Today’s Education Shapes Tomorrow’s Future

NPO GREENWOOD

“I want to go camping all year!
Then we can make our own food, carve our own dinnerware, and maybe even build our own house!”
Words like these from children living in the city are what led us to establish the Daidarabotchi life lessons classroom.

I Want to Go Camping All Year!

Four children and three adults came together with the intent to “live by their own efforts.”
Every night, we got together and shared our hopes and fears with the group.
We talked about what kind of house we wanted to build and how we would build it.
However, building a house is not the same as building a life. Every day, the children made their meals,
did their own cleaning and laundry, and went to school.
We used our combined knowledge and skills in order to make our dream a reality, trying and failing over and over again.
NPO Greenwood, as well as the core values that we uphold, started from this life that we built together.

The original main building, built out of thinned wood and wood from telephone poles and railroad ties
Photographed at the 1997 Daidarabotchi Fare-welcome Party

1│

Introduction

Introduction│2

In order to build a community where everyone can live in peace,
we raise children to become well-rounded human beings.
We Aim for An Anjane (Worry-Free)
Community
We think that a community where everyone can live safely
is one in which all members respect one another, cultivate
joy, and delight in the wonders of being alive.
The elementary and middle school students who
participate in the Daidarabotchi program are the center of acommunity that provides mutual acceptance and support,
transcending things like hometown, gender, and age. They
live with a diverse staff ranging from recent college grads tothe community’s founding members.
One person’s weakness is another’s strength. We all go
through times of trouble, so we can understand each other’s
joy and hardships. This is precisely what we mean by “acommunity where everyone can live in peace.”
Precisely because we share our responsibilities and help
each other out, our group can work together to tackle any
problems we face. Conflict and trouble naturally occur in allsocieties, and ours is no different. However, a community
where everyone can live in peace can only be formed when
all of its members have the awareness of how issues affectthem, as well as the intention to help create a better place.

Raising Independent People (Hitoneru)
Nobody is going to go out and prepare a worr y-freecommunity for us all. Rather, it must be made by respecting
each other and striking a balance between freedom
and responsibility. We here at Greenwood are not trying
to change the way society works; instead, we think it’s
important to focus on nurturing the people who will makeup our society. We need capable people who can actively
participate in any system or environment and come up
with creative solutions wherever they go, but we don’t needdesks to raise them. It’s more important to learn from theexperience of meeting people, challenging oneself, failingand then learning from one’s mistakes, getting help, giving
help, and feeling both the joy and frustration that come alongwith it all. We nurture our students by teaching them how to“live” through their connections with others.
*Hitoneru means “to raise someone well” in the dialect of the Shimoina region.

*Anjane means “Don’t worry!” in the dialect of the Shimoina region.

The current main building, rebuilt in 2004
Photographed at the 2014 Daidarabotchi Fare-welcome Party

3│

VISION and MISSIONVISION and MISSION│

4

NPO Greenwood’s Well-Rooted Education
Trees that grow nothing but foliage and fruit will end up breaking under their weight.
They need strong roots and a trunk to support them. We believe that people are the same.
Skills, academic ability, and the knowledge that you learn in school are all just “foliage.”
If you don’t have a heart to guide you in the right direction,
you make mistakes, or end up collapsing because you can’t handle the weight.
Your roots grow when you gain necessary life experiences,and from this growth you gain a set of values that enable you to keep growing and living on your own.
Greenwood’s “well-rooted” education is based on offering hands-on experiences in accordancewith students’ age level so that the students’ roots grow stronger as they experience everyday life.

