- 1.the meaning of existence -

I can't help but mention this elementary school as a major step in my journey to what I now call Bouton/Boukakuan Hermitage.This is the former Wakamiya Minami Elementary School in the Hiyoshi district (Sangahata) of Miyawaka City.In March 2011, the company closed the curtain on its 100-year history.My daughters were 6 and 3 at the time.The daughters never attended this school where their fathers, grandfathers, great-grandfathers, and great-grandmothers attended, and the school closed.

The closing of a school had an indescribable feeling of disconnecting the school from its existence and, at the same time, the future of living in the area.

My heart was filled with the desire to leave my children with fond memories of this area and a somewhat frustrating sense of discomfort about living in an area with a dwindling population.

It was the Great East Japan Earthquake that pushed me to do so.

In the evening, watch the video　「I have to move」

I still remember the feeling I had at that moment.What am I balking at when there are people and places I care about right in front of me?

We then began to explore ways to utilize this school to preserve memories for our daughters and what we could do with this school and the community.

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