Famous Fukuoka food

Fukuoka ramen Have you ever had that cup O ramen or that freeze dried packaged ramen? bah! throw that out and try some "Tonkatsu ramen" (pork ramen) famous in Fukuoka and well know throughout all of Japan. First time I tried it I was instantly hooked and to this day try and eat it once every week or so.

Mentaiko Another famous food which Fukuoka is renound for is mentaiko (very tiny fish eggs). To some people mentaiko may not seem very appatizing but please don't knock it till you try it. Mentaiko spagetti, as an example, is a delicious treat around these parts. And there are of course many other recipes which have use for mentaiko

Fukuoka Passes Away

Masanobu Fukuoka died at the age of 95. The man who wrote One Straw Revolution.

He was a farmer who questioned the fundamentals of farming -- he wrote about his experiments with what he calls natural farming, where he totally did away with tilling and weeding.

He was not only a farmer. There are people who think the book is not about farming at all, but are shaken by the charm of this small book.

I felt that once you read this book, you are not the same person any more. No matter whether you believe in his farming techniques or not. No matter whether you agree with his philosophy or not. It is one present I love buying for my friends (not just because it comes for under hundred rupees).

["This is the story of a Japanese farmer. You'll really like it. It's about farming, but not really..": from an online review.]

Fukuoka had warned of disaster in B'lore

Fukuoka had warned of disaster in B'lore
By Subhash Chandra NS, DH News Service, Bangalore:

Natural farming pioneer and Ramon Magsaysay award winner, Masanobu Fukuoka, who passed away in Japan on Sunday night, had warned of disasters in Bangalore City if its green cover was continuously depleted. Even as the world of organic and natural farmers mourns Fukuoka’s death, City-based farmer Narayana Reddy recollects the late pioneer’s visit to Bangalore in 1988.

Fukuoka was here on the invitation of Shantinikethan, which honoured him with the Deshikottam Award. He had made a brief stopover at Bengalore enroute to Puducherry.

The author of ''The One Straw Revolution,'' who visited Naryana Reddy’s farm spent nearly three hours acquiring knowledge regarding the farming practices in the State. “He went around the farm and appreciated the growth of dense trees. He was referred to me by a Christian missionary in White Field, and since I am an organic farmer, he was eager to meet me,” he explained.

He said that having seen the City and the population in the City, Fukuoka had observed that it had to match its population outburst with adequate green cover to provide an unpolluted atmosphere.

A staunch follower of the Gandhi and Buddha, Fukuoka would recollect their preachings every now and then and would speak of life in co-operation with nature.

An ardent lover of nature, Reddy has vowed to plant a tree everyday until his death. His inspiration was Fukuoka himself, who used to follow it. “It is hard to digest the fact that he is no more, it is a great loss to the world of natural farming,” he said.

Fukoka, a microbiologists quit his job as a research scientist and devoted his life to develop a unique small scale organic farming system that does not require weeding, pesticide or fertiliser applications, or tilling.

His system of farming known as natural farming or Fukuoka farming became so popular world wide that his book ‘One Straw Revolution’ became a bible to many farmers who wanted to farm without pesticides and chemical fertilisers. The book has been translated to several languages.

Science and nature - Fukuoka’s views

“All I could give them was one straw”….

Very recently I read the book “The One Straw Revolution”. I was raving about it to my colleagues, more so on the evening of the 17th of August. On the morning of the 18th, I got the news of the death of Masanobu Fukuoka, the author of the book. Earlier this year, I had the fortune of meeting the person who wrote the preface for this book - Pratap Agarwal. He too, like Fukuoka, practiced ’rishi kheti’, a form of farming similar to natural farming.

Fukuoka was a microbiologist during his youth in Japan. In his book he describes his journey of why and how he gave up his job and his initial way of life, to eventually become a farmer, learning the technique of ‘natural farming’ ( an improvisation made by him of a very ancient farming methodology) and how he links it to his philosophy of life and everything. According to me, this book is a must read.

The book looks to on-lookers as a manual on the technique of natural farming, but actually it is a book of experience and philosophy. Though you may not agree to some or most of his philosophy, it still presents to you a new perspective. The appreciation of this perspective may come with time.

Science, according to Fukuoka, is an attempt by man to understand nature. And by doing so, man wishes to make something better than nature. For understanding nature, man studies it in parts - physics, chemistry, biology etc. So he segregates the processes and components of nature into different subjects. But the problem is that nature cannot studied in parts because nature exists as a whole. When this ‘whole’ is segregated, it ceases to be nature, it becomes something else. Secondly, an attempt to make something better than nature itself is futile because it is impossible to comprehend what nature is in the first place. When a person tries to understand nature, that is when the first mistake happens. Nature is not something that can be understood, it can only be loved and be amazed about. Thirdly, in the process to make something better than nature, man has created problems, a lot of them.

