Nishi Awakura Village is a small village north of Okayama Prefecture with a population of
about 1,500 people.
The forest occupies 96% of the village’s area, and half of it is made up of HINOKI (cypress).
This village once thrived on forestry, but recently it has been losing it’s vibrancy due to
depopulation and aging.
But recently, a lot of young people have been moving to the village.
One of them is Mr. Masayuki Oshima, who also founded the carpentry workshop
''Mokkoubo-youbi''.
The stylish furniture they produce, made from HINOKI (cypress), is valued both in Japan and
abroad, and the sales keep increasing.
The forests are reborn through forestry, creating richer scenery.
Mr. Oshima calls it "a craft that eventually shapes the landscape".
But suddenly, tragedy struck and the workshop was burnt to the ground during a fire.
How will Mr. Oshima and his team overcome these difficulties?
To find out, we followed the young, passionate carpenter and his team for ten years.