[Immune power up information]
We will introduce excerpts from past musubi magazines and books published by Seishoku Publishing.
The 24th installment will be introduced from "Musubi Magazine September 3". (XNUMX times in total).
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I think that organic means that the life of each living thing is kept alive in its own way.What we modern people want is an organic landscape and feeling full of life,” says Shinji in his book, Green Eco Life.? It is written in Green Life Connected to 'Agriculture'.It is a sentence that clearly expresses the essence and significance of organic.
Some readers may remember the news about children planting rice on the roof of Roppongi Hills in Tokyo.It was Mr. Shinji who suggested that children in the city be able to experience farming.
In a lecture titled "Cities, Food and Farmers: Learning from Farmers: How to Live as Environmental Citizens," Mr. Shinji gently spoke about the philosophy and charm of an organic life that is in demand today.
Received the Prime Minister's Commendation for Academic Prize Received blessings from Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress
The Prime Minister's Commendation, the Green Academic Award, was established in honor of Greenery Day on May XNUMXth.Mr. Shinji, who has studied Japanese gardens for half a century, was awarded the XNUMXth Green Academic Award this year in recognition of his efforts in "Green Town Development" based on the "Restoration of Agriculture" in urban areas. bottom.
Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress attended the award ceremony and exchanged friendly words with Shinji and the other two recipients.
Mr. Shinji spent his childhood and elementary school days there and is also the director of the Satoyama Satoumi Lake Research Institute in Fukui Prefecture, which he calls "the second hometown."The Empress, who seemed distressed by the devastation of satoyama across the country, asked Mr. Shinji, who is working to preserve and restore Fukui's rich natural environment, about the activities of the research institute.
In a lecture given at the Seishoku Kyokai, Mr. Shinji spoke about the current state of Fukui's bamboo groves, saying, ``Since we stopped taking bamboo shoots, the bamboo groves have gotten rougher.
On top of that, he said, "Why did satoyama become ruined? It's because people in the city don't go to satoyama at all. People gather in the city, and the countryside is left to the countryside. deer and wild boars are appearing.”
Civilization is uniform money capitalism Culture is unique to a country or race
Speaking of satoyama, "Satoyama Capitalism", which was also the title of a book, has recently become a hot topic.The idea is to adopt a lifestyle that coexists with nature by referring to the traditional Japanese way of life that makes use of the rich bounty of Satoyama. It is "money capitalism".
“Money capitalism is simply the line of civilization. Civilization in English means civilization, which means to escape from savagery. I came here with a sense of mission to change them to Christians and give them the benefits of civilization.”
"Civilization means that everyone is the same. That's why the world has become America," says Shinji.A characteristic of civilization is that society is uniformly constructed based on a certain set of values, and cities like the United States in the postwar period have emerged all over the world, including Japan.
In contrast to civilization, the characteristic of culture is “individuality” (Mr. Shinji). "Things that differ according to land, country, and ethnicity. Unique things that are suitable for each place."
“Horticulture is forty culture, arboriculture is for arboriculture, agriculture is agriculture, and fishery is aquaculture. All primary industries are associated with culture. Culture means cultivating.
Before the modern era, the feudal lords of various countries in Japan competed with each other to ``build a good country on their own pride,'' and each country (region) had its own unique scenery.
However, especially after the war, as a result of ``agricultural administration viewed agriculture only as an industry,'' the rice harvest was too much and the company went bankrupt. I gave
In the long history of civilization, on the other hand, cultures rooted in regions and ethnic groups have coexisted. “However, only in modern times, civilization has almost won, and culture has become almost invisible.”
What Shinji is proposing is the revival of a culture that emphasizes diversity, which can compete with the uniform civilization course.
"Nenbi" is the "Beauty of Aging" Approaching infinite life over time
Although Japan has been completely Americanized and joined the ranks of civilized nations, Mr. Shinji also gave lectures on the characteristics and ways of thinking of traditional Japanese culture through his research on Japanese gardens, which is his specialty.
This is a story that will lead to green eco-life later, so I will summarize it briefly.
“Wabi-sabi” is often used when talking about Japanese aesthetics.According to Shinji, it is the "beauty of aging."Aging means “getting old”.
"Sabi" is generally written as "sabi", but it is also written as "zenbi".According to Mr. Shinji, the original meaning of "zenbi" is "to be natural", which means "to be close to nature, to be natural". It is said that the reading of "shika" changed to "sa".
“When you plant a tree in your garden, it looks just like it was planted. After XNUMX or XNUMX years, it will grow roots and become covered with moss, and it will look just like nature. ”
In his book "The Garden of Japan", Shinji says, "For humans who are given only a finite life, it is important to engrave evidence that they have indeed lived in this world, to confirm the existence of the time they lived, and to infinity ( It can even be said that having eternal life memories and memories is the ultimate goal of life.”
Shinji says that instead of lamenting that things that have become obsolete over time have deteriorated, as modern people do, he has found the beauty of time and admired it. point out.
[Immune power up information] Diverse ways of life connected to agriculture to ②
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Shinji Isoya
Born in Kyoto in 1944.He graduated from Tokyo University of Agriculture, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Landscape Architecture.He is a doctor of agriculture.His specialties are landscaping, environmental studies, landscape policy, and environmental planning.He is a former president of Tokyo University of Agriculture and an emeritus professor of Tokyo University of Agriculture.He has served as President of the Japanese Institute of Landscape Architecture, President of the City Planning Institute of Japan, and President of the Southeast Asian International Agricultural Society.He has authored many books including "Amenity Design", "Landscape Design", "The Age of Agriculture" (Gakugei Shuppan), "Hibiya Park" (Kashima Publishing), and "Japanese Garden" (Chuko Shinsho). In 2007, he received the Medal with Purple Ribbon.