Education Well-Rooted in Life Lessons

We Aim for An Anjane (Worry-Free)

Keeping the Soil Rich

Preschoolers( And Their Parents)● Mamebotchi Forest Kindergarten

Elementary andMiddle School Students

High School andCollege Students● Shinshu Kids’ Sanzoku Camp● Shinshu Kids’ Sanzoku Camp● Safety Education● Dispatching Lecturers and Facilitators● The Life Lessons Classroom

Volunteering● Young Adult Educational Programs(Collaborations with Universities)● Teacher / Leader Development Projects● Recommended Publications● Field Trips and Educational Seminars

Daidarabotchi

Adults and Families

The Region● Social Responsibility Cooperatives

with External Organizations

A Well-Rooted Education – Conceptual Map
weather = societybuds need the sun, roots need the rain

The Three Tenets of a Well-Rooted Education

actionstaminascholarshipcooperation

flowers = realized dreams
empathycommunication skills

buds = dreams

leaves = experiences

self-control

branches = skills

trunk = personal valuesroots = one’s true spirit“Enjoying
Spirit”“Independent
Spirit”

Rich Soil(Yasuokamura’s natural and spiritual environment, people, and parents)● Consideration for“Enjoying
Spirit”“Independent
Spirit”

The power to learn intuitively from people andfrom nature – that is what we call “emotional
intelligence.” This kind of intelligence teaches
children how to show kindness and affection
towards both things and other people.
Greenwood takes great care in offering a
program that connects nature to everyday life.
Students gather firewood from the mountains,cultivate the rice fields, and make their own
pottery that they use as dinnerware. Throughthis way of life, they gain a sense of gratitude
towards nature for supporting them and fulfilling
their basic needs.
Such a way of life cannot be accomplishedalone – our students all live and work together,which affords them the opportunity to learn how
to both disagree with each other and help one
another out. This in turn teaches them how to
be considerate, how to understand the differingvalues of others, and how to cooperate withothers and with society.

We teach our students how to be proactive
and enjoy whatever they are doing. Students inall of our programs are entrusted with difficult
chores that may take them a lot of time, suchas preparing meals and heating bathwater.
When doing these chores, we ask ourselves“how can we make this more fun?” By making
our struggles into fun experiences, we learn
that overcoming hardship is the source of truepleasure.
Sometimes we fail, but failure is part of theprocess of success. It is precisely because of our
failures that our successes give us the utmost
joy. We build up our resistance to failure throughtrial and error and learn the joy of triumph.
Failure can become the driving force thatcompels us to overcome any barriers that we
may encounter in the future.

In today’s society, it is becoming more andmore common that children learn how to play
and amuse themselves through video games
and the Internet. Thus, these children end up
unable to make the choices that would allow
them to succeed academically or professionallywithout extensive support from those aroundthem. In order to become the protagonists of ourown lives, we must have the initiative to shape
our own future.
All of Greenwood ’s programs take greatcare to develop our students’ ability to makeindependent decisions. When children realizethat they are in charge of their own lives, they
develop the power to participate actively andtake responsibility for everything that they do.
The freedom they enjoy when they take on these
responsibilities is what allows them to keep
challenging themselves.

planning

independence

self-improvement“Sensitive
Spirit”“Sensitive
Spirit”

Nature and for Others

the ground = daily life (environment)● A Village that Cares about Raising Good People

5│Well-Rooted Education

Well-Rooted Education│

6

Preschoolers( And Their Parents)

Elementary andMiddle School Students

High School andCollege Students

Adults and Families

The Region

Preschoolers( And Their Parents)

Elementary andMiddle School Students

High School andCollege Students

Adults and Families

The Region

Spend an entire year with friends as your colleagues
A place where you can make your dreams a reality

The Daidarabotchi
Life Lessons Classroom
It all began in 1986, from the words“I want to go camping all year!”In the rich, natural environment of our mountain village,
friends of different ages, genders, and backgrounds
can work together in a community full of people
who warmly watch over them.

The Daidarabotchi life lessons classroom is the place where eighteenchildren from around the country came together with the shared dream ofmaking their own way of life, which they did for a year while also attending a
local elementary and middle school. Meals, laundry, cleaning, wood-chopping,and bath-heating, as well as any other tasks related to our daily life are all, ofcourse, carried out daily by the children. The children are the ones who makethe schedule for the year, talk through and resolve daily problems, grow ourrice and vegetables, and make the tableware. It’s up to them to decide whatkind of year they will have. Daidarabotchi is a place where you can make the
dreams you want to accomplish a reality.
Open to children from around the country, from 4th grade elementary school
up to 3rd grade middle school
Program period: Each year from 4/1 –3/31
Participant cap: Approximately 18 people

Planting trees with your children

Mamebotchi
Forest Kindergar ten
As soon as you step into this abundant forest
and feel the breeze blowing in from the Inadani Valley,
you will find a playground full of treasures.
Interacting with others helps both parents
and children cultivate the seed ofhealthy interpersonal relationships
while basking in the forest lightand immersed in nature.

