かかしむら　Scarecrow village

Story: Earle sensei             Photography: Mitsuko Tashiro

P1:       I am a mother of scarecrows.  I am Tsukimi Ayano.

P2:       I have been making scarecrows for more than 15 years.

P3:       I live in ‘Scarecrow village’ in ‘Nagoro.’

P4:       You get off the train at ‘Ooboke’ station.

P5:      From there, it takes about one hour by car, and is on top of a mountain.

P6:      There is the ‘Yoshino’ river near ‘Scarecrow village’.  The water in the river is famous for its beauty.

P7        There is a famous suspension bridge called ‘Iya’s Kazura bridge.’

P8        It is a suspension bridge, so it sways when you walk.

P9        Welcome to the Scarecrow Village.  There are more scarecrows living here than people.

P10:    When I was a child, there were lots of people living here. But now, there are about  30 people and more than 200 scarecrows.

P11:    The village had become lonely, so I attempted to make scarecrows.  People in the village were pleased.

P12:    I made scarecrows which looked like my friends, those I used to play with, and other people in the village.

P13:    These are friends from my childhood.

P14:    This is a primary school.

P15:    This is a grandma and a baby.

P16:    They are wearing beautiful kimono, aren’t they?

P17     Nowadays, the people in the village help me making the scarecrows.  This is how the number of scarecrows has increased.

P18:    Please look at our scarecrows.  What do you think they are doing?

P19:    What do you think they are saying?  Please use your imagination.

P20:    And, one day, please come to visit our scarecrows.  We will be looking forward to seeing you here.