Building a Society of Harmony between Man and Nature:Rural Lessons for Urban Spaces

摘要

Founded in 1940, the Rural Culture Association ("Nobunkyo") is an advocacy group for rural culture. At the time, movie theaters had been established in the cities and urban dwellers could enjoy the cinema whenever they wished by simply paying an admission fee. There were no theaters in rural villages, however, because transportation networks were poorly developed, rural people were unable to enjoy the movies.One of Nobunkyo's first main projects, conducted with financial support from the Ministry of Agriculture, was to try to rectify this disparity between urban and rural areas by forming mobile cinema units that held free movie screenings on the grounds of rural elementary schools around the country. Working to narrow the cultural gap between urban and rural areas, we also formed theatrical troupes that toured the countryside, exposing rural areas to Western-style drama.