This interactive program enables children from 3 to 6 years old and theirguardians to interact with nature once a month. Small children can pick up
fallen acorns while navigating through the forest’s bumpy, muddy paths.
Children can have a lot of fun in the forest as they learn to control their bodies
through the act of playing.This program helps them develop empathy while
they experience surprise and joy.
The most important thing about Mamebotchi Forest Kindergarten is thateveryone participating in the program works together to support the children's
growth. In order to create an environment in which both children and parents
can be themselves, parents strive to treat every child equally so that all of thechildren can play freely and be themselves.

Open to young children (3 – 6 years old) from across the nation and their families
Program structure consists of day trips and overnights approximately 10 times a year

7│

Mamebotchi Forest Kindergarten

The Daidarabotchi Life Lessons Classroom│

8

Preschoolers( And Their Parents)

Elementary andMiddle School Students

High School andCollege Students

Adults and Families

The Region

Over 1,000 kids in a village of 1,700 people!?
Our secret: the kids are the leaders!

Preschoolers( And Their Parents)

Elementary andMiddle School Students

High School andCollege Students

Adults and Families

The Region

Yasuokamura as a venue for hands-on experience

Young Adult Educational Programs

Shinshu Kids’ Sanzoku Camp
It could be said that these camps consist of nothing more than eating, sleeping, playing,
and working, but their appeal lies in the children’s ability to decide the program’s activities
and rules for themselves. No two camp sessions are identical.
The set-up is simple, which is precisely why this camp can expand at the children’s discretion,and the depth of this approach is the secret to its popularity.

There’s no set program for Kids’ Sanzoku Camp. At the “Sanzoku Meeting,”
everyone suggests activities they would like to do at camp, and from there
they decide the course of the program. In the summer, there are outings to
the river, tests of courage, hiking, crafts, and campfires. In the winter, theypick things like mountain climbing, sledding, and mochi-making. In the heartof nature, children can play to their heart’s content. With a focus on daily
responsibilities such as meals and cleaning, this camp becomes a place that
fosters cooperative labor and gives the feeling that “individual differences area source of richness.”
Open to student across the country from 1st grade elementary school
up to 3rd grade middle school
Program period: Primary school summer and winter vacation
Participant cap: Summer...around 1000 people (26 – 28 courses offered),
Winter...around 150 people (6 – 7 courses offered)

In today’s world, more and more young people are worried
about always having to come up with the right answer.
While building on personal experiences of community life,
the educational value of Yasuokamura and Greenwood is usedin activities that foster students’ sense of personal value
and concern about others and society.

Collaborations with Universities
We offer 2 to 3 day, custom-designed programs set incollege classes and seminars that meet in small groups.
Participants take charge of their own studies, and rather thanlearn how to merely arrive at the “correct” answer,
they learn how to derive answers from dialogue
with their peers and further the cycle of learning.
Program structure: Participation in college seminars and classes
Program content: Schedule and term both decided after consultingwith the instructor in charge
Participant cap: Approximately 6–18

A One-Year Teaching and Leadership
Developing ProjectA program in which counselors and staff interact
with the Daidarabotchi students.
A place where they eat and sleep together with students,
and a lifestyle connected to the rich nature of Yasuokamura
all help cultivate a set of fundamental life values
that cannot be learned in a classroom.
Open to young adults who want diverse learning experiences,
not just those aiming to become teachers or leadersThis program is held annually for the one-year period from April 1st - March 31st
Participant cap: 1-2 people

Shinshu Kids’ Sanzoku Camp Volunteering
Young adults, ranging from high school students to
those already in the workforce, can participate as
volunteers for the Shinshu Kids’ Sanzoku Camp.
Through volunteering in these activities,
participants must work to promote the children’s mental
and physical safety, which in turn teaches them
the importance of leading by example as an adult leader.
The feelings of doubt, confusion, and accomplishmentthat participants experience while living with the children
out in the middle of nature are also what teach them
how to rethink the way they conduct their daily lives,
as well as how to both make their own decisions
and follow through on them.
Open to young adults, from high school students to employees across the nation
Program period: at least one course when Sanzoku Camp is held
Participant cap: about 300 in summer and about 50 in winter9│

