Yoshikazu Kawaguchi
Encyclopedia
is the leading Japanese practitioner of the “natural farming
” method popularized by Masanobu Fukuoka
and has farmed by this method in Sakurai City
, Nara Prefecture
for 30 years. He is an farmer, author, and founder of the Akame Natural Farming School, or in Japanese.
', studying and starting to promote both Natural Farming
and Traditional Chinese Medicine
. He was also influence by Wes Jackson
, the founder and current president of The Land Institute, Kawaguchi is said to be the leading representative of the second generation of Natural Farming, using a gentler, more flexible approach to Fukuoka's, in which there are no definitive rules and each application depends on the individual environment.
method of Masanobu Fukuoka uses no fertilizers or chemicals and very little water. It allows crops and weeds to grow freely requires a minimum of human intervention.
Kawaguchi's work is based on Fukuoka's four main principles, those being; no plowing, no fertilizers, no weeding, and no chemicals. His first attempts were not successful until, he says, he understood that the aim was to cultivate land as in the very early days of cultivation rather than to let it go totally wild.
In 1997, his work was featured in a documentary at the Yamagata International Documentary Festival and shown at the 2010 International Film Festival on Organic Farming in Tokyo http://blog-en.yuki-eiga.com/?cid=38069. In 2008 he spoke at the 17th National Gathering of Natural Farming Practitioners along with Manabu Sakai
(member of House of Representatives) and representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, the Ministry of Environment and the Agricultural and Life Sciences Department of University of Tokyo.
Natural farming
Natural farming is an ecological farming approach established by Masanobu Fukuoka , a Japanese farmer and philosopher who described his agricultural philosophy as in Japanese. It is also referred to as "the Fukuoka Method", "the natural way of farming" or "do-nothing farming"...
” method popularized by Masanobu Fukuoka
Masanobu Fukuoka
was a Japanese farmer and philosopher celebrated for his natural farming and re-vegetation of desertified lands. He was a proponent of no-till, no-herbicide grain cultivation farming methods traditional to many indigenous cultures, from which he created a particular method of farming, commonly...
and has farmed by this method in Sakurai City
Sakurai, Nara
is a city in Nara, Japan.As of 2007, the city had an estimated population of 63,321 with a density of 630.01 persons per km². The total area is 98.92 km².The city was founded on September 1, 1956....
, Nara Prefecture
Nara Prefecture
is a prefecture in the Kansai region on Honshū Island, Japan. The capital is the city of Nara.-History:The present-day Nara Prefecture was created in 1887, making it independent of Osaka Prefecture....
for 30 years. He is an farmer, author, and founder of the Akame Natural Farming School, or in Japanese.
Influences
Unlike Fukuoka, who was from the landlord class, Kawaguchi was born the eldest son of a tenant farmer of many generations who aspired to become a painter, and attended Tennoji Art Institute, whilst continuing to work at the family's farm. His father dying whilst Kawaguchi was only 11 years old meant he was forced to join the family farm. However, in 1978, after 22 years of conventional farming, he experience severe liver damage caused by the agricultural chemical fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides used on the farm. The failure of allopathic doctors to cure him led in response to Kawaguchi discovering Fukuoka’s seminal book 'The One Straw RevolutionThe One-Straw Revolution
The One Straw Revolution is a seminal book written by Masanobu Fukuoka concerning his methods of natural farming which has been highly influential with various organic farming and natural food and lifestyle movements.-External links:...
', studying and starting to promote both Natural Farming
Natural Farming
Natural farming is an ecological farming approach established by Masanobu Fukuoka , a Japanese farmer and philosopher who described his agricultural philosophy as in Japanese. It is also referred to as "the Fukuoka Method", "the natural way of farming" or "do-nothing farming"...
and Traditional Chinese Medicine
Traditional Chinese medicine
Traditional Chinese Medicine refers to a broad range of medicine practices sharing common theoretical concepts which have been developed in China and are based on a tradition of more than 2,000 years, including various forms of herbal medicine, acupuncture, massage , exercise , and dietary therapy...
. He was also influence by Wes Jackson
Wes Jackson
-Early life and Education:Jackson was born and raised on a farm near Topeka, Kansas. After earning a BA in biology from Kansas Wesleyan University, an MA in botany from the University of Kansas, and a PhD in genetics from North Carolina State University, Wes Jackson established and served as chair...
, the founder and current president of The Land Institute, Kawaguchi is said to be the leading representative of the second generation of Natural Farming, using a gentler, more flexible approach to Fukuoka's, in which there are no definitive rules and each application depends on the individual environment.
Natural farming
The natural farmingNatural farming
Natural farming is an ecological farming approach established by Masanobu Fukuoka , a Japanese farmer and philosopher who described his agricultural philosophy as in Japanese. It is also referred to as "the Fukuoka Method", "the natural way of farming" or "do-nothing farming"...
method of Masanobu Fukuoka uses no fertilizers or chemicals and very little water. It allows crops and weeds to grow freely requires a minimum of human intervention.
Kawaguchi's work is based on Fukuoka's four main principles, those being; no plowing, no fertilizers, no weeding, and no chemicals. His first attempts were not successful until, he says, he understood that the aim was to cultivate land as in the very early days of cultivation rather than to let it go totally wild.
Achievements
In 1991, he started Akame Natural Farming School which current has more than 10 sites and another 5 teaching traditional medicine and around 250 students. It is one of a number of voluntary agricultural schools in Japan. Graduates from the school have further opened 44 learning sites throughout Japan, where approximately 900 people study 'Natural Farming'. Kawaguchi is at the heart of the contemporary Natural Farmers network in Japan.In 1997, his work was featured in a documentary at the Yamagata International Documentary Festival and shown at the 2010 International Film Festival on Organic Farming in Tokyo http://blog-en.yuki-eiga.com/?cid=38069. In 2008 he spoke at the 17th National Gathering of Natural Farming Practitioners along with Manabu Sakai
Manabu Sakai
is a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party, a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet . A native of Fuchū, Tokyo and graduate of the University of Tokyo, he was elected for the first time in 2005.- External links :...
(member of House of Representatives) and representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, the Ministry of Environment and the Agricultural and Life Sciences Department of University of Tokyo.
Filmography
- Natural Farming, Toshiko, Toriyama and Koizumi Shukichi, Group Gendai Inc. 1997.
- 「 人類の明日を悟る 」 (Understand the Future of Humanity) － 自然農上映会 シンポジウム 演奏 対談 － 主催・赤目自然農塾 制作・加治幸博