked just for being here. This is probably because many of the Shiiba villagers do not have many opportunities to reflect on themselves and their lives compared to others. For example, people come to this village, and they heal and relax. That’s really when people in Shiiba realize the value of their own lives.
I believe that the presence of digital villagers of different ages, nationalities, origins, and backgrounds will surely inspire and motivate the real villagers. It can be an opportunity to envision a different future than the one they have given up on.
Rather than being the future itself, like children, I believe that digital villagers can be independent individuals who do not let the future be forgotten, and can also be the ones to work together with. If we say children are the future, then the digital village is hope.
Things to Explore With Digital Villagers
One thing I aspire to undertake with digital villagers is the creation of a high school. While establishing a completely new physical school is beneficial, I believe we can leverage existing online high school structures to establish a similar institution here in Shiiba without extensive time and financial investments.
This initiative aims to attract young people and students who can directly learn from both digital villagers and local residents. The school could be developed online, with opportunities for in-person gatherings to facilitate face-to-face relationships and social interactions.
Furthermore, the "School of Culture" is another project I am eager to collaborate on with digital villagers. By creating learning opportunities, the objective is to preserve cultural micro-technologies. For instance, in this village, the term "watering" involves drawing water from the mountains and maintaining the water source. Villagers personally undertake this task, even walking for miles, instead of relying on a water company. These micro-technologies (skills and knowledge) have been passed down for generations throughout the village.
The loss of these traditions directly threatens the village's survival. Preserving these skills and traditions, which have been passed down to this point, ensures they can be learned and applied anytime, anywhere.
Additionally, I hope to organize in-real-life events, such as secret local village festival or a digital archive project to document all the creative activities that have taken place in Shiiba village. The future we aim to create is envisioned and implemented with input from digital villagers.
The Future is in Our Hands
I would like to share a story about apples in Shiiba. It goes like this: "Two young brothers received apples of different sizes. The younger brother wanted the larger apple, but his parents gave it to the big brother. The younger brother cried, prompting the older brother to graciously offer him the larger apple."
In the natural world, uniformity is non-existent. It's unrealistic to expect everything to be divided equally. The question arises: how do we navigate such situations? I thought that the story is an allegory that shows the kindness of the elder brother and the wisdom of the parents, characteristics I believe are unique to this village that thrives on the benevolence of nature.
On the first day of this year, we had a significant earthquake struck the Noto Peninsula (M7.5). While not as severe, our village also encountered various disasters in the past like landslides caused by typhoons and heavy rains.
Typically, during disasters, people wait for professional help. However, this village takes a different approach. When a tree falls, neighbors gather with chainsaws. If there's a landslide, they bring and operate trucks from the forest or the barn. The common practice here is to bring tools and skills to address problems. Even if a road collapses, isolating the village, they likely find a way to offer homemade tea to the Japan Self-Defense Forces who arrive by helicopter to assist them.
The people of this village exhibit strength in wisdom, kindness, and resilience against overwhelming disasters. I find it hard to believe there's almost no future. In such a scenario, I hope to pass down these qualities to the next generation. However, I can't do it alone; I need help, interest, and support from many people.
To be frank, I fear the village being engulfed. We don't want to jeopardize what has been passed down to us by exposing it to the unknown. While striving to create a relationship where real faces and feelings are visible, we also aim to open our doors to more people worldwide—not to the unspecified, but to the specified many. There are various ways to reach a large audience, which is why I appreciate the concept of digital villagers.
Is NFT the miracle cure for the population decline? We don’t know. But what we know is that we live in an era where the old approaches no longer works. Therefore, we have no choice but to "start something here and now." I have a sense that we can achieve something together. The resilient mindset developed in this challenging natural environment will be the key to creating a new lifestyle that can withstand whatever the future holds.
The potential of this village is just beginning, and together we will shape the future. We eagerly anticipate meeting and connecting with you through Nishikigoi NFT.
Here is another one with Chinese audio & English subs.
What’s going to happen next?
Shiiba Village (Miyazaki Prefecture) and Tenryukyo (Nagano Prefecture), which have been announced as new Local DAO regions, are not "confirmed" but only "candidates". As for the future, there will be a Nishikigoi NFT community vote in March (tentative) on whether or not to approve (tentative name) regarding the new Local DAO candidates.
If the vote passes with a majority of votes in favor, this next new village for the Local DAO will be confirmed. Details of the community vote will be shared on the official Nishikigoi NFT Discord community and official X account.