2005/10/3 Rape-seeds planting and Rural life Internship

�T planted rape-seeds in the morning today. Whenever or whatever �T plant, �T have both expectation and anxiety. �T say latter is always stronger. �T recalled that the series of typhoon made me re-plant rape-seeds again and again last year. Hyakusho’s (farmers) life depend 100% on the grace of nature. All �Tcan do is to pray for good crops. �T reduced the rape-seeds area greatly to the level of mere self-sufficient. The labor is almost the same whether the area is big or small, but �T feel easier. That’s the point. Thus �T can do as �T feel like to do. �T think that’s the charm of being a self-sufficient farmer. If �T did farming for money, �T couldn’t do like this. No money, but no debts. �T don’t want to be a part of money-centered world, though it might sound like a poor man just being jealous.

�T’m planning a program in November, titled” The Internship of Rural Life(＊)”. �T did same program for students in August, and this time it’s for adults. There’re similar programs in many rural parts of Japan and most of them are local- government-supported. As for this program, Kyoiku-Gakusya (That’s a name of my NPO, but actually it’s my private activity.) is co-operating with Wakayama−University.

It’s going to be a good program, but what’s most difficult for me to decide was the price. Those kind of programs for three days generally cost around 20,000 yen, but �T made it 40,000 yen per person. Anybody said that’s so expensive that nobody would come. �T, too think it might be so. On the other hand, �T can’t help feeling funny about myself, converting what �T do into money and thinking this and that about the price. One part of me says,” �Twant to be free from the  money-centered world.” , and the other part of me is caring too much about money. The price has no reason, because the value of this kind of things can never be converted into money. Any price is OK. If it were only for me, �T would never have trouble deciding. But when �T work with people, �T always care this and that even it’s unnecessary. When you start some movement, you are always with a risk to hurt yourself and others. �T knew that well and �T started a movement again. �T wonder if it’s the burden of my karma.

From this 1^st of October, our old Kumanogawa-town became one of the districts of Shingu-city by the union in the course of local-government-reform. But no proper greeting or announce came from the new city to its citizen. Paying taxes just the same and say nothing seems to be a required attitude of good citizen.

(＊)The word “ Internship” is started to use for various meanings in Japan, apart from its original meaning. In this case, we use “Internship” just as “ getting some experiences of rural life”.

2005/10/1 Fire celebration

“Is it already October? “ What �T think at the beginning of the month is always like this. It will go same way as �T get older, and get sick someday, and until finally get going from this world.Yesterday, 10 college students and their teacher who helped construction of the clay oven over the camp last August came together again and spent one night at Sikiya School. We made the first fire in our oven and celebrate its completion. Fire gathers people around it and makes them relax. Fire makes foods tasty, too. Woods fire is completely deferent from gas or kerosene fire. It has natural warmth, natural smell and taste.�T think each students have got something from it. It wasn’t very easy to make this oven, but now �T’m really thankful to anyone to have finished making this. This oven will give many people an impressive memory as the symbol of this school and our activity. Fire and knives are the fundamental things that make us human being. They will do either harm or good depending on the way you use them.My hope is to learn and pass on the wisdom of our ancestors who knew how to make good use of fire and knives.

2005/9/27 the essay contest

The season has come to announce our annual essay contest on the issue of INAKA, or rural areas. (It’s just 1-year-old contest.) Last year, the first contest, it was for students only, but this time anybody of 30 years old and under can enter it. �T’m looking forward to seeing how many youth will enter this contest, held by no big company, no academic organization, but just an old farmer lives in a small rural village. This was originally my idea. �T can put my ideas like this into practice because �T have some good friends who have good heads on their shoulders to help me. Connections between people are always mysterious and wonderful.

The other day, 6 students of same seminar of Wakayama University came to Sikiya School. They wanted to deepen friendship among the members by having camp there. All of them were honest and sincere. Some of them said they got impressed because they’d never been in such rural atmosphere. Whatever the purposes were, �T would be glad to have young people set their foot in and get interested in rural areas.

