Japan: Century 21 - Dragons and Tigers: A Geography of South, East and Southeast Asia - page 349

Figure 12-9
This rice harvester symbolizes Japan' s high degree
of mechanization in agriculture despite the small
size of its farms. ©Ric Ergenbright/Corbis.

About 5 percent of T okyo' is land is being farmed by some
13,000 families.
Many farmers are independently rich after selling
their land to industry . However, resistance to parting
with land imbued with centuries of family tradition has
made acquisition of farmland for urban and other devel-
opment difficult and expensive. Nevertheless, there are
those farmers who hold on to their land, waiting for the
highest bidder.
Animal herds are rare other than in Hokkaido,
where extensive plains make dairying feasible. An ordi-
nance of 1896 established non-military settlements on
Hokkaido, and these were modelled on the township
system in the United States. Here, dairy farms look like
American farmsteads. Some beef cattle are kept near
Kobe. These animals are beer-fed and hand-massaged
daily . A steak from Kobe beef cattle can cost hundreds
of dollars.
Japan' is major source of protein is fish—the country
has the world' s largest fishing fleet. In addition, aquacul-
ture is common, especially around the Inland Sea where
shrimp, oysters, and seaweed are cultivated. Fish are also
raised in ponds and in ocean-based fish farms.
Agriculture in Japan, especially rice production,
faces an array of problems:

Honorable Rice

O-kome or “honorable rice” figures significantly in
Japanese culture. The early indigenous name for
Japan was mizu ho no kuni , which means: “Land of
the water-stalk plant (rice).” The Japanese word
gohan means “cooked rice” or, more tellingly ,
“meal.” Asagohan (breakfast) means “morning
rice.” In the Shinto religion, rice products are the
most sacred of offerings. Rice is also an important
offering in Buddhist temples.
According to mythology , rice was intimately
associated with the creation of Japan. Supposedly ,
the sun goddess, Amaterasu, gave grains of rice to
one of her descendants—the mythical first emperor
Jimmu. His task was to turn the country into a land
of rice. T oday' is Emperor Akihito, who is descended
from Jimmu, harvests a small crop of rice on the
Imperial Palace grounds.
Rice is a symbol of communality; it is the only
dish shared from a single bowl. A famous proverb
reveals how rice is imbued with the all-important
Japanese concept of humility: “The heavier the
head of rice, the deeper it bows.”

Farmers who are working paddies are ageing and
dwindling in number. Of the country' s 3 million
farmers, 70 percent are age 60 or older.
Given the current economic crisis, the government
has cut back on public works projects in rural areas

Agriculture is also becoming urbanized in that many
urban areas are dotted with rice paddies, small orchards,
and vegetable plots. These can even be found in between
and next to shopping malls, parking lots, and factories.