★[2023 Rice] Hinohikari, naturally grown rice by Hirata Motoo

[2023 harvest] Hinohikari rice, naturally grown by Hirata Motoo

Hinohikari rice made by Motoo Hirata of Shichijo Town, Kumamoto Prefecture

Shichijo-cho is a rice-producing area in Kumamoto. If you search for it now, you will find many rice brands that come up under the name "Shichijo rice." Tomita-san and Hara-san, who are familiar faces at Purely, also grow rice here in Shichijo-cho, and they are old friends with Hirata-san, living nearby in their rice fields. Mineral-rich water flows from Mt. Happo-ga-take. Diversity has formed within the rice fields, where many "living things" live.

Since 1990, the Lotus Flower Rice Research Group has been working with rice farmers in Shichijo to research and practice a method of sowing lotus flowers in rice paddies to enrich the soil without using pesticides or fertilizers.They have also tried various other methods, such as using ducks to remove weeds, and currently grow rice using natural farming methods without the use of lotus flowers or ducks.

Mr. Hirata is not a full-time rice farmer. He also grows vegetables, and when I visited him, he was growing asparagus. Unlike rice, which is harvested once a year, the timing and soil preparation for vegetables vary depending on the crop, so I imagine it must be very hard work for him and his wife to work on it.