Oddities

Town where a baby is born every 52 years

HQ (synthesis) November 8, 2024 14:08

A small town in Kaneyama, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan held a party to celebrate the birth of a 1-year-old girl named Tara, who was the first baby born in the town in 52 years.

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Dai and Emi's children on a Japanese TV show. Photo: Japan Today

The mountain town of Kaneyama has fewer than 2,000 people. Of that, Tarabu village has just 12 households and the last recorded birth was 52 years ago.

So when Dai and Emiko Aonuma's baby was born, it became a huge event.

Dai and Emi are both non-locals. Dai is from Yamanashi Prefecture, while Emi grew up in Kanagawa. However, they met in Tarabu when Dai arrived in the community in 2020 while traveling across the country in a van.

They married in the summer of 2023 and their daughter was born in November of that year. Emi gave birth at home with the help of a midwife.

Dai and her husband named their daughter Tara, after the village of Tarabu. The villagers, mostly elderly, showered her with affection. Tara was loved and cared for unconditionally by the “local grandmothers”. The market women took turns looking after Tara when her parents were busy, and the elders always brought her delicious local food that was considered good for children. Another woman who moved to the community even became Tara’s personal hairdresser, cutting her hair when necessary, as there was currently no hairdressing salon for children in the area.

According to local media, Tara may have a very special childhood, but many people are also worried that she will not have a childhood with her peers when surrounded by "grandmothers".

However, her parents hope that her childhood will be filled with warm connections to the community, and that is a feeling that her neighbors want to share with her.

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Town where a baby is born every 52 years