Monthly Memo From Doi's Culinary Philosophy
Original text by Doi Yoshiharu
Translated by Yoshiko Fukuda
June- Kannazuki
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●Early summer, on May 25th, I visited Oshimamura in Niigata prefecture. In the village there is a tanada ( a group of rice paddies along the slope of the mountain formatted like stairs) surrounded by a beech forest. I went there to learn the traditional rice planting ways from a Mrs. Ishie Uchiyama who is 71 years old. A curiosity for planting rice was motivated by my desire to know the first steps in producing rice which has been a long time essentiality in our diet.
There, the rice paddies make great use of the water that springs from the beech forest. Hence, the rice paddies are cultivated with rich nutrient full, potable water.
Numerous insects such as water scorpion, diving beetle, mud snail, river shrimp, nymph of dragonfly, and larvae of fireflies inhabit the rice paddies but they all seems very friendly in a natural environment. Urban living makes anyone scared of little bugs because they stand out in a humanized environment. People and other living things that live here all depend on each other. They are coexisting elements in a rice cultivation way of life. That might be why a self sufficient way of life is possible in an environment such as this.
This tanada was created and cultivated by Mrs. Ishie and her late husband. The process employed a long period of time because the tanada had to adjust to the geography of the land. Rice paddies are required to be flat in order to retain water, making cultivating the mountain side so laborious. But through that kind of effort the stronger the affection for the land grew to be. Adding on new completed rice paddies one after another to their work load, they finally owned 32 rice paddies. Now, irrigated paddies are more organized and some are even combined together. They range from the smallest being the size of a bathroom, to a 6 x 2 m narrow one.●Preparation
Appropriate attire for rice planting was, long thin rubber boots that come up to the knees, extended arm band made out of rubber that cover from the wrist to the elbow for repelling mosquitoes, and a sedge cone shaped hat. The sedge hat actually let the air through therefore it was rather pleasant even under the hot sun.●Naetori, Naeuchi, Wakuhiki
Slowly as I put my feet in to the rice paddy, fine grained mud stuck to my feet impeding my steps. I almost stumbled and fell because of the hindering wet earth. But even with my novice ways I put my hands into the water.
The lukewarm water of summer kept my mind at peace. Through the thin rubber boots, I could feel the texture of the soil. It probably is the same for any rice paddies but the soil feels incredibly smooth that my feet were surprised at how smooth the ground felt. I could feel the wet sand rising as I move my feet. Under brilliant summer sky, I felt safe embraced by Japanese soil.
36 days after the seed is planted the seedling grows to be about 20 cm. That seedling is picked (naetori), amassed as much as the hand can hold and is bound together by straw. Although the seedlings are still miniature, strong vitality can be sensed off them. The soil that cling to the roots of the seedling is rinsed of in the rice paddies. Even then the soil comes right off, showing how fine the soil is in the rice paddy.
Then a mark is made in the rice paddy to distinguish where the seedlings should be planted. This is done by a hexagonal cylinder or a waku, which is rolled in the rice paddy to mark a line every isshaku, or 30.303 cm transforming the rice paddy into a go board. After appropriate marks are made, the seedlings are loosened and separated(naeuchi).●Rice Seedling Planting
Finally the preparation for seedling planting was over. So what was left was the actual planting.
Seedlings are held in the left hand the actual planting is done by the right hand. As the left hand assists and brings the seedling over to the right hand, three of the seedling is taken and placed in the ground by the middle finger of the right hand. The whole process requires very careful coordination.
Mrs. Ishie demonstrated her years of experience by her polished coordination, where the left hands selected the next three seedling to be planted simultaneously as the right hand was doing its own job. In an instant she was doing three to five times as much work as I had done. By the time I looked up I was left far behind, alone in the rice paddy.
I always realize how clumsy I am when I help with gathering ingredients in the mountains or aid in harvesting. For experienced workers, their hands and eyes are always working simultaneously and the next step ahead is plotted out. When collecting mountain butterbur, as soon as it is picked the hands are getting rid of its leaves while the eyes are looking for a next. When harvesting white radish, the pale leaves are taken off as it is taken out of the ground. The hands are always busy with doing something. In situations like that townspeople do not know what to do because their hands are never that alert.
Even in Niigata, only Mrs. Ishie practices the traditional rice planing that does not use machines instead of manual labor. Manual rice planting can be seen sometimes but it is usually staged for tourists. Mrs. Ishie does not change to employing machines because her husband always have stated that by touching the soil, one can read the soils mind, hence its condition. Needless to say, by stepping in to the mud, and coming into contact with the soil is not only pleasant but also very fundamental to farmers and even to people in general. It provides a person with a composed feeling.●Enjoying a magnolia leaf sekihan
*sekihan or otherwise known as okowa- red bean rice
Work was divided up during the day into small parts and after each work a little break was provided, specifically at seven, ten in the morning and two in the afternoon. At each break a light meal called cobiri, or chuhan was served.
In Japan rice planting is considered to be a festivity For this kind of auspicious occasion Japanese nutmeg is used to make special chopsticks. Dried Japanese nutmeg in a shape of a straw is husked and then cut into appropriate lengths. Then simple festive chopsticks are made.
For one of the meals I had some magnolia leaf sekihan with other side dishes. A pair of magnolia leaves were used to wrap in red bean rice and the white outer part of the leaves were tied around with sedge cord. This aesthetic cooking got lined up on the mat where we ate lunch. When the sedge string was taken off, the soft faint green color of the magnolia leaf appeared holding in the red bean rice. It was a beautiful site that truly demonstrated the value of red bean rice. A final touch was added by sprinkling soybean flour on top and wishing for a boutiful harvest. Stir fried mountain buterbur and herriing with kamaboko(steamed fish paste cake), kiriboshi daikon (cooked dried strips of white radish), nimono(simmered dish) of shiitake mushroom, and stir fried takuan (pickles) were added to the lunch menu and enjoyed before a view of the mountain.●Harvest
After 120 days, around Spetember 25th, from the tanada, about seven tawara (bag for storing rice) of rice should be harvested for every 100 square meters. This is actually the norm for rice harvesting which is called tanshu. If one strongly desired to harvest plentiful amount of rice, it is possible to crop about 12 to 13 tawara of rice for every 100 spuared meters. But in Mrs. Ishie's case, that is not necessary. There are always people who demand rice and they do not care how much it costs them. But she will not make extra rice just to sell them for profit. She makes just the right amount for her.Now as I am back in the city, I miss greatly the complacent and peaceful time that I spent listening to the voices of birds, the sounds of wind and water, and other voices of nature.
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