Speaking of young people, one young Lower House member who was elected in the recent election has been the topic of the media by his careless words.�T don’t know exactly what he said, but �T think he represents some facts of the results of this election. Only shameless people follow the shameless boss. His young follower is just more open than his boss, but what’s in mind would be much the same. Proverb says like father, like son. So like a boss, like his people.

The clay oven in the Sikiya School yard is nearly finished. Some of the students who helped construction are coming on this 30^th, so �T’m working to get ready to make the first fire in it on that day. �T’m looking forward to talking with them around the fire.

When �T work in the school yard, some of the neighbor old men often come to observe what �T do, and sometimes they give me a teach. They are worth listening to. The other day’s teach was, ‘ If you got angry once, you would shorten your life for three seconds. Get angry often if you want to die early.” �T wonder how many years of my life �T’ve already lost by being angry. �T wish to live long by laughing. But there’s another proverb, saying, “ The longer you live, the more shame you suffer.” Hmm….

2005/09/20 The clay oven
As for the clay oven we’re making in the schoolyard of Sikiya School, we’ve finished second clay coating and are waiting it to dry enough for final coating.  Now, I gather the material to roof over it. �T’d like to make it with natural materials as mush as �Tcan. �T’m going to use local thinned wood as log pillars, and roof it with bamboos. �T’ve got plentyof dried thinned woods from one of my friends already. And�T started to cut bamboos. If you cut them now, they would last long. If �T use some artificial materials, �T would save my time but �T have to buy them. When �T do it myself, �T have to spend lots of my time, cutting down bamboos, bringing them to the school yard, cutting them lengthwise into half, removing joints, and arranging them carefully because all are deferent in size and shape. But, �T don’t need money for that. There are two ways. Selling your time to somebody to get money and buy things . Or, using your time yourself to make things instead of buying. We are all taught that we have to do the former to live in this world, and believe so without thinking. Many people sell their time to get money. As �T’m a “Hyakusho(＊)”, or a farmer, �T can use my time as �T please. That’s the charm of being a farmer. At least �T believe so. �T’m proud of being free and independent, and enjoy living on very small income with various ideas. 

2005/09/17 Government likes English

People of prefectural government came to our place to explain about the project called “ Scenic Byway”. (They are using this English name as the name of their project, although it’s written in Katakana.)
According to them, it started in US and the central government (the Ministry of Land, infrastructure and Transportation) is going to copy it in our country. Apart from what it is,�T think it’s a problem that government people like to use English words. They just import some ideas from US and don’t try to translate its name into Japanese. Is Japan a US colony? Taking it that way, �T could understand their attitude.
Today, one of our neighbors who is really good at catching AYU (the name of fish) took me to the river and taught me how-to. All he uses is a scoop net, 40 cm wide and with 2 m long thin bamboo handle. His way is like this. Put a net into a certain point in shallow and wait for a few minutes. After finishing one point, go upstream to a next point. Sure he is a great AYU catcher, it’s like a magic how a lot of AYU rush into his net. �T caught only five. Sense of finding AYU pass is the key. No theory. The more you do it, the better your sense will be. Simple thing is likely to be profound. Thank him for another river enjoyment. 

2005/09/12 After the election

The Lower House election is over. As for this area, we have seen no campaign car coming, no campaign movement. Candidates seemed to look at people in cities only, not to think important of rural area. Yet �T didn’t waste my right to vote. Democracy is number, so minority opinions are always ignored. Unfavorable winds toward rural area might become even stronger. Quantity is important of course, but quality should be considered first. Better improve one’s own ability to judge things and act. We need wisdom to sail against unfavorable winds. It’s no use relying on people who cluster around the power to seek only their own interests. �T’m not a specialist of physiognomy, but still, �T can’t help thinking Mr. Koizumi is ill looking.
�T mow and fertilize my farm land everyday in the lingering summer heat. That’s all �Tcan do.

2005/09/10  River kayaking class for “Women's-only”

We've done several kayaking classes over this summer, and this time we held a class only for women. We had five participants, age from 20s to 40s. Because of the typhoon a few days ago, the Kumano River has risen and was still muddy, so we went to its branch stream, Akagi River. We did basics in the morning and went down the river in the afternoon. We went through some difficult rapids, but everybody enjoyed the thrill. It seems to me that women learn kayaking faster than men, because they don't paddle rashly with mere muscle strength like men, so they don’t go off balance. 