Shinshu Kids’ Sanzoku Camp

Young Adult Educational Programs│

10

Preschoolers( And Their Parents)

Elementary andMiddle School Students

High School andCollege Students

Adults and Families

The Region

Preschoolers( And Their Parents)

Elementary andMiddle School Students

High School andCollege Students

Adults and Families

Nurturing hearts that respect all forms of life

Building a society by nurturing local community leaders

Safety Education

Dispatching Lectures and Lecturers

Without prior training, people cannot prevent
natural disasters or accidents in the wilderness,much less save lives in such an event.
Here at Greenwood, we train people to be mentors
and leaders through the risk management methods
developed at the Kids’ Sanzoku Camp,so that children can play safely while in their care.

Currently, small communities all over Japan are facing problems caused by dwindling local populations,declining local industries, and the effects of recent natural disasters.
Nevertheless, Yasuokamura, which we call home, has been able to attract more than 1,000 children
and more than 20,000 visitors every year, even though we have often been ridiculed for being a village
where there is nothing to do. This is because our activities make full use of the natural environment,
culture and people of the community around us.

We offer training in the Medical First Aid (MFA)
international emergency life-saving method programthat instills in its participants emergency preparedness
skills and the courage to lend a hand to those in need.
Greenwood’s safety education approach isbased in backing up confidence with real-life skills,
as well as nurturing empathetic people
who can create a safe and secure society.

The Region

We offer lectures, field trips, and cooperative projects for outside organizations in order to sharethe educational philosophies and know-how that we developed in Yasuokamura.
Through these activities, we share our perspectives on how to recognize and raise awareness about local issues,organize communities, maximize local human resources, and rediscover our unique local culture and knowledge.
When people in every region come to recognize the good qualities of their communities
and make the most of them, we all come closer to becoming a “worry-free society.”

Field Trips and Educational Seminars
At Greenwood, we hold observation field trip programs inwhich outside participants can visit active facilities
and meet directly with operations staff, as well as
educational seminars where we share the experiences
gained and methodologies employed in our local projects.
A picture is worth a thousand words; thus, through hands-on
experience with our project, our energetic students,and our educational philosophy, observers can learn
in a way that makes sense to them.

Dispatching Lecturers and Facilitators“A sustainable society is made through education.”
Each region of Japan, as well as the nature, ways of life,and cultures found there, is valuable. By re-evaluatingthese treasures around us, we can revive our local communities
and create a new set of values. We believe that having
more proactive regions will create a brighter future for Japan.
In the past thirty years, we have been disseminating
the “thoughts” and “know-how” that took root in our area
to various outside regions, groups, and PTAs.

Eating together enriches the time
we spend together

Daily Life Café Itadakimashita
In the Southern Shinshu dialect, the phrase Itadakimashita is said after
meals to express gratitude towards the people who prepared the food, theingredients used in the dish, the hard work of the people who cultivatedthe land where the ingredients were grown, and also towards Mother
Nature who nurtures both land and people.
The concept of the Daily Life Café Itadakimashita is based in this gratitude.
The tables, the chairs, and even the utensils are all handcrafted, and thecafé is naturally powered by a combination of firewood and solar energy.
The café is meant to be a starting point for the creation of a future society
in which people form bonds with one another through coming together
and sharing a meal.

11│

Safety Education / Daily Life Café Itadakimashita

Social Responsibility Cooperatives
with External Organizations
Nowadays, young people who became full-fledged
members of society are expected to have communication skills,
task-solving skills, and perseverance. However, a lack ofpersonal hands-on experiences that build a foundation
for these skills has turned out to be a challenge.
Thus, we have begun to restructure programs originallycomprised of educational activities for children into
adult-oriented programs and offer these programs
as training sessions for new employees.

