🇯🇵 西青 (廃村) 福井県池田町 Nishiao, Abandoned Village, Ikeda Fukui Japan 2025 [4K Binaural]
古文書や伝承によれば、西青には近江・木地師の移住説などが伝わり、1678年の検地で田・畑・山林の面積が定められました。山間高地であるため、冷害・飢饉の影響を強く受け、多くの犠牲者を出した年も記録されています。
村人たちは、稲・雑穀・炭・板材などを生産し、これらを大野へ出荷して収入を得、それで米や塩、乾魚を購入して暮らしていました。山林利用や金山採掘の伝承も残されており、信仰や自然との関わりが深い村でした。
昭和期には離村が進み、最終的に昭和39年（1964年頃）には集落は解体され、氏神の社も近隣へ合祀されました。
私が訪れたときには、村への入口にある石碑と墓地を除いて、ほとんど暮らしの痕跡を見つけることができませんでした。自然がゆっくりと村を取り戻しているかのようでした。
According to old records and oral tradition, Nishiaoi may have been settled by migrating craftspeople (such as woodworkers) from region(s) like Ōmi. During a land survey in 1678, the areas of rice fields, upland fields, and mountain land were officially recorded. Owing to its high elevation, the village was vulnerable to cold damage and famine, and historical records note years in which many perished.
Villagers cultivated rice, grains, charcoal, and timber, shipping these products to Ōno to earn income, which they used to purchase rice, salt, and dried fish. Traditions of forestry, forest products, and even gold mining exist in local lore. Faith, nature, and daily life were deeply intertwined here.
By the mid-20th century, depopulation had progressed, and by around 1964 (Shōwa 39) the village was dissolved and its shrine merged with a neighboring one.
When I visited, apart from a stone monument at the village entrance and the graves, there remained almost no traces of daily life. It felt as though nature was gradually reclaiming what once was human settlement.
Date: 20th June 2025
Weather: 24 / 23 °C Sunny
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