Akagi River doesn't have a dam, so it gets back its usual transparency soon after a big rain. But Kumano River is not. It has dams, and its water remain muddy for some time until those dams finish releasing extra water. �T've heard that fishermen often find freak of nature recently. Nature has already given us red light. It's one of many things kayaking show us. �T hope we can introduce the world of river kayaking to many people, as a chance to watch and think of the nature we are surrounded.

2005/08/30 Agriculture than Postal reform
Today �T mowed my farm after one and a half month. Weeds have grown splendidly. Wild boars dug around for worms here and there, �T wish they were kind enough to cultivate whole the farm. �T don’t use any chemical fertilizers, so mowed weeds are very important substances to make my farm fertile. �T’ll be mowing day after day for some while. Mowing machine makes my hands numb after half a day of using it, but it’s too wide to mow with a scythe. There’s no other choice than using machines with my farm and my physical strength. �Twouldn’t be able to do it without machines.

Think of farming machines, �T wonder why they are so expensive. For example, a tractor (Japanese size one) costs 2-4 million yen (20-40 thousand dollars) and farmers in this area use it for less than ten days a year. Only one tractor would do for whole this neighborhood of 20-some houses. (＊1) But every house has its own tractor, brand-new and well kept. �T have lesser machines than others and all are second handed. But if �T assume that �T bought  all my machines  first hand, it becomes more than 50 thousand dollars. It’s a really strange being, the economy. It invades our mind. We buy this and that which we rarely need and just occupy the space in our storehouses. As lots of new models of various farming machines come into the market, lots and lots of farmlands are abandoned everyday.

The election campaign of the Lower House started. Everybody say about Postal reform or Pension reform, but nobody say about the importance of Agricultural policy. �T wish �T could give them a punch and slosh water on them to make their eyes open. Our lives depend on nothing but oxygen and foods. It’s forests that produce oxygen and it’s farmlands that produce foods. But in our country, both of them keep losing people who take care of them. Our country is going to abandon rural areas where forests and farmlands, saver of our lives, exist. US and European countries give high priority to protect domestic agriculture. They know the importance of foods. Each country has its own national strategy and the result appears on the self-sufficient rate of food. (＊2) It’s time for us Japanese to realize what’s the most important.

(＊1)This Kumano region is traditionally the land of forestry. Most parts of the region are mountains and forests, and people grow rice and vegetables for just self-supply on small farms around their houses. So, things may be a little different from the other rural area of Japan where people do big farming, for example, Hokkaido.
(＊2) Japan’s self sufficient rate of grain is only about 40%. It’s the worst among developed countries.

005/08/29 An admirable couple in our neighborhood

There live an energetic elderly couple in our neighborhood; age of husband and wife together makes more than 160, still farming. They are hard working and their works are beautiful and fast. They always keep their yard and farm really clean. They devote themselves to farming. Until about 30 years ago, there used to be lots of such couples in rural area and they kept taking care of their farms and forests. But they’ve got old. Although some of them are still healthy and hard working, lots of forests and farms are being abandoned even while �T write this. �T want to stop that, but the reality is out of my ability. Yet �T’ll do what �T can do, even if it’s a tiny contribution

2005/08/28 Students camp

“Students camp of rural life experience” has finished successfully. It was from 22^nd to 27^th, campers are 22 students, 1 teacher, and a clay plasterer (one of Japanese traditional job) who came to make clay oven with students, and us Saigusas. We ate and talked a lot from morning till night (beyond midnight). What has each camper felt about or learned from this experiences, �T have no idea. But �T’m sure everyone has got something in his or her own way. Activities in this camp may not seem to be useful for their present life, and definitely not helpful for their credits at college. But everything you do has some meanings to your life. Their experiences will become their flesh and blood eventually, even if they were unconscious of it.We lived and ate together for 6days. But �T felt there’s a “ 3days’ barrier”. Our ancestors said “ three days, three month, three years.” Those are spans that you likely have to bear before you break a barrier to get something. After first three days they definitely changed. We’d better stick to something more than three days…

Looking back this month, �T haven’t done farming much. �T have to prepare for fall, the planting season.

