On November 22nd and 23rd, 2025, a hands-on experience harvesting thatch, the material used to make thatched roofs, was held at Kayabuki-no-Sato, a Nationally Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings in Miyama Town, Nantan City, Kyoto Prefecture. Participants experienced the hard work of harvesting thatch alongside local residents and reflected on the history of preserving the landscape.
The thatch harvesting is carried out annually by the local Kyoto Miyama Kitamura Thatched Village Preservation Society, but in recent years, due to the aging population and depopulation, the society has struggled with a labor shortage.
Following on from last year, the Kaya-Camp Miyama Steering Committee, made up of young people in their 20s who live and work in the town, planned the event to coincide with the local thatch harvest. Sixteen people gathered over the two-day event, from Osaka, Fukui, and elsewhere.
On the first day, participants joined local residents in cutting the thatch with sickles and tying it into bundles with straw rope. The bundles were then propped up in a cone shape to dry, creating a "kaya mound." They will be left to dry in the sun until next spring, when they will be used for re-thatching and repairing thatched roofs.
Yoshinari Tabuchi (59 years old), an organization employee from Ibaraki City, Osaka Prefecture, who was captivated by the Miyama scenery during a drive, wiped the sweat from his brow as he said, "Harvesting kaya was hard work. I got to experience firsthand the history and efforts of the local community to protect the landscape."
