Iwami Ginzan businesses’ silver road to revitalization

The Omoricho area of Oda around the Iwami Ginzan silver mine in Shimane Prefecture is a small and picturesque town of approximately 400 people. Nakamura Brace Co. and Iwami Ginzan Gungendo Group Co., both located in this area, jointly received the Grand Prize in the satoyama section of the Sustainable Japan Award 2024 presented by The Japan Times for their contribution to achieving a sustainable local economy and maintaining a rural community composed of diverse generations.

Discovered approximately five centuries ago, the mine was partially developed as a copper mine after its silver was exhausted but then closed in 1923. The area subsequently experienced industrial decline and population outflow, earlier than most other local municipalities in Japan.

Toshiro Nakamura, who learned cutting-edge prosthetic technology in the United States after joining a prosthetic manufacturing company in Kyoto, founded Nakamura Brace in Omoricho in 1974 with his wife at the age of 26. He chose to set up his business in this remote mountain area rather than a convenient urban area out of a desire to revitalize his hometown, which had become a virtual ghost town.

In addition to creating employment through the production of artificial limbs and braces, Nakamura Brace has also contributed to the creation of a livable town while preserving its scenery by renovating vacant houses that would otherwise have been left to decay.

To date, the company has renovated 65 old houses. The first one was a small building owned by Nakamura’s parents. The company gradually grew in profitability, leading to an increase in staff. “So the first renovation project was to create a place where employees could live,” explained Nakamura’s son Noburo Nakamura, the current president of the company.

Following the enactment in 1987 of the law that established the qualifications for prosthetists and orthotists, Nakamura Brace began to attract qualified young professionals from outside the prefecture, leading to a greater demand for housing. The rest of the renovated houses became homes for the company’s new employees as well as other individuals and families who moved in from outside, plus souvenir shops, restaurants, lodging facilities, an opera house and a library.

In many cases, the original owners of the houses, wishing to preserve homes filled with family memories even after the family had all left, sell the houses to Nakamura Brace, hoping it will utilize them in ways that contribute to the community.

Through consultation with a local builder and the original owners, Nakamura Brace remodels the interiors to fit new purposes while preserving the structure and appearance of traditional Japanese wooden architecture.

One of the buildings that the company renovated about a decade ago used to be a bakery. To make the most of the building’s existing facility, Nakamura Brace invited a baker who lived in Tokyo to open a bakery there. “For the first five years, we supported the shop financially by positioning it as a baking section of our own company,” Nakamura said. He emphasized that the most crucial thing is to continue to be an attractive company, keep creating jobs that people find fulfilling and foster an environment where motivated young people can thrive.

The most recently renovated building is the library, which is now operated by the University of Shimane. In addition to bookshelves and reading areas, the library also has a cafe, a study room, a gallery, a play pool and other facilities for visitors of all generations to enjoy.

Involving various stakeholders, including the university and like-minded local enterprises like Gungendo, Nakamura aims to disseminate information about the area and its charms to encourage people to work and live in the area.

The Iwami Ginzan Gungendo Group was founded in 1989 by Daikichi and Tomi Matsuba as a manufacturer of textiles and household goods with a focus on traditional Japanese techniques and craftsmanship. Since then, the company has pursued the concept of “livelihood with roots” while preserving and utilizing the historical and nostalgic townscape, and has gradually expanded its business to include tourism as well as everything related to people’s daily lives, including food and skin care.

Among the 15 old houses that the company renovated in the area, the first one was the building that became its main store. Some of them are either rented or sold to people who want to use or live in them, and others have been turned into accommodations and other facilities.

“One of the accommodation facilities is Takyo-Abeke, a 240-year-old samurai residence. We also have Mujakuan near Takyo-Abeke, which is a candle-lit house with no modern infrastructure such as gas, electricity or water and sewage,” said Tadashi Matsuba, the current president of the company. He was originally a shoemaker in Tokyo and is married to the Nakamuras’ daughter. He resonated with the concept and the way that the company has been rediscovering values in sustainable lifestyles.

Old vacant houses left in private hands only deteriorate, he said, but making them corporate assets opens the possibility of utilizing them in ways that benefit the community, transforming the houses into meaningful social resources. “What we can do in this little community has the potential to be a social model for the world,” he added.

Gungendo is currently working on a project to renovate old houses into facilities suitable for medium- to long-term stays. This includes the creation of facilities that enable people to stay while working remotely, as well as satellite offices for companies.

About 10% of guests who stay at Gungendo’s lodging facilities are foreigners. “I think that long-term travel is more common among foreigners than Japanese. There is a good match between people who want to stay in one place for a long time and locations where they can appreciate unspoiled landscapes and the lives of the people who live there,” Matsuba said. One family from Australia stayed at one of the facilities for three months last year. “The family’s children went to the nursery school and after-school child care center in town with local children,” he said. Matsuba believes that having a constant presence of various people in the town, including travelers and long-term residents, keeps it fresh and vibrant.

Gungendo also participates in an initiative, called Hitomachi, that offers a staffing service that connects local stores, restaurants, companies and organizations with people from outside who want to start their lives in the area. This service brings together businesses that need a little extra help but not enough to justify a full-time hire. By treating the businesses as a single entity, the system can offer workers the chance to hold multiple part-time positions, enabling them to earn a living while broadening their work experience.

The Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2007. Yet becoming a World Heritage site cannot ensure the area’s revitalization or sustained future prosperity. It is the continuing dedication of local residents and companies like Gungendo and Nakamura Brace, which started long before the World Heritage designation, that sustains the town as a place that provides a welcoming and enjoyable environment for residents and visitors alike.