The folktales “Oyomegachi” from Hida City, Gifu Prefecture (Mayor: Junya Miyako) has been animated as part of the “Umi no Folk Talk Town Project” co-sponsored by the Japan Musume Story Association and the Japan Foundation. This work is about 5 minutes of video work, and is produced with the aim of passing on local culture to the next generation with rich water resources.

Water and Folk Talk of Miyagawa Town “Oyomegachi”

Miyagawa-cho is formed along the river along the river. This Miya River is a first-class river that leads to the Jinzu River to Toyama Bay after confluence with the Takahara River from Takayama City to Hida City in Gifu Prefecture. It collects water from the mountains of Hida, and is also used by river fish such as ayu, and is cherished in the area as an important water resource.
The folktales of the folklore “Oyomegafuchi” is a mysterious story about a pilgrim’s daughter being welcomed by a family, but the true identity of a serpent is deeply connected to the nature of the region. This folk tale conveys the horrors of flooding and the benefits of water to the residents of the area, where rivers are essential to their lives.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpowlsc0bne

Completion debriefing and courtesy visit

On January 23rd, a completion report and a screening will be held at the Miyagawa Community Center.
On the same day, Shinnosuke Numata, an anime director and representative director of the Japan Folk Story Association, paid a courtesy visit to Mayor Junya Tsutake of Hida City, Gifu Prefecture. We certified Hida City as a “town of sea folktales” and presented a certificate and a completed anime DVD. Mayor Tsutake said, “I am very happy to be able to feel once again that I am living with local water through my work, and I am very happy to be left in a memorable way.” “Folk tales are a valuable cultural heritage of Japan, but they are in danger of disappearing. We want to disseminate the importance of folklore through this animation.”

Mayor of Miyakozuchi, who is presented with a town certificate and a DVD of Umi no folk tales (right photo), on the left is Representative Director of Numata.

Held a voice actor experience workshop

After the completion briefing, the voices of Ken Production, which trains every summer in the Hida Manga Kingdom, are cast for this anime. Yu, Go Shinomiya and Yasuyo Tomita are lectured, and a workshop for children from Miyagawa Elementary School and Kawai Elementary School will be held.
The children learned about the work of voice actors through vocalization, fluency practice, reading aloud, and post-recording experience.
The children who participated said, “It was difficult to say the name of the place, such as the name of the place, and it was difficult to say it, but I was able to do it well. I want to try it when I grow up.”

“Oyome ga Fuchi” work overview and synopsis

■ Work time
About 5 minutes

■ Contents
Set in an inn on the banks of the river that flows through a deep forest, a beautiful pilgrimage daughter eventually becomes a bride, who supports her family and is loved by the villagers. The son tries to accept it, but the wife disappears into the deep pool. The villagers began to call the pool “Yomega Fuchi”.

■ Project overview
The “Umi no Folk Tale Town Project” has been animated and recorded as an “town of sea folklore” by adapting and recording folk tales about seas and rivers from all over Japan. Efforts to convey the connection between the sea and the region to the future. So far, 92 works have been animated and archived from 90 local governments, making it the first work in Gifu Prefecture, where there is no sea.

■ Future development and public information
The DVD of “Oyomegachi” produced this time is planned to be lent at Miyagawa Promotion Office, the library, the Hida Manga Kingdom. It is also open to the public on YouTube.

■ Cast, etc.
・Naragur: Go Shinomiya, Yasuyo Tomita (both of Ken Productions)
・Screenplay: Kanako Kamio
・Character design, etc.:
Character draft: Rieko Saibara
・Director: Shinnosuke Numata
Animation production: Thomasson

Youtube release “Yome ga Fuchi”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpowlsc0bne

Related links
Umi no folk tale town project
General Incorporated Association Japan Old Story Association
The Nippon Foundation Umi and Japan Project

Inquiry
Gifu Prefecture Hida City Miyagawa Promotion Office
Phone: 0577-63-2311