Ex-Workers Create Diorama From A Lonely Death Room

Miyu Kojima aged 27 years old and previous works for a company that cleans up after kodokushi (孤独死) or lonely deaths: a Japanese phenomenon of people dying alone and remaining undiscovered for a long period of time.

She has released her first book a series of Diorama kodokushi rooms she has cleaned in the past. In 5 years, she has already cleaned, on average 300 rooms per year. Her book, titled Toki ga Tomatta Heya (the room where time stopped), containing photos of her work and several personal views from her. Kojima says, and it takes around three months to create three rooms.

For her next project, she plans to introduce a different medium into her creations, something to also celebrate the lives of those who have died in the rooms that she helps clean. “I’m thinking of projecting 3D images of people moving in my models to show that despite the way they may have died, these people all led regular lives,” she ends.