Search For Satoyama

“Satoyama” means the area between the cities and the forests, and it is the most habitable place for human beings. The story tells a search for “satoyama” that goes back and forth between Echigo in Japan and Meinung in Taiwan.
Echigo in Japan is described as the “snow country” by the Japanese literature giant Kawabata Yasunari. However, for the local residents, the heavy snow isn’t a romantic symbol but a barrier that separates them from the outside world. Although the snow contributes to the production of the best rice variety, Koshihikari, in the country, it drives the local young people away from the region, and therefore many small villages are dying.
Meinung in Taiwan is a traditional Hakka farming village. When Taiwan has become an industrial society, the young residents gradually leave Meinung for cities. Subsequently, Meinung is slowly ageing…

Both Echigo in Japan and Meinung in Taiwan can be categorized as “satoyama” areas; the environments are great, but people in the regions are facing different problems in farming. Fortunately, in both places, there are groups of people working very hard to create ideal lives for themselves no matter what is going on in the world or what will happen in the future.