HOICHI-no-Hoshi-Imo｜The People Supporting Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System
HOICHI-no-Hoshi-Imo (Higashi Miyoshi Town) Hoichi village in Higashi Miyoshi town is located in the middle of the Asan Mountains on the northern bank of the Yoshino River. The specialty products produced in this small village by approximately a dozen residents create a lively atmosphere for the community. One of the specialty products is “HOICHI-no-Hoshi-Imo,” dried sweet potatoes produced using traditional methods. Mr. Kikuo Yamakawa, a representative of HOICHI-no-Hoshi-Imo LLC, is responsible for producing and selling these dried sweet potatoes.Mr. Yamakawa is from Shikokuchuo City in Ehime Prefecture and has worked at mass merchandise stores in Ehime and Tokushima for approximately 30 years. At one time, Mr. Takemasa Ueta, who produced […]
Shinji Taguchi｜The People Supporting Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System
Shinji Taguchi (Higashi Miyoshi Town) Izumino village is located in a mountainous area with a view of the Higashi Miyoshi town plain field. Mr. Shinji Taguchi returned from another prefecture and started his farm.He worked for electrical and precision machinery-related companies in Ehime and Tochigi Prefectures. However, he decided to retire early and returned to his hometown, Higashi Miyoshi town, three years ago.As his family initially worked in the agricultural industry, he grew vegetables throughout the year in his family’s fields. He sells freshly picked vegetables at local markets and wholesales them to the “Mikamo Café” in Higashi Miyoshi Town.This café serves salads and pastas made of fresh vegetables harvested […]
Handa Dried Persimmon Division｜The People Supporting Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System
Tsurugi Town Dried Persimmon Group (Tsurugi Town) Atago persimmons are widely cultivated in the mountainous areas of Handa in the town of Tsurugi. Farmers in the Hiraraishi district gather to produce dried Atago persimmons, which are sold at roadside stations and are gaining popularity. Sericulture was popular in Handa. However, the cultivation of Atago persimmons has increased instead of gradually declining. Today, 50–60 farmers cultivate Atago persimmons, and this region is one of the leading producers in Shikoku. Four farmers in the Hiraraishi district gathered to form the Tsurugi town-dried persimmon group. Dried persimmons were processed from December to the end of February after finishing the harvest. Every person brings their Atago […]
Haruki Nishiokada and Setsuko Nishiokada｜The People Supporting Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System
Haruki Nishiokada and Setsuko Nishiokada (Tsurugi Town) Mr. and Mrs. Nishiokada's farm in Sadamitsu Sarukai in Tsurugi is a symbolic place for Nishi Awa's steep-slope farming. They grow kidney beans in summer and buckwheat in fall. It is also a famous tourist farm because of the beauty of the valley at the bottom of its steep slopes and the surrounding mountains. They value local agricultural culture as much as cultivation. That is the traditional event "Oinokosan."Oinokosan" is a traditional event held on the first day of the boar in October of the lunar calendar as a prayer for plentiful harvests and family safety. There has long been a tradition of […]
Yoshinobu Amata｜The People Supporting Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System
Yoshinobu Amata (Koyadaira, Mima City) Koyadaira in Mima City, located at the foot of Mount Tsurugisan, is known as the yuzum-producing area. Mr. Yoshinobu Amata officially began yuzu cultivation in Koyadaira. When sericulture declined in 1963, he focused on cultivating Yuzu because it sold at a high price. At first, it was said that Koyadaira was unsuitable for yuzu cultivation; however, the cultivation was successful and spread throughout Koyadaira. In the middle of 1975, the price of Yuzu was sometimes as high as JPY 6,000–JPY 7,000 for a box of 12. However, prices began to fall, reaching approximately 60 yen per kilogram, when it was cheapest in 1985. Mr. Amata […]
Norouchi Vegetable Processing and Producing Association｜The People Supporting Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System
