But even as young country-dwellers seek their fortune in cities, a small but growing number of their urban counterparts are packing up and heading for the paddyfields. In the last nine months of 2017, 139 people settled in Shimanto, up from 73 in 2016 and 45 in 2015. There are no up-to-date nationwide statistics, but in 2017, 33,165 people contacted the Furusato Kaiki Shien Centre, an NGO supporting people who want to move to rural areas—a more than threefold increase on 2013.
It used to be older folk who headed to the countryside, often the retired returning to their childhood homes. Today those interested in moving are increasingly young. The trend is reflected in popular culture. Last year “Gifu ni iju”, a TV drama, followed two women in their 30s who moved to Gifu, an area in central Japan full of small mountain towns. Josei Seven, a magazine for young women, recently wrote about moving to the countryside. All but one of the 73 people who moved to Shimanto in 2016 were under 50.
That is good news for the receiving towns and villages. A report in 2014 suggested that by 2040 depopulation would wipe out nearly 900 municipalities, almost half the total. That panicked the government. The next year Shinzo Abe, the prime minister, set out a plan to revive dying areas, one pillar of which was encouraging migration.
The rustic revival is thanks in part to public programmes, such as one that sends young people to work in rural areas for two or three years, in the hope they will then settle. Also important, says Tokumi Odagiri of Meiji University, were the earth- quake and tsunami in 2011, which killed some 18,000 people. The disasters“caused young people to re-evaluate their lives”, he says. Many are looking for peace and quiet, or simply cheaper homes. Another draw is better work-life balance, says Junichi Yanagi of Living in the Countryside magazine.
Young people can revitalise an area, says Nakao Hironari, the mayor of Shimanto. In part, that is because they work. Many go into farming or learn traditional crafts. Yu and Miki Kikuchi left their jobs as a factory worker and a nurse; he is now training to be a blacksmith, while she hunts game.
A small but growing number of 数量少但呈上升趋势
Seek one’s fortune 寻找出路
Pack up 整理、打包
Head for the paddyfields/ Head to the countryside去往稻田（回归乡野）
Be reflected in 反映
All but one 一个除外
Set out a plan 设置计划
Rustic revival 乡村复兴
Be thanks in part to 部分原因在于
In the hope= hoping 希望
Look for 寻找
Another draw 另一原因
Hunt game 打猎
