Village Invites Crows as 'Honored Guests,' Faces Zero Harvest and Food Crisis. Survives Winter Thanks to 'Relief Supplies' from Crows.

Declaring 'Harvest Joy for All Living Beings,' the village removed all scarecrows and escorted crows to VIP seats. Predictably, the fields were emptied, but days later, a massive pile of nuts appeared in front of the village hall. 'This is their way of returning the favor,' the mayor tearfully expressed gratitude, and villagers are now surviving the winter on food graciously provided by the crows.

2025-11-06

Translations: JA

Culture Kaleidoscope

Village Invites Crows as 'Honored Guests,' Faces Zero Harvest and Food Crisis. Survives Winter Thanks to 'Relief Supplies' from Crows.

Declaring “Harvest Joy for All Living Beings,” the village removed all scarecrows and escorted crows to VIP seats. Predictably, the fields were emptied, but days later, a massive pile of nuts appeared in front of the village hall. “This is their way of returning the favor,” the mayor tearfully expressed gratitude, and villagers are now surviving the winter on food graciously provided by the crows.

Midori Village, a depopulated mountain settlement, is now attracting worldwide attention. The catalyst was the “All Life Forms Inclusive Agriculture Promotion Ordinance,” commonly known as the “Crow Guest Law,” passed by the village council this spring. This unprecedented ordinance redefines crows, long treated as “pest birds,” as “winged neighbors,” with the aim of sharing the village’s agricultural produce with them.

Mayor Yoshiyoshi Suzuki (68), the driving force behind the initiative, passionately argued in the council: “For humans alone to monopolize the bounty of the land is nothing but species arrogance. True coexistence blooms only beyond relationships of giving and receiving.” As the first step, all scarecrows—“symbols of exclusion and discrimination”—were removed from the fields without exception. Instead, signs reading “Rest Area for Honored Crows” and water stations were installed to respectfully welcome their black-winged guests.

The results followed ornithologists’ predictions to the letter. The fields at harvest time literally became a “festival scene.” The village’s specialty corn and tomatoes were devoured in an instant by the sharp-beaked gourmands, and the autumn harvest festival transformed into a “Zero Harvest Report Meeting.” Needless to say, smiles disappeared from the villagers’ faces.

However, several days after the entire village had sunk to the brink of despair, events took an unexpected turn. Early one morning, an enormous pile of walnuts, acorns, and for some reason shiny beer bottle caps and glass shards were discovered in front of the village hall.

“Behold! This is their return gift!” Mayor Suzuki exclaimed with a trembling voice before the “presents” illuminated by dawn’s light. “Our sincerity has reached their hearts across species!” This emotionally moving (or perhaps overly hopeful) interpretation by the mayor instantly captured the hearts of villagers who had no other food to rely on.

Currently, in Midori Village, nuts labeled “Relief Supplies from Honored Crows” are being distributed equally among villagers. Stones for cracking hard walnuts have been issued to each household, and children play pretend using glass shards as new currency. The village is seriously considering establishing a “Crow Bank,” and the planting plan for next spring will be “decided in consultation with the Honored Crows.”

Regarding this peculiar symbiotic relationship, Professor Tadashi Washio of the Toto University Avian Ecology Research Institute offers a calm analysis: “Crows have a habit called ‘caching behavior’ where they store prey in safe places. It’s highly likely that the area in front of the village hall was simply recognized as a convenient giant pantry for them.” However, he added with implications: “Regardless of intent, if food exchange is being established as a result, this could be an extremely rare form of interspecies economy.”

Is this a miracle born of human idealism, or a grand misunderstanding? Above Midori Village today, black guests continue to circle as if appraising something. Their “caw” sounds to the villagers like “you’re welcome.”

Stakeholder Comments

Mayor Yoshiyoshi Suzuki: “Sincerity transcends species! I can’t stop crying at the warmth of our crow friends. This is true diverse coexistence!”
Villager A (78 years old): “Well, walnuts have more bite than corn, but beggars can’t be choosers.”
Crow Representative (Ka-suke): “(Caw caw!) Translation: That plaza is perfect for storing winter reserves. Recently, humans keep taking them though.”
Removed Scarecrow: “When I was here, at least we could eat corn…”
Professor Washio (Avian Ecology): “Their behavior is rational. The human interpretation is extremely creative, shall we say.”
Neighboring Village Mayor: “We’ve decided to introduce state-of-the-art bird netting in our fields. This was very instructive.”
Urban Influencer: “So moved by this beautiful relationship with nature! We must spread #MidoriVillageModel to the world! Must make a hometown tax donation!”
Walnut: “Never thought I’d be assigned the important role of ‘relief supplies.’”
Village Child: “I’m already tired of walnut bread for school lunch… I want tomatoes.”
Field Soil: “Honestly, I have no idea what I’ll be forced to grow next year.”

International Expressions

Haiku

Bountiful harvest / Yielded to the birds / We eat only shells
Scarecrows departed / Guests satisfied their fill / Black-hearted indeed
Return gift or not / Just a storage spot perhaps / Winter sky above
Coexistence ideals / At the end of the path / Hard nuts to crack
Crows cawing out / Mayor nodding in agreement / A sacred pact made
Black-feathered wings / Believed to be blessings / Preparing for winter
Zero harvest yield / New economy is born / From this strange day
Goodwill, I learned / Means to starve one’s belly / This truth now known
Glass shard fragments / Village currency perhaps / Before the snowfall
Mockery or mercy / In their voices, who can say / Migrating birds call

Kanji / Chinese Characters

鳥賓客招待村収穫皆無食糧難鳥支援物資冬越全命収穫喜村宣言案山子全撤去畑空数日後村役場前大量木実彼返礼品村長涙感謝村民今鳥恵食料糊口凌

Emoji

🧑‍🌾🤝🐦➡️🌾=0️⃣➡️😭➡️🐦🎁🌰✨➡️🥹🙏

Onomatopoeia

Caw-caw-caw! Rustle-rustle… Crunch-crunch, munch-munch. Silence… Thud-thud-thud… Sparkle-sparkle! Waaah-waaah! Gulp. Crack-crack, crunch-crunch. Clap-clap (applause).