2005 8 19 My hobbies

�T’m preparing for making our second clay oven(＊), on the playground of Sikiya elementary school(＊). Twenty-some college students are having 6 days camp there from this 22^nd, for the purpose of having experiences of farming and rural life. Clay oven making is going to be one of its activities. �T’m planning a larger oven than our first one(You can see its photo on the top page.) . We’ll use it for various purposes in our activities at school.

Our project of restoring Kawara-ya(＊) was successful, too. Now the first Kawara-ya of ours is on display at Sikiya elementary school. �T’m planning to make another one soon.

Everyone who sees the clay oven or the Kawara-ya shows interest. But �T’m the one who is most interested in and most fascinated by both of them. �T’m doing those activities for my own pleasure, first of all. It’s a sort of hobby. My life itself is a sort of hobby to me, because all �T do with my time and energy and pocket money would be able to make nothing or change nothing, but at least make my own satisfaction. It’s my way of living and I’m quite content with it.

In the afternoon, my wife and�T did kayaking with some friends of ours. Some of them in high level of kayaking taught the other. It was a hard lesson. Techniques we gave a try today were not easy to master, but just watching was a good lesson, too.

Our NPO happened to have 16 kayaks now. Little by little, our activities seem to have come in good shape.     

(＊)Sikiya elementary school

An old wooden school facility that is in no uses as a school any more, due to the de-population of the area. We started to use it for our NPO activities from 2002.

(＊)Clay oven and Kawara-ya

Those are the projects to look again at our tradition and natural resources we have here in our own country.
Clay used to be one of the common building materials in Japan. It was used for walls, floors, barns, kitchen ranges, and so on. But chemical materials have taken the place of it, and the skills of using it is disappearing with elderly experts of it. Fortunately, one of our friends had learned it from his father and doing the “ clay job”. We asked him to make our first clay oven as a sort of workshop. Many of our friends learned its know-how through helping him make it.
Kawara-ya (River side hut) is a removable, prefabricated wooden hut with no nails, about 16 square meters wide, which can be set up or put away within one hour by a few people. Lots of Kawara-ya used to be seen by the river mouth of Kumano-river in early 20^th century. That area once prospered as a center of shipping woods, and people who couldn't have a land of their own did various buisinesses  in Kawara-ya at the river bank , and took refuge with their Kawara-ya while the river flooded (it happened often.). One of our friends, who used to be a wooden furniture craftsman and now a forest worker, restored Kawara-ya from old blueprints with his new ideas at our request.
Soil (clay) and fire and woods had been fundamental to self-sufficient life of Japanese people. Our ancestor knew how to use and how to take care of them. But life these days is far apart from such things. We want to give them a new light. 

  

2005 8 15
15^th AUGUST, the memorial day of the end of World WAR �U

15^th August again. �T was born 2 years after the war ended, so �T don’t have any experiences of it. The radio news today said, “ the anniversary of the end of the Pacific War”, but �T say this is a mistake of the truth. The Pacific War was the War America did. What Japan did was “the Greater East Asia War”. This name indicates the fact of Japan at those days. We shouldn’t forget it by borrowing America’s name (point of view) of that war.

What cause Japan to commit “the Greater East Asia War”? We should investigate it from Japanese point of view. That’ll make our true historical view. Every country has its standpoint and own interests. There’re always some reasons that cause a country to go toward war. The fact is the fact. We should just see it as it was. True reflection only comes from the recognition of truth. It’s not something to be made in reaction for accusations from other countries. Post-War-Japan has been mixing up the remorse and the obsequiousness. True remorse leads humble attitude and acts, but obsequiousness leads the arrogance.

Japan has made a remarkable economical growth by “ bear unbearable, tolerate intolerable”(: It’s a quotation from the Emperor’s declaration of the loss of “the Greater East Asia War” to its people, asking their perseverance). Now it’s time for us to know how to be content with what we have. Time to learn so-called sustainable growth in which our bodies and minds and environment can be in a harmony. But it seems that our society is still desperate to seek further economic benefit more than anything else.

