This is a book my friend Andy, who I met at a Japanese Cultural Festival in Santa Cruz wrote. The blurb on amazon goes, "Raised in the tumult of Japan’s industrial powerhouse, the eleven men and women profiled in this book have all made the transition to sustainable, fulfilling lives. They are today artists, philosophers, and farmers who reside deep in the mountains of rural Japan. Their lives may be simple, yet they are surrounded by the luxuries of nature, art, contemplation, delicious food, and an abundance of time......" (you can read the rest on Andy's blog, below, or amazon).Andy persistently encouraged me to go meet some of these folks and I was able to visit 3 of them in Kamikatsu of Tokushima prefecture with my dad (thank you dad!). They had a similar energy to Kawaguchi (the natural farmer), extremely friendly, grounded, and aware of our connection and responsibility to the earth. We stayed at Atsuko and Gufu Watanabe's house and they fed us great food, fired up a bath, and showed us around the town like we were old friends. Gufu is a potter and farmer, and if I remember correctly Atsuko is an elected member of the local government among many other things. Although they have never really heard of permaculture, they live in a food forest and are a great example of living permaculture. I think both Andy and Atsuko were involved in the Zero Waste Policy in Kamikatsu.
Here is a short BBC article about it,
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7502071.stm
I also met Mr. Nakamura who lives extremely simply and seemed to organize every detail of his living space beautifully. He was in the process of transforming an old farm house into his home. I didn't get to spend too much time with him but I left with the impression that he is someone with much experience in the art of living. I learned a lot about simple living and permaculture Japanese style. I know there is a lot I can learn from these unique Japanese people, and I hope I will have an opportunity to meet more of them in the near future. I heard that they all get together at the Hanamatsuri (Flower Festival) in Nagoya, presenting a Nepalese and Indian themed event (?). I think a few of them, like Atsuko, can speak English so check it out if you are in the area.
FYI, Andy is currently doing tours to promote his book. In some ways its a really trippy book, since this is sort of the romanticized "Japan" or "Japanese" that actually exists and lives. The pictures are exquisit and make me want to just go there and start living!
By the way, the rice paddy picture on my blog was taken on our way back from visiting the Watanabe's in Kamikatsu. Many of these paddies are now planted with Japanese cedar as there are less and less people able and/or interested in taking care of them. A major challenge in Japan is depopulation of young people from rural areas, thus the knowledge of the land and the skills passed down from generation to generation is slowly disappearing each day. I'm hoping to reverse that trend as it will need to happen one way or another for Japan to function peacefully. Andy's blog for the book is below so check it out and see if it might be of your interest.
友達のアンディーさんが書いた本を簡単に紹介します。”「日本の経済急成長時代の中、大衆に流されずよりサステイナブルで充実した生活への道を歩んだ１１人の日本人のお話です。彼らは日本の山奥で生活をしている芸術家、哲学者、農家などです。シンプルライフを送りながら、森林、芸術、沈思黙考、自然の恵み、と豊富な時間という贅沢に囲まれて生きています。」アンディーさんに積極的に押されて、去年彼の本の中の人物とお会いする事ができました。徳島県の上勝に住む、渡辺あつこさん、渡辺ぐふさん、中村おさむさんの三人にお目にかかりました。とても良い人達で生き方について色々と学ぶ事ができたです。渡辺さん達の家はまさに食べ物の森でした。パーマカルチャーと言う言葉は殆ど効いた事がないようでしたが、彼はLiving Permacultureの良い見本だと思います。僕も、日本産のパーマカルチャーについてもっと勉強していきたいです。中村さんは人生の達人という感じでした。因に、アンディーさんとあつこさんはイギリスのBBCでも取り上げられた上勝のゼロ・ウェイスト政策に取り組んでいたらしいです。
詳しくは、http://www.kamikatsu.jp/zero-waste/frame.htm
近いうちに彼の本で紹介された他の人達にも会いたいです。自分のビジョンを実現するための貴重な勉強がきっとできると思います。聞いた話では、本の中の１１人は名古屋の花祭りでネパールとインドをテーマとしたイベント？で毎年集合しているそうです。再来年に行けるかも。
彼のブログ（英語）：
Andy's book blog
http://adifferentkindofluxury.blogspot.com/
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