Dispatching Lectures and Lecturers│

12Introducing Yasuokamura: Our Home Base
Data
Population of Yasuokamura
699 families, 1646 total population (as of September 1st, 2018)
Yasuoka Village Elementary School: 79 students
Yasuoka Village Middle School: 45 students

Learning to Cooperate
through Working
and Living Together
The children of Daidarabotchi are also
considered to be village members, so they
participate in local road-cleaning and help
families that lend their threshing machines toharvest the rice fields. Lending other villagers ahand when they need it is an important part oflife in Yasuokamura, and this gives the children
the opportunity to learn how to assist otherpeople in times of trouble.

Iida-Shimoina Area

Yasuokamura

Chubu-Tokai Region ~Nagano Prefecture

Chuo
Expressway

NaganoPrefecture

Yasuokamura is a village located in the Shimoina District in southern
Okaya JCT
Nagano Prefecture. The residential area is a deep valley that ranges
Suwa
Iida ICin altitude from the riverfront of the Tenryugawa River (320 m) to
Sonohara IC
Gifu
the foot of Mount Bungaizan (770 m).
Iidashi
AchimuraPrefecture
Yasuokamura has a population of around 1,700,
Shimojomura
Yasuokamura
Chuo
Tenryugawa
Iida
Expressway
Riverwith an aging population rate (residents 65 or older) of 39%.
Anancho
86% of Yasuokamura is covered in forest.
Komaki JCT
Toki JCT
Yasuokamura
Due to its valleys, arid land is abundant, while resources
Nagoyafor tourist attractions are limited. Because of this,JR Iida Line
Tenryumura
Aichi Prefecture
Shizuoka
Yasuokamura experienced an economic depression in the Edo period,
ToyotaJCT
IC:interchange(cloverleaf)*
Prefecture
paying its tribute to the feudal lord in timber instead of rice, which was traditional.
Yasuokamura is a typical remote mountain village about a five-hour drive from Tokyo,
along roads with no national highways, traffic signals, or convenience stores.
JR Tokaido Main Line
Tomei Expressway
The name of Yasuokamura ( 泰阜村 ) comes from “ 泰山丘阜 ,” which comes from a Chinese poem.
The character “ 泰 ”means “to dig a waterway with one’s own hands,”* JCT: highway junction
and “ 阜 ” means “abundant” or “prosperous.”

90% of the vegetables at the Kids’ Sanzoku
Camp are produced in Yasuokamura, andall of the firewood used for fueling stovesand heating bathwater is gathered locally byGreenwood students and local residents alike.
This kindness that we receive from villagers
helps to appreciate the value of nature’s
precious and bountiful blessings.

Learningfrom
Local Roots↑

MatsumotoMatsukawa IC

The Bounty of Nature

Village Elders Are
Village Exper ts
Sometimes hunters from the village comeback carrying deer or boar on their trucks andthen demonstrate how to butcher the animal.
At other times, nearby farmers come to checkout the rice fields where the students areworking and give them advice. Village elders
are all experts when it comes to village life,
and their wisdom teaches the children how tothink for themselves and live in harmony withnature.

Every Child is
The Village’s Child
When the children do something good,the villagers praise them, and when they dosomething bad, the villagers scold them. They
greet the children when they see them on
their way to school, and often attend events
both at their school and for Daidarabotchi. In
this way, they are always watching out for the
Daidarabotchi students.

Yasuokamura’s Cultural Climate
Never Greedy,
Even in Times of Pover ty
During the economic depression causedby the Showa Era Financial Crisis, a portion ofteachers’ salaries were used for the constructionof an educational art museum, with the thoughtthat the public should still support the future of
education. The people of Yasuokamura believethat no matter how scarce resources are, andno matter how difficult life is, people should
continue to cultivate a rich, pure spirit. Even inpoverty, we must not give in to greed. Respect forschools and academic study is also of the utmost
importance for Yasuokamura residents.

13│

Introducing Yasuokamura: Our Home BaseA Self-Reliant Village

A Mountain of Treasure /Village Living

Many cities, towns, and villages in Japandisappeared during the municipal mergers ofthe Heisei Era. During that time, Yasuokamura
residents voted to be self-reliant in their
management of regional af fairs. Currently,
endeavors such as road cleaning, parentteacher association activities, and thevillage athletic festival are all organized by
Yasuokamura residents in an effort to maintain aself-sufficient community.

