《Yoshinari Farms》 Mr. Kuni’ichi Yoshinari

“I want to put in the kind of work that inspires the younger generation.”
These words, uttered nonchalantly, made a lasting impression on me.

Mr. Kuni’ichi Yoshinari runs a farm in the town of Ten’ei in Fukushima Prefecture. But I really don’t think the word ‘farmer’ fully captures the kind of man he is. The name ‘Kuni’ichi Yoshinari of Ten’ei village’ is well-established in the wider area, but not just as a farmer. It also has much to do with the fact that he worked as a town official for 36 years. Interviewing him, I’m not sure my skill with words will be able to do justice to all his work. That’s how much of an impact his work has had, and how much he stands out.

“I want people to see Ten’ei as a wonderful place”

Water from the Tanbatateyama Mountain bringing life to the town’s rice paddies

After leaving Ten’ei village at age 18 to go to college in Tokyo, he returned to his hometown after graduation to pursue a career as an official for the local town hall. But in those days going back to your hometown after college to work was still considered to be a bit of a ‘failure’ so-to-speak, and Mr. Yoshinari felt that viscerally at the time. He had many reasons for returning, such as wanting to live close to his parents as the oldest son of the family, but when he really pondered his reason for returning, he thought:
“I want my friends who visit Ten’ei to see it as a wonderful place.”
This became the biggest motivation in all of his work.

Working for the local town hall, Mr. Yoshinari gave 36 years of his life to the town, being involved in a wide range of areas, from industry, urban planning and welfare to agricultural policy. Under the motto of taking on a new challenge at every new department, he got the very popularTV show ‘Ultra Quiz’ to come to Ten’ei during his time in the planning department, and was involved in the implementation of elderly welfare insurance working for the welfare department. While at the agriculture policy department, he started the ‘Ten’ei Rice Cultivation Research Group’ which laid the foundation for the current Ten’ei brand of rice.

36 years of public service, and continuing to take on challenges

Some readers may be familiar with the documentary ‘ Going Against the Grain in Fukushima.’ Tokyo-based Sakura Motion Pictures produced a close-up documentary of rice farmers in Ten’ei Village. As documented in the film, while at the agricultural promotion division, Mr. Yoshinari got a group of ambitious rice farmers together, and created the ‘Ten’ei Rice Cultivation Research Group.’ With rice prices going down, the group aimed to create Japan’s most delicious rice, invested in organic rice farming which was not yet very well known in the town at the time, and through trial and error managed to use ‘Kanpo (Chinese medicinal techniques)’ to realize a new original type of organic cultivation. But this all happened right before the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake was about to hit.

People from the big cities come all the way to Ten’ei to admire the Ten’ei Rice Cultivation Research Group’s ‘regenerating rice paddy’ in the mountains.

Ten’ei Village’s farmers, including those from Ten’ei Rice Cultivation Research Group, suffered unfathomable damage. Although the town is 70 km from the coastal area where the nuclear power station is located, due to the wind direction and geographical circumstances, the amount of nuclear fall-out was more than zero. Moreover, Ten’ei is part of the same Fukushima Prefecture as the coastal area. There is still a real tendency to avoid products with the name ‘Fukushima.’ But the research group spearheaded by Mr. Yoshinari refused to throw the towel. They undertook their own research efforts to reduce the impact of radiation to as close to zero as possible, attracted many knowledgeable people, and managed to find a way to reach their goal.

A pigment called ‘Prussian Blue,’ as well as natural minerals and potassium are able to reduce the amount of radioactive Cesium 137 being absorbed by rice stalks. This method was tested by Mr. Yoshinari at his farm as one of the first radiation reduction methods in the world.
To learn more about the research group’s efforts, such as combatting Fukushima’s negative image after the disaster, please be sure to watch the documentary.

Freshly-harvested ‘kanpo-cultivated rice’ from the regenerative rice paddy. During this time of year, the biggest threat is the local wild boars.