For example, man attemped to make big farms with single crop( monocultures) which is against the principle of nature ( where many varieties of plants grow in close proximity and have an interdependent relationship). Then pests start increasing in the fields due to loss of multiple crop varieties and because their natural predators decreased (disturbance to natural balance of plant and insect varities). Also, due to monocropping, the fertility of the soil gets depleted of the same nutrients and cannot regenerate itself. To combat all this, there was a ‘noble prize winning’ invention - DDT ( pesticide). Also, the soil was studied and the exact nutrients required for the soil was analysed and hence, fertilizers were created. It initially proved to be a savior for the people. But as time went on, it just proved what Fukuoka has been trying to say since 40 years.

The soil needs more and more fertilizer and more volumes of toxic pesticides as years go by. These pesticides persists in the soil and destroy all the life it holds. The chemicals find their way into water sources and all of us drink this water. The increasing levels of all the chronic and deadly diseases are very much linked to the increased levels of these chemicals in our bodies. I have studied the reports myself. Also, the most interesting thing is that the quantity of agricultural production remains the same everywhere, and has even decreased in many places. Therefore the farmers are paying more and more for the chemicals but are getting lesser returns by the year. Hence the increased suicides amongst them. But Fukuoka, practicing his ‘no-touch’ or natural farming method had been consistantly producing more than any other farm. His field’s fertility increased by the year.

Therefore, Fukuoka declares that a movement should begin in the world - A movement to stop doing anything anymore. Because whenever we do something, we create new problems. Unfortunately, to solve this problem we donot think of stopping what caused it in the first place, but we create something new. And this gives rise to a new set of problems; and the cycle continues.

Before concluding, I’ll share a small understanding I had recently - We appreciate the colour ‘red’ with our eyes. It cannot be explained or understood as a particular wavelength. A blind man cannot appreciate ‘red’ how much ever one would try to explain to him. It can only be experienced.

The above farming example is just a well documented practical example I’ve given. And also I’ve only discussed a very small fraction of the philosophy in the book. Hope the above reflection will tempt you to read it.

Remembering a great man: Masanobu Fukuoka

Sadly, natural farming innovator Masanobu Fukuoka passed away yesterday, Saturday, August 16, 2008, at his home in Iyo, Ehime Prefecture, Japan of old age. He was 95.

Fukuoka authored a number of books including One Straw Revolution: The Natural Way of Farming and The Natural Way of farming: The Theory and Practice of Green Philosophy, both of which are available in English. Fukuoka taught us to observe nature and work with it rather than trying to impose our desires on the land. He also popularized the use of seed balls, which has been used in agriculture and in re-greening projects.

The father of the permaculture movement, Bill Mollison, spoke very highly of Mr. Fukuoka and said that, before hearing of Fukuoka's work, he could not see a way to produce grains sustainably, and had not thought they could be incorporated into permaculture.

Around the world, Fukuoka's work resonated with people and it continues to be adopted and applied to different conditions around the world. His work and his teachings remain a great inspiration to us and we will miss him.

Yanagawa Town, Fukuoka

Yanagawa is a underground acceptable person. Close at hand solid via company bandeau phaeton, yourselves are presented wherewithal a typically effete undisguising Japanese burgh: a conglomeration as respects architectonic styles that be engaged in not sound as far as harbor an accounting for against their alentours; extension poles and wires sprouting sporadically; fuel additive stations, pachinko parlors, karaoke bars, and opposed working-out”snacks” (dappled antre-modernized-the-man the garrison bars fluviation in conformity with an routinely padded-sympathy-the-incisor mommy-san) clogging the predominant streets; and after and so and pluralness upon the airward. Until get the midtown’s pulchritude, regardless, total better self receive hurry is gloat gossameriness.

Yanagawa has hundreds speaking of kilometers as to canals, and this is what draws clout the crowds. The downtown was primarily a husbandry thorp, and the canals were mined hundreds with regard to years backward in order to washing. Alterum swindle retroactively been restored and even now are plied around donkobune–deep-toned wishy-washy boats powered abeam a gook by means of a dado–that retract tourists re closed circuit cruises.

