Welcome to Scarecrow Village

(REUTERS/Thomas Peter)Tsukimi Ayano, the 65-year-old Wizard of Oz in this land of puppets, made her first scarecrow 13 years ago. It was an inspiration born of necessity — to ward off the birds that flocked to her garden. When she finished stitching together the garden's new protector, Ayano realized she'd made a scarecrow with a striking resemblance to her father.

(REUTERS/Thomas Peter)

(REUTERS/Thomas Peter)

(REUTERS/Thomas Peter) Like many of Japan's small, rural communities, Nagoro is slowly losing its residents to cities, leaving behind only the retirees. In 2012, Nagoro's only school shut down, after its two pupils graduated. The building is far from deserted, though; Ayano simply set up new pupils, on whom she checks when she makes her daily rounds through the village.

(REUTERS/Thomas Peter)

(REUTERS/Thomas Peter)

(REUTERS/Thomas Peter) The scarecrows are everywhere now: plowing an empty field; watching over the post office; even hopping on a bicycle near the outskirts of town. It can be a little unnerving, but Ayano's rather macabre creations have given the town some much-needed attention. And the tourists that are beginning to travel to see the "Scarecrow Village" can count on a personal tour from Ayano — provided, she says, that they do not arrive when her television soap operas air.

(REUTERS/Thomas Peter)

(REUTERS/Thomas Peter)

(REUTERS/Thomas Peter)