This Village In Japan Replaces Deceased Residents With Creepy, Life-Sized Dolls

There’s a village in Japan that’s like a real-life Cabbage Patch Kids universe and, if you don’t believe it, Google Maps will prove it.

The small village of Nagoro has only 37 living inhabitants, including 64-year-old artist Ayano Tsukimi. But the rural town on Shikoku, Japan is also home to as many as 350 life-sized dolls, made by Tsukimi, all of which you can see on Google Maps’ Street View.

According to Global Post, Tsukimi began sewing and dressing the dolls about 10 years ago to replace neighbors, family and friends who have moved away or died. The artist said she moved back from Osaka and started to rebuild her hometown, placing the dolls around town to mimic real-life scenes.

She said she’s made about 350 dolls, which The Asahi Shimbun called “kakashi,” in 10 years, most of which need to be replaced every three years. Thrillist reported Tsukimi now replaces every person who dies or moves away with a doll, putting them in a place that was important to the subject while alive.

There are even some stuffed dolls to represent people she knew. The first doll was constructed to look like Tsukimi’s father and was initially intended to be used as a scarecrow.

Tsukimi also made one to look like herself.

“I only think about the dolls”, Tsukimi said the documentary, “Valley of Dolls," by German student Fritz Schumann. “They are like my children”.

The Global Post reported Tsukimi hopes to draw tourists to Nagoro to capture photos of the town inhabited by dolls.

But, if the village of Nagoro is too far away, Google Street View shows the dolls all over town in their natural habitat: sitting in desks at school, working in the fields, sitting on porches and even getting married.

Here are some of the creepiest, coolest images we found on Street View of the dolls in Nagoro.