Norouchi Vegetable Processing and Production Association (Ikeda Town in Miyoshi City) The Kaminoro district of Ikeda town in Miyoshi City is located in the mountains at an altitude of 400–500 m above sea level. The area was originally a prosperous agricultural area where leaf tobacco was cultivated, and tomatoes and other summer vegetables are now grown in the area. In the Kaminoro district, 22 farm households have formed a vegetable processing and production association called " Aikurushii Yum-Yum" to revitalize an area that is losing vitality due to depopulation, aging of the population, and increasing abandonment of cultivated land. The product is a powder made from dried vegetables that cannot […]
Higashi-Iya Millet Products Association｜The People Supporting Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System
Higashi-Iya Millet Products Association (Higashi-Iya in Miyoshi City) The Iya region of Miyoshi city is among the three unexplored regions of Japan. In this region, indigenous millets have been cultivated with buckwheat and other crops. One of the most valuable indigenous millets cultivated in this region is "Yatsumata (Finger millet)." Yatsumata (Finger millet) belongs to the grass family and is native to Eastern Africa. In Japan, it was cultivated mainly in mountainous regions such as Shikoku. Nowadays, it is popular as a superfood owing to its high nutritional value. People in Higashi-Iya have made considerable efforts to preserve Yatsumata. A man, who was the only producer of Yatsumata in Higashi-Iya, […]
Masumi Yoshida｜The People Supporting Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System
Masumi Yoshida (Anabuki Town in Mima City / Ni to Ha・ruche CAHOA) The popular café ruche, CAHOA, is located in Anabuki Town, Mima City. Mrs. Masumi Yoshida owns this café, and her teenagers are popular among customers locally and from other prefectures. In 2019, she launched a project that covered everything from tea cultivation to commercialization because she wanted to pass on local tea, which has long been cultivated extensively in mountainous areas, to the next generation. She organized a "Ni to Ha" group with about ten local people in their 30s and 40s who agreed to participate in the project. They borrow a tea farm from Mr. Yasuo Koizumi, […]
Masao Kinoshita｜The People Supporting Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System
Masao Kinoshita ( Higashi Miyoshi Town, Guest House, Uribou ) Mr Kinoshita has been an office worker for nearly 40 years. He has been managing guesthouses for approximately six years. It has become so famous that nearly 500 people visit annually for overnight stays, tours, and agricultural experiences. Mr. Kinoshita's daily routine appears busy. For example, "In winter, I patrol wild boar traps, check mountain roads, work in fields, and maintain farm equipment. I spend more time farming because of the longer daylight hours in summer. No time to rest when I welcome guests because I need to prepare for their dinner." However, he seemed happy to enjoy living there. He said, […]
Chiyoko Yamamoto and Yasuo Koizumi｜The People Supporting Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System
Chiyoko Yamamoto and Yasuo Koizumi (Anabuki Town in Mima City / Farmer's Guest House Yamamotoya) We arrived at Fuchimyou after driving about 40 minutes from the Wakimachi InterChange. Although this village is mountainous, the slope is gentler in many places than in other areas. The farmer's guest house, "Yamamotoya," is run by an energetic mother. She is Mr. Koizumi's younger sister and the head of this area's community association. She returned to Mima from Osaka, where she had lived for many years, and started a second life in the family home where she was born and raised. She said, "Children who come to experience farming say that the vegetables grown […]
Yoko Ando｜The People Supporting Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System
Yoko Ando (Higashi-Miyoshi Town / Guest House Ando) "Guest House Ando (also known as Anchan's house)" is located 460 meters above sea level in Higashi-Miyoshi Town and has welcomed many guests from Japan and abroad in response to the call for hands-on educational tours and tourism projects conducted by "General Incorporated Association Sora no Sato." From Japanese urban junior high school and high school students to international exchange, children and adults from Cambodia, Malaysia, Korea, Taiwan, and other countries can come here. They experience seasonal farm work and taste local cuisine with lots of vegetables from here. "When I show them around by car, at first, everyone is surprised to […]