Since mountain villages have not generally
been included in large-scale development
p l a n s , Ya s u o k a m u r a h a s b e e n e x c l u d e dfrom the process of urbanization, and thus its
residents have been able to preserve their rustic
way of living. They prepare their own charcoal,fashion tools out of bamboo and straw, andplow and till their own land. Thus, they havemaintained the culture of producing daily
necessities that has vanished from other areas.

Introducing Yasuokamura: Our Home Base│

14

New Possibilities Born from Regional Cooperation

Educational Activities in Yasuokamura
Nowadays, children from around the country come to Yasuokamura to camp,
and they praise the beauty of the river and the stars.
However, there was a time in the past when people left the village because they felt there was nothing there for them.
The population decreased rapidly, and the local culture was lost along the way.
The people of Yasuokamura grew up in a harsh but nurturing natural environment,
cultivating a local wisdom and culture in the process.
Though the village scenery is often trivialized and taken for granted, it is actually a great asset for the region.
Together with local residents, we are going to design educational activities that teach local children to be proud of
Yasuokamura and allow the region to continue nurturing its residents and enriching their lives.

A New Society Born from 30 Years of Effor t
Our initiative to bring new students to a mountain village started off small,but it has allowed us to gain the trust and praise of the local community.
The abilities and skills we have honed through our various projects are changing
the direction in which society will move.

1. Collaborations
with Yasuokamura
Building The Futurefrom The Ground Up

Anjane Suppor t School
Approximately twenty volunteers,
including school headmasters,
PTA members, and members of the village assembly,
will gather to brainstorm and implement events related to
local education. With their wisdom and skills,
people of different generations, ranging from young people
to senior members of the village, can assemble to discuss
early childhood education in Yasuokamura, as well as
what parents and local residents should be doing to support it.
This meeting supports the future of local children
and will change the future of the village itself.

Greenwood works to develop a promising future
for the children of Yasuokamura
through educational activities
and comprehensive strategies plannedin conjunction with the village leaders.
Selected List of Recent Endeavors
・Kids’ Afterschool Program Ittekimashita
・Yasuoka Adventure Team - Anjane Kids・Anjane Nature School
・Yasuoka Elementary/Middle School Nature Exploration Class・Training Programs at Anan High School in Nagano Prefecture
・Promotion of collaborative programs with Yasuokamura authorities
・Disaster relief efforts through education supported by Yasuokamura(Hanshin, Chuetsu, Eastern Japan, Kumamoto, etc.)

2. Collaborations with National, Prefectural,and Other Local Organizations
Sharing Our Methods
We want to spread and communicate to as many people
as we can the methods, skills, and values regarding safety,
public relations, management, and staff trainingthat we see as the core of “education.”
Selected List of Recent Endeavors
National・Morisato Kawaumi Project Subcommittee Member (Ministry of the Environment)
・Promotion, management and operations of Tenryugawa Cooperative Learning Center (MLIT)
Prefectural
・Nagano Prefecture ‘School Camp’ Leader Training Courses /On-site training for Nature-based Education programs
Local Organizations
・Sharing our know-how with Hita City, Nakatsue District (Oita Prefecture, Hita City)
・Advising Fukui City, Miyama District on project management (Fukui Prefecture, Fukui City)

3. Collaborations
with Universities
College Students Learn from Our Programs
We offer lessons that make sense to our students by drawing upon
our actual experiences and accepting interns and trainees,
as well as by turning our camp volunteer program, village events,and local activities into places where young people can learn.
Selected List of Recent Affiliates
・Sugiyama Jogakuen University
・Hokkaido University of Education
・Nagoya College
・Housei University
・Kanto Gakuin University
・Tsuru University
・Osaka University of Health and Sport Sciences
・Japan Women's College of Physical Education

Yasuoka Adventure Team
Anjane Kids
A field trip for older students of the
Yasuoka nursery school is held six times
every year. This program was created sothat children could enjoy themselves while
playing in the mountains of the former
school forest, climbing mountains in thevillage, and playing in the river.