Taking on a new challenge as a farmer at age 59

In 2019, Mr. Yoshinari put an end to his 36 year career at the local town hall. Wanting to focus all his attention to the farming that he had done as a side job up until that point, he became a full-time farmer at age 59. Taking the weather conditions into close consideration, he carefully times his rice planting and harvesting, and puts the research groups’ kanpo-cultivation technique to work to aim for Japan’s most delicious brand of rice. Thanks to this, there are many fans of Mr. Yoshinari’s rice and in 2022 he even took the gold at the annual International Contest on Rice Taste Evaluation. This means he was one of the top 10 among 5,320 rice producers from all over Japan. Amazingly, 3 of these top 10 were from Ten’ei Village!
At first glance, making a living in the town of Ten’ei where the population continues to dwindle seems like a difficult task. But in this circumstance, Mr. Yoshinari taking on a task that may otherwise be considered reckless, can serve as a source of courage for others. I pondered the reason why he is so inspiring, and having talked to him, I realized it is simply because he’s putting it to work. He gets to work, uses his head, and gets the job done. Through repeated trial and error and refusing to give up, he keeps going. His results give him a measure of credibility. Rather than labeling something as impossible because you don’t have the means to realize it, he says it’s a matter of creating those means yourself and keeping at it relentlessly. I’m convinced that this spirit is what makes these farmers feel so energetic.

Mr. Yoshinari also grows mini-tomatoes and corn. He showed me how great this year’s mini-tomatoes turned out.

When you include the municipalities that were newly designated as ‘underpopulated’ by the amendment to the law in 2022, Fukushima has 34 cities and towns with underpopulated areas. This means 34 out of Fukushima’s total of 56 municipalities, or about 60%, is partly underpopulated. Ten’ei Village is included in this list. When you live in a town like that, the excuses start pouring out: “We don’t have this. We don’t have that.” But can we truly expect a bright future out of negative attitudes like that? Looking at Mr. Yoshinari’s rice fields, and tasting his rice, I can’t help but think, “beautiful.” But simultaneously, I ask myself if I myself am able to create something as beautiful. Maybe the path that we as citizens of the ‘partly underpopulated’ Fukushima should tread can be seen in the steps that Mr. Yoshinari has taken.

Mr. Yoshinari’s mini-tomatoes have a high degree of sweetness, soft skins, and an almost fruit-like texture.

I asked Mr. Yoshinari about his future prospects.
“I’d love to open up an onigiri (rice balls)-shop. It’s important to produce delicious rice, but I also love the view from my house overlooking Ten’ei village. As a short-term goal, I want people to come here and enjoy my rice while admiring the view here. I hope to bring this idea to fruition.”

Mr. Yoshinari manages to attract many people from in-and-outside of the prefecture through his way of moving forward, taking in delicious and fun things along the way. He might say I’m exaggerating, but for people of the next generation such as myself, I am convinced Mr. Yoshinari is someone to strive towards becoming one day. I look forward to the day that we can enjoy Mr. Yoshinari’s’ onigiri here in the town that flourishes thanks to the heavens (The town’s name of Ten’ei is spelled with the Japanese characters for ‘sky/heaven’ and ‘flourishing’).

《Yoshinari Farms》 Kuni’ichi Yoshinari
From Ten’ei Village in Fukushima Prefecture’s Iwase District. After graduating from college, he started working for Ten’ei Village’s town hall. During his 36 years in public service, he stacked up many major achievements, such as attracting the Ultra Quiz, the implementation of welfare insurance and starting the Ten’ei Rice Cultivation Research Group. His efforts to protect Ten’ei Village’s agricultural sector from the effects of radiation after the Great East Japan Earthquake disaster were captured in the documentary film ‘Going against the Grain in Fukushima’ (Sakura Motion Pictures, 2013). In 2019 at age 59 he retired early from public service. As a new full-time farmer, he started Yoshinari Farms, focusing on organic rice, tomatoes, and corn among others. In 2022, he was awarded the gold prize in the general category of the annual International Contest on Rice Taste Evaluation, having been chosen as one of the top 10 from among 5,320 contestants.
▶Learn more about Yoshinari Farms on the official website.

Translation：Joost Kralt

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