Recently, certain amount of young people says No to this mainstream. They are called NEET (Not in Enployment, Education, Training). How should we face them? Do we treat them as just dropouts, or consider them as an important red signal to our destination? �T think it’s the latter. Reasons of being NEET may be various and individual, but we should listen to their voices of hearts, because something is essentially wrong with our society, when we have more than half a million of NEET people. (: It’s not that NEET people literally make a protest against the society. They rather withdraw into themselves, at least in Japan. They might be too sensitive to be in this competitive society, or maybe they can’t find any hopes or dreams to realize in our society, or whatever. Anyway, It’s not something like unequal-opportunity. It’s a sort of spiritual problem of our society. And �T have to add the fact that many of them are struggling to solve their problems to be a part of the society.)

We should be a little braver and admit everyone is different from others. Let’s remove social pressures that you should join the same game others do. We all know everyone has different personality, but just knowing is not enough. We should practice it in our daily life. What makes the society really good and sophisticated is the capability to allow various ways of thinking and living in it. We all should realize it. To admit others, one should start with admitting oneself. Just being yourself is enough. “ This is I doing my best.” If you make sincere efforts to know yourself, you can be content with your life. �T think this kind of effort is one of the most important in life.

News also said Prime Minister Koizumi isn’t visiting Yasukuni Shrine today. We chose a politician without faith as our Prime Minister. Obsequious to the stronger, but arrogant and merciless to the weaker.�T have to say he represents the spirituality of today’s Japanese. Most of our representatives are poor at expressing their own opinions to other nations. Besides, they easily make a compromise and obey to the stronger. On the other hand, if someone in a weaker position made a protest against them, they would try to get rid of that person. Recent dismissal of the Lower House is it. Prime Minister should reflect his own political disability of failing to persuade the opponents, instead of dismissal. It’s an abuse of power. It was just about one issue. They would be able to solve it through talkes. Where is the Democracy? Why can Prime Minister make some people enemies today who were his fellow people yesterday? Selfish and merciless. He mistakes the meaning of “faith”. He said he was ready to be killed for his Postal Reform Bill.  OK, it’s his faith, but faith should be used for people, not for his own fame. Ready to be killed means ready to kill, too. “ You can kill someone inconvenient for you.” Is it an advise from the president of some country? We, powerless, ordinary people, are helpless to be killed. We all die, but �T refuse to be killed by the power. How many people are being killed right now in the Economic War in which our government has done nothing to protect the weaker? Our ancestors said, “Even an inch-long insect has half an inch of soul.” �T’m responsible to protect my own soul from being killed. �T believe that’s the responsibility of people who live now, for souls of victims of “the Greater East Asia War “.

2005/08/14 Foreigner friends set out on their new lives

Since the summer of last year, a German friend of ours has been living in the cabin which�T built by myself and lived with my wife for 4 years before we moved here. And now, he is going to move to the house where he will have a marriage life with a Japanese lady. When he came to us last year, he was going to do farming and study Buddhism in Kumano. (Actually, he has been in Buddhist temples in Japan for more than 10 years in total. He said he wanted to put his experiences into practice outside the temple.) And then they fell in love with each other here at my house. He wanted to live in Kumano with her, but she (also a friend of ours) said NO, and they end up to rent a house in rural suburb of Osaka, close to her family’s house. He is going to teach German or English to pay living costs that is 3 or 4 times higher than those in Kumano. Anyway, it’s their life and their decision would be the best for them.

4 days ago, an American friend of ours went back to his home country.He has been teaching English in a neighboring town for 3 years as a Government employed English teacher. And he will be teaching English in Mozambique (south-east Africa) from late this September as a member of PEACE CORE.�T feel a debt of gratitude to him. We talked on many things. He says his dream is the world peace. �T think �T can understand it very well. The reality of the world is severe. There would be the times when he would feel distressed in the gap between his dream and the reality. Yet �T say to him “ Strive for your dream!” He is the young man of good spirit we rarely find these days.�T’m looking forward to our next conversation.

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