Anjane Nature School
This nature experience activity, which
is aimed at elementary school students inthe village, is carried out once a month. By
conducting activities that focus on different
aspects of the village, such as its naturalenvironment, culture, history, industry, andlifestyle, local residents assume the role ofteacher and explain the many charms of
Yasuokamura to the children.

Other projects Yasuoka Elementary School Nature Immersion Programs (River Safety Instructors)
Anan High School’s social welfare course includes field training at Yasuokamura.

15│

Educational Activities in Yasuokamura

Kids’ Af terschool
Program Ittekimashita
This ongoing project was commissioned
by Yasuokamura to provide af ter-school
childcare. Aimed at dual-income families,
It tekimashita offers a space that allows
children to play safely and without worry.
Not only does this space help children get
to know each other and build their own“society,” but also helps them develop
independence and serves as a place where
they can learn about their village’s naturalenvironment and culture.
* Ittekimashita means “I’m back!”in the dialect of the Shimoina region.

5. Spreading A New Set of Values
Greenwood’s Esteemed Education Methods
and Spreading A New Set of Values
The appreciation we have received over the past 30 years and the informationthat we have spread through the media have given Yasuokamura a renewed value,
and this has had a ripple effect on other regions as well.

4. Hitoneru for The Next Generation
Greenwood Students Nur ture the Next
Generation and Build Future Communities
Staff members who graduate from Greenwood go on to be
active in their communities and contribute to the future of society
and education. Former campers also come back as volunteers
and staff members, contributing to our rich and multi-layered organizationthat transcends both generation and region.
Recent Endeavors
・GIA Hitoneru Academy
Yohei Sato (Oita Prefecture)・Natural Living School Tetsunagu
Kenta Katayama, Kaoruko Katayama (Nagasaki City, Nagasaki Prefecture)・Hometown Pride Network
Ryosuke Ikeda (Yoron Island, Kagoshima Prefecture)

Selected List of Our 21 Total Awards
・2012 Regional Development Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications Award・13th Annual (2009) RINRI Institute of Ethics Award, MEXT Award
・58th Annual (2009) Yomiuri Shimbun Educational Award - Top Prize in Rural Social Education
・37th Annual (2006) Hakuho Foundation Juvenile Education Promotion Committee Prize
in Educational Revitalization
・2006 Yasuokamura Mayor’s Prize

Selected List of Our Media Appearances
NPO Greenwood has appeared in over 820 magazines, newspapers,
documentaries and TV programs, including four separate programs broadcast
by the Japan Broadcasting Corporation and articles on Nikkei Kids Plus,
AERA with Kids, the Asahi Shimbun, Yomiuri Shimbun, the Mainichi Shimbun,
Sankei Shimbun, Tokyo Shimbun, Shinano Mainichi Shimbun, Chunichi Shimbun,
Minami Shinshu Shimbun, Shinshu Nippo, Mapple Magazine,
and the official government publication CabiNet.
* Shimbun means newspaper.

A New Society Born from 30 Years Of Effort│

16

The Anjane Forest

GREENWOOD MAP
Mount Omine

Tenryugawa River

Sakyogawa Campground
The Mamebotchi
and Ittekimashita House

Daily Life Café
Itadakimashita

FieldsRokken HouseThe Chicken Coop
The Daidarabotchi
Main Building

The Climbing Kiln
Anjane Nature School
and Pottery Studio

Goemon Baths
Restrooms

Charcoal Kiln

painting: Kei Oogoshi

NPO GREENWOOD
6342-2 Yasuoka-mura Shimoina-gun
Nagano 399-1801 Japan
Tel: 0260-25-2851 Fax: 0260-25-2850
E-mail: info@greenwood.or.jp
www.greenwood.or.jp

Translated by
Kathleen Cyr
Yanchao Dai
Yiyao Ding
Jenny Do
Shane Healy
Kylie Winger
Shan Zeng
Department of Japanese Studies,
Middlebury College
Thanks to Middlebury College faculty members
Masahiro Takahashi, Stephen Snyder, and Akiyo Sasaki for their guidance,
and Yoshiko Aiba for proofreading
Designed by Fumiki Tomioka
Painted by Raku Tomioka