Owner Masako Ohmi with her husband Yasutada
HÏSOM代表 近江雅子さん。夫の康忠さんと
Masako Ohmi, originally from Gotsu, a neighbouring town of Hiso and Yunotsu, returned to Shimane from Tokyo with her husband and two daughters in 2013. That’s when she discovered and fell in love with the beautiful hidden village of Hiso. Her journey to resettle in Shimane was not so easy at the beginning. Her husband could not help but miss his life in Tokyo. Living in the rural town of Shimane meant that it was not easy for her family to keep up with the lifestyle they had enjoyed in the city.
But Masako knew that she was in the right place. She believed that she could make Hiso a new paradise; not just for her family, but also for other people who had never been to the village. In 2018, she decided to rent one of the old Japanese houses and convert it into a modern guest house. In the following year, after months of negotiating with neighbours, she finally opened the guest house HÏSOM.
Now her husband and family share her vision and she is continuing with her dream to bring new life to the beautiful village of Hiso.
Masako is a visionary and explorer who always finds hidden treasures and their keepers.
近江雅子さんは、温泉津・日祖地域の隣のまちである江津出身。2013年に夫と２人の娘と共に東京から島根に戻った。日祖という場所を見つけたのは、戻った時だったという。美しく、ひっそり佇む集落に惚れこんでしまったそうだ。島根に戻ってきたての頃は、苦労も少なくなかった。夫はどうしても東京の生活が恋しくなってしまったようだ。都会での生活に慣れてしまった家族にとって、島根での田舎暮らしは新しい挑戦だった。
しかし、彼女は居るべき場所にいると信じて疑わなかった。日祖を新しいパラダイスにできるという信念があった。家族のためだけでなく、まだ日祖に来たことがない人たちにとっても。そして2018年、雅子さんは日祖の古民家を一軒借りて、モダンなゲストハウスに改装することを決めた。その後、近隣の住民たちへ説明を経て、少しずつ理解と協力者を獲得した。翌年ついにゲストハウスHÏSOMを開業。
今は夫や家族ともヴィジョンを共有し、彼女は日祖の美しい集落に新しい息吹を吹き込むという夢の実現に向けて、前進中。雅子さんはビジョナリーであり、未だ知られざる宝物を発見し、その宝物を守る人たちと出会うことができる冒険家だ。
Text by Maki Nakata
Photography by Edward Hames
