Valley of Dolls: A mysterious puppet village in Japan

Japan is an attractive country for tourists from all over the world. As the country has a rich history, its unspoilt landscapes, wonderful architecture and various cultures and traditions. So every year, many tourists from all over the country come to Japan.

Shikoku is the smallest and least populated island of the four islands of Japan. The island is spread over an area of ​​about 1.5 square kilometers. Leia is a small valley on the island. Yoshino, the main river of the island, flows along this inaccessible mountain range. At the foot of the valley is Nagora, a village surrounded by picturesque beauty. There are no people in the village. Once upon a time there were like 5 people living here.

That's why Japan's population is slowly declining. The village of Nagora is no exception. According to one information, the village had a population of only 5 in 20 and it decreased to 5 in 20.

There are currently 25 residents in the village, of which the youngest is 5 years old. Most are elderly. Most of the people in the village are either dead or gone elsewhere. There are no young people in the village.

Going to this village is difficult because of the village adjacent to the valley, not far from Shikoku island. Once a day there are few buses on the way to the village, and no bus ever comes and goes. It takes more than an hour to reach the village from the nearest train station.

Village youths have begun to settle permanently in major cities of Japan for higher education and financial security. They have no interest in returning to the village. As a result, the number of young children in the village is decreasing to zero.

Once a year, some come from city to village to see relatives. Due to lack of time, many cannot come.

There is no such people in such a beautiful village - it was as if Sukimi Aiyano, a resident of the village, could not accept anything. Around age 5. In its early childhood, more than 300 residents, including the family members of Ayano, lived in the village. Ioan had to leave the village for study and move to the nearby town of Osaka.

He returned to the village in 2002 to spend the last 5 years in Osaka to look after the elderly father. When he returned, he found that many of the old people in the village were no longer alive. Neighbors next to her house also died shortly before her arrival.

Nothing can match this village with that seen village in childhood. You do not find any familiar face when visiting the whole village. Relatives, friends-friendly village seemed to him a cremation ground.

One day he started thinking about making a kaktadua in his father's garden for his garden, thus if the whole village could be filled with puppets, then the lack of people in the unmanned village could be met to some extent. Starting from that, Iano's doll-making work.

Recalling the disappearance of the people who had gone and died in the village, he continued to make puppets one after another.

In 2003, Ayano made the first few dolls for his farm. Then he made a few more dolls in front of his neighbor's face. He placed them in front of the neighbor's house, as if the old man seemed to be conversing with him.

Thus began to make one of the puppets in human form. Children, adolescents, young men and women began to make all kinds of dolls. Gradually, the whole village began to be filled with dolls of different ages.

Once the number of people living in the village exceeded that. The village is now known as the village of dolls. In the last ten years, Iiano has produced more than 300 dolls.

Whoever comes to the village, goes to the forest to see the old wolves scattered on the way to the village. A busy farmer-like puppet falls into the fields of the field while walking through the village's meadows. Walking along the river, you will be seen wearing loose pants and a check shirt, a doll dressed in a cape, busy fishing, and from a distance you will look like a real man.

He never closed the only school in the village due to lack of students. The noise is not heard before in school. Dust, spiders and insects have settled in the schoolhouse. Rust has been caught in the school bell.

The issue shook Ioan a lot. He stuffed the school classrooms with dolls.

There is a group of students sitting on the bench in each classroom. Books, booklets in front of students. Some of the students are busy taking note of the teacher in the book with a pencil. Someone or someone is drawing attention to the drawing field. The teacher is taking the class seriously. Ioan made the dolls in such a way that it would feel like a real classroom. Now everything is in school, not just noise.

How do Iowans make these dolls? In his words, he makes dolls with what he receives at hand.

However, the most difficult thing is to make the expression of the doll more difficult than making a doll. People of different ages make different faces and their mouths are different. It is not possible to match the facial expressions of an elderly with the expression of a young man. So the face of a housewife is different, and the face of a teacher is completely different.

Due to the age of the man, his appearance and dresses have changed drastically. In an interview, Ayano said that the issue has to be kept in mind when making doll aged.

After making each doll, Ayano kept it for three months. Later a new doll was created on top of that structure. These dolls are her offspring. He built his family of dolls with relatives in a friendly, unfriendly village.

Formerly Nagora was a common village. Nobody had a headache about the village. But Fritz Schumann, a German filmmaker, made a documentary about Iiano's work. He introduced the village of Nagora in that documentary called the Valley of Dolls.

Aiano's artistic and well-painted village is able to attract the attention of tourists around the world. Since then the village has changed dramatically. The country started coming to many pictorial villages abroad. As well as tourists of different ages.

When you visit the village, you will find that the puppet-like people in the village are busy with their daily activities. For example, a construction worker on a hat is busy repairing the road, a newlywed couple sitting under the shade-shaded trees along the river, enjoying the beauty of nature, some sitting in the village bazaar in the hope of khuddar, some elderly people after a garden service to get a chair for a brief break.

All these images of busy people, however, are all done by human-like dolls. So there is no noise, no excitement. The whole village is like a mute, noiseless environment.

For the past few years, the puppet festival has been celebrated in this village on the first week of October every year. Many tourists came to the village at that time. They look forward to seeing his artwork created at Iiano's home.

Asked if he wanted to return to Osaka, Ayano told reporters that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with these dolls. In this regard, he added,

“I came back here to look after my ailing father. If I get sick or get too old, I may have to go back to my children in Osaka. Otherwise, I want to spend all these dolls in this village as long as I am healthy. "