In Iwamizawa City, Hokkaido, there is a village called Mirudo, with a population of about 400, a 30-minute drive from Iwamizawa Station. Even with the recent Corona disaster, time passes peacefully in Mirudo.

In the winter of 2021, we interviewed Ms. Michiko Koroshima, a publisher in Mirudo, at her tenement house in the middle of a pristine landscape.

The Beginning of Life in Mirudo

In 2011, Michiko moved from Tokyo to Iwamizawa City. Her move was triggered by the Great East Japan Earthquake, which made her reevaluate her lifestyle.
She was on childcare leave at the time of the earthquake, and the publishing company she was working for at the time allowed her to work from home, so she returned to work.
She worked for the publishing company remotely from home for four years until 2015. Then that year, she switched to freelance.

While living in Iwamizawa, Kushima wondered, "Is there anything I can do because I live in Hokkaido?" He asked himself, "Is there anything I can do because I live in Hokkaido?
When friends from Tokyo came to Hokkaido to visit, she often saw them return home feeling liberated and energized.
This sparked his desire to create an "eco-village" that would give people the option of staying in Hokkaido for short or long periods of time, or even moving to the area.

Wanting to live near the mountains, Kushima-san was introduced by an acquaintance to a vacant house in Miyuwatari, not far from the Miyamura district, and moved to Miyuwatari from central Iwamizawa in 2018.

What I think about living here

I am able to write manuscripts with ease after moving from Tokyo to Biryuwatari."

Kushima says that the stress caused by environmental factors such as noise and exhaust fumes, as well as the problem of children waiting on waiting lists, have all but disappeared from her life in Tokyo.
He works as an editor surrounded by the smells and sounds of nature. I am now able to write manuscripts with a deep sense of calm.

But the "vexation" he felt under the declaration of the state of emergency in 2020.

Living in Biryudo should have helped me to do things that I couldn't do when I was in Tokyo, things that I felt were stressful.
However, when the emergency was declared, I realized that there was an essential problem that could not be solved by moving another 20%. I had been busy working outwardly, but as I spent more time at home with my three children and husband due to my voluntary refraining from going out, I felt that mental problems that had not manifested themselves before, such as whether I was not good at raising children and whether I had neglected my family, came to the surface. I am not sure if I have been neglecting my family."

In both work and life, I was able to listen to my heart in an environment where I no longer felt dissatisfied with the outside world, and this led me to face the problems that had been lurking in my mind for a long time.

Biryudo is surrounded by such natural beauty. What kind of town is it?

There are no convenience stores or supermarkets in the Misurudo area, and government services are not as extensive as in the city. It is not a place that would appeal to people who want to move to a convenient and comfortable place to live. There are no real estate agencies and it is difficult to find a house on the Internet, so it is characterized by many people with the same kind of thinking who do not consider such difficulties as difficulties.
People who are uncomfortable with mass production and mass consumption in our society and people who are interested in environmental protection gather here, and it often doesn't feel like we've met for the first time."

Mr. Koroshima told us that Misurugi has been attracting three to four interesting newcomers a year. The migrants help each other and organize events.

People in Misurudo naturally get along with each other. He says, "I'm very grateful for the people of Hokkaido.

People in Hokkaido, thankfully, don't leave people who want to do new things alone. They introduced me to people without asking, and as I went to meet them as I was told, the relationships grew.
I sometimes interview local people for my twice-monthly column in colocal. By hearing in-depth stories about their backgrounds, which I normally don't hear, I am able to open up to them in the community."

Click here to see colocal, where KOJIMA-san writes a series of articles.
Come to our house! Eco-Village Created by Everyone

A Change in Thoughts about Work

Since moving here, there has been a change in his stance toward his work.

When I was in Tokyo, I was searching for what I should do and how to live my life, and was desperately trying to create something of my own. At that time, the work I was getting was from my boss, and I was struggling because I felt obligated to accept it.
But strangely enough, since I started publishing with Biryudo, I have a sense that things I need to do are flying in from nowhere at a very fast pace, even if I am not conscious of it. I have come to think that it is my mission to throw them back at them one by one.
Right now, I mainly do work that I am commissioned to do, but from now on I would like to gradually increase the ratio of my own publishing activities."

Mr. Koroshima runs a publishing activity called "Forest Publishing House Michikuru. The emphasis is on "hand-writing" the books and selling them directly to readers.

In the normal process of making a book, there are creative tasks and non-creative tasks such as transcription and preparation of the manuscript for submission. By making every step of the process as creative as possible, we believe that the book will be completed with the same passion. For this reason, "Forest Publishing House Michicles" uses the "handwritten" method of book production.
I also had my doubts about the general distribution method of books. Therefore, I communicate "directly" with the people who buy my books and sell them. I feel more motivated to make books because I can feel the temperature and the words of the person who buys the book.

A book by Mr. Kushima. The text and illustrations are all handwritten.

Inaka no Honne" will be on sale soon!

From 2019, Koushima is participating in the "Manji Line Project" run by the Iwamizawa School of Hokkaido University of Education. This project is an initiative for students to learn about arts management in the mountains of Iwamizawa. In the past, the school has used a closed school building for events and other activities, but in FY2020, the school became the Corona Disaster, so to avoid density, the students were divided into small groups to interview local people and produce a book as part of the initiative.
Twenty-six students from the school interviewed people living in the Moryuwatari, Moyo, and Manji districts of Iwamizawa City. Mr. Kushima edited the book. The completed book, "Inaka no Honne," will be released by Nakanishi Publishing on March 19, 2021.

I would be happy if you could feel that, although a change in environment does not necessarily solve your mental problems, it gives you a chance to make new discoveries, to get rid of external difficulties in living, and to think more simply. Conversely, if you can think simply, it may be the same no matter where you live.

I hope it will be a hint to people that maybe there is a way to live flexibly in spite of the corona disaster and the sense of stagnation. I think the book is full of mental attitudes that even city dwellers might find helpful."

This book is a must-read for anyone who feels lost or blocked in this fast-changing world.

I feel that it will lead you to new encounters as you get to know the areas where interesting people gather.