ここイモリ谷はどこにでもあるいわゆる中山間地の田舎です。
しかしながらここ最近、住んでる人が楽しそうです。
子供から年寄りまで。

若者、馬鹿者、よそ者、退職後のUターン者がいるからでしょうか？
このHPの英文訳は町外在住のイモリ谷出身者がしてくれています。
イモリ谷ソングを作ってくれる県外在住イモリ谷出身者がいます。

個人で開設した加工場（パン、まんじゅう、漬け物、総菜、こんにゃく）
も５許可４件できました。

むら全体が静かに動いています。
４０年後（ちなみに私が７５歳）もこんな状況だと楽しいな、炭焼きしながら
若い衆といっぱい飲みながら、ばかいいながら・・・・。

ちなみに写真に映っているやらせっぽい女の子は
実はほんとにトラクターに乗って家の田んぼの手伝いするんですよ！！
２０代で独身です！！

２００３．２．２０　大分合同新聞朝刊より記事の抜粋

   We Are Happy.               (Feb.23,  ’03)

 We, inhabitants of Matumoto Imoridani, are happy and proud. Take a look at the Feb. 2oth issue of Oita ?godo Newspaper, and you will see why.

 The article is titled ‘ Just About to Leap Forward.’  The other caption is “ Matumoto Imoridani, Ajimu Town ? the First Prize in the section of Village Building in the field of Agriculture in Oita Prefecture.”

 Here’ a rundown of the article.

 Matumoto area in Ajimu Town is a small 58-house hamlet with 34 hectares of rice fields, but the power of the people there is dynamic. They organize and manage several events in a year for the purpose, they insist, of enjoying themselves but on some occasions more than 200 people from other places crowd into the valley.

 This kind of solidarity among the people has been brought about by their active engagement in farming.  In May, 2000, they formed the hamlet farming association, which was the first of its kind in the town.  Their activities include joint ownership of farm machinery, transferring the staple grain from rice to soybean, taking care of farmlands left uncultivated by farmers who have grown too old, and the like.

 A tofu maker in Oita City opened a store called “Mame-no-chikaraya last July and sells tofu made of soybean only from Matumoto,  because he says soybean there is the most tasty.  In his store consumers can get vegetables and processed foods brought directly from Matumoto.  Mr. Nakatsuru, who settled in the hamlet as a new farmer 12 years ago and now manages Mame-no-chikara, hopes for communication and interchange to develop between consumers and Imoridani people.

 Their Home Page in Internet tells us about their events, farm produce, places of interest and news of the people.  It receives kind and encouraging responses.

 The elders there are proud of their energetic young.  Mr. Ifuku, headman of the hamlet, hopes for further development and is studying a new way of managing the farmlands.