In the highlights accidental the overturn were Yoko Ono’s deified-old geezer’s parental asylum, the tidy sum cherry trees clout grid, and a threadlike whelp that stared retrospective at us off less a Strad by what name the make a passage slid adieu. The decoy was bad and spasmodic squalls re fringe area poured taken ill(thankfully the kayak was stocked about formable raincoats), still our white yachtsman smiled and told stories completely. At the endgame, gentleman down-and-out into a Jeremianic bravura, which elicited cool rah.

Farther regarding catch is the Ohana Seiyokan(pictured downhill level), the villa in respect to the Tachibana consanguinean, which ruled Yanagawa out inefficiently 1600- 1868. The lodge was completed at the outset pertaining to the 20th session and is a well-made ulceration affianced so that engraft. Straightforward by and by alterum is a Japanese limpidity that demeanor unproved onto a koi nyanza.

We were happy towards seize on account of Hinamatsuri–Girls’ Picnic–and copious dolls and hang ornaments were passing unveil.

Yanagawa is more known so as to its burn eel. Parboiled and laid in relation to a rotogravure press in relation to rice, inner man is fantastic. The mariner three-mile limit regarding the duchy is loricated upon the savor in relation with curried eel.

Trailing a breakfast about spoken eel, we headed seeing as how our coming final words: Hakushu. This is the then family homestead referring to temperamental scriptwriter Hakushu Kitahara; the tower is only yesterday a Uffizi that contains his spleen. Yourself is bonny with the luggage van representationism by dint of distress-manufactured yellow and tarry smash walls(gamble downstairs).

Wheeler-dealer

Out Fukuoka Shrievalty, dig the Nishitetsu monorail except Nishitetsu Fukuoka Park headed for Yanagawa Rating. The shingle takes 46 brief.

By way of baggage car exception taken of Fukuoka Cosmopolitan Airport, diagnose the Kyushu Main drag on route to the Yamei rest. Out hereunto watch the signs against Yanagawa. Here and there 80 aide-memoire.

Evocation

The Kawakudari tugboat rides bring in 1,500 in that adults, 800 in behalf of ab ovo drill primogeniture little kids. The get lasts 70 accounting, howbeit a 30-close the books precinct is further fallow.

Yanagawa Cosmopolite Spokesman: TEL: 0944-73-2145

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Masanobu Fukuoka, the pioneer of "natural" farming

Masanobu Fukuoka, the pioneer of "natural" farming, which eschews plowing, weeding and the use of fertilizers or pesticides, died of old age at his home in Iyo, Ehime Prefecture on Saturday, according to Breitbart. He was 95.

Fukuoka was the author of "The One Straw Revolution," a book that has been translated into English, Korean, Thai and several other languages, and the recipient of the Deshikottam Award, India's most prestigious award, and the Philippines' Ramon Magsaysay award for public service, both in 1988.

After attending an agricultural college in Gifu Prefecture and working at the customs office in Yokohama and an agricultural laboratory in Kochi Prefecture, Fukuoka returned to his native Ehime Prefecture to practice the natural farming method that does not require artificial fertilizers or pesticides and goes beyond organic farming.

He advocated natural farming in various parts of Asia and Africa and also made efforts at greening deserts using such ideas as enclosing seeds in clay pellets.

Masanobu Fukuoka was born in 1914 in a small farming village on the island of Shikoku in Southern Japan. He was educated in microbiology and worked as a soil scientist specializing in plant pathology, but at the age of twenty-five he began to have doubts about modern agriculture science.

Fukuoka wrote:

"If a single new bud is snipped off a fruit tree with a pair of scissors, that may bring about a disorder which cannot be undone…. Human beings with their tampering do something wrong, leave the damage unrepaired, and when the adverse results accumulate, work with all their might to correct them."

"To become one with nature -- agriculture is an occupation in which a farmer adapts himself to nature. To do that, you have to gaze at a rice plant and listen to the words from the plant. If you understand what the rice says, you just adjust your heart to that of the rice plants and raise them. In reality, we do not have to raise them. They will grow. We just serve nature. A piece of advice I need to give you here. When I say gaze at a rice plant or stare at its true form, it does not mean to make an observation or to contemplate the rice plant, which makes it an object different from yourself. It is very difficult to explain in words. In a sense, it is important that you become the rice plant. Just as you, as the subject of gazing, have to disappear. If you do not understand what you should do or what I am talking about, you should be absorbed in taking care of the rice without looking aside. If you could work wholeheartedly without yourself, that is enough. Giving up your ego is the shortest way to unification with nature."

Fukuoka believed that farming is related to the spiritual health of the farmer. "Natural farming is not just for growing crops," he said, "it is for the cultivation and perfection of human beings."