★ [2023 Rice] Kaoru Inamoto's Naturally Grown Rice Akitakomachi

[2023 harvest] Kaoru Inamoto's Naturally Grown Akitakomachi Rice

Akitakomachi by Mr. Inamoto, a passionate master from Yatsushiro City

Yatsushiro is a region famous for producing rush grass, with lush, green rice paddies spreading out across it. Here, you will find Kaoru Inamoto, a representative Yatsushiro natural rice farmer known as the "master of natural rice cultivation." He has been farming without fertilizer or pesticides for over 35 years. He is a passionate producer who always talks about how "I want to purify the earth by producing naturally grown rice." Inamoto has been serialized in the Kumamoto Nichinichi Shimbun for 35 times, and has published a book titled "Naturally Grown Rice, No Pesticides Needed from the First Year," which has attracted attention from all over.

Rice fields destroyed and weeding work becomes hellish

Inamoto started growing rice without pesticides more than 35 years ago, when he was 24 years old. At the time, he did not have the support of those around him, and the area was overgrown with weeds, resulting in small harvests. By not using pesticides, the rice was attacked by rice planthoppers (pests), and sometimes entire rice fields were destroyed. In the area of ​​Yatsushiro, where there were no farmers around who grew rice without pesticides, he was looked down upon by those around him as a "weirdo."

He says that weeding was "like hell." He pushes a farm tool called a "ganzume" three times, and then finally removes the weeds by hand. He says that day after day, the three of them - his mother, his wife, and Inamoto - did this daunting task while crying. The most difficult moment came in the fifth year. After he and his wife had removed barnacles that had grown all over a 30-acre rice paddy, the rice was wiped out by autumn planthoppers, the enemy of rice. "At that point, I couldn't even cry," he recalls. Still, he stuck to his belief that he wanted to "practice agriculture that is kind to the earth and people," and over the course of 10 years, despite great difficulties, he switched the entire area to natural cultivation without fertilizers or pesticides.

Coexistence with snails

The turning point came with the appearance of giant snails 24 years ago. When giant snails that had been cultivated for food became wild and invaded his own rice fields, Inamoto accidentally discovered the weed-killing effects of giant snails. After much trial and error, he succeeded in using the wild giant snails to control weeds. This freed him from the struggle with weeds that had been causing him so much trouble, and he established the technology for stable, fertilizer- and pesticide-free natural rice production.

In his diverse, naturally grown rice fields, giant snails and Japanese snails coexist. Currently, while keeping damage to rice caused by giant snails to a minimum, weeding has been reduced to about 30a to 50a (5-10% of the total area), and the yield of naturally grown rice continues to steadily increase. He also appears as a lecturer at the prefecture's agricultural school, generously teaching the next generation the fertilizer- and pesticide-free natural farming techniques that he has developed himself.

"Humans cannot restore the nature and diversity of this planet that they have destroyed in just a few hundred years. But nature has the ability to restore it to its original state." "There is a saying that 'spill overflows the basin,' but in the natural world, the correct answer is 'spill overflows the basin,' and if we give nature just a little help, nature will truly return to its original state in the blink of an eye."

The more you chew Akita Komachi, the more delicious it becomes

Inamoto-san always thinks about the global environment and practices natural rice cultivation on a daily basis. As his name, Kaoru Inamoto, suggests, he aims to produce rice that is as fragrant as the rice itself. When Inamoto-san's naturally grown rice is cooked, the aroma of the rice is fragrant and appetizing. You can eat as many bowls as you like, and the more you chew it, the sweeter and tastier it becomes.

The more you chew it, the more delicious it gets. Naturally grown Akitakomachi rice is made with Mr. Inamoto's passion and dedication. Why not take this opportunity to try it?