Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Generations later, divine guidance in the form of the Jewish law includes distinct
Sabbath instructions regarding agricultural practice—fields are to be left fallow once
in every 7 years, both to give the land rest and to provide sustenance for wild animals
and the poor (Ex 23:10-12; Lv 25:5-12). As stewards of an Earth that is the Lord's,
who has blessed all creatures to be fruitful and multiply, such Sabbath practices follow
naturally. Hebrew prophets will later warn of the desolation of land that will result
from unfaithful humans (Jer 12:4; Hos 4:1-3), to the point even of the land vomiting
out faithless inhabitants who do not give the land its Sabbaths (Lv 18:28; 2 Chr 36:21),
and the prophet Ezekiel voices encouragement that for faithful people, the earth will
yield its increase, and they shall be secure on their soil (Ez 34:27). These sacred sto-
ries paint a picture of humans as caretakers, as stewards of land, with soil stewardship
and agriculture used as direct reference points to illuminate this human vocation.
12.2.2 s Hinto and tHe e cological i integrity of tHe t oHoku r egion , J apan
Another example of evocative religious principles comes from the Tohoku Region of
Japan, where the indigenous Shinto religion provides an ideological framework for
bridging the ecological integrity of the archipelago. First, in the creation myth pre-
sented in the Nihon Shoki and Kojiki , two eighth-century texts detailing the creation
mythology and lives of the early emperors of Japan, the mountain goddess yama no
kami would descend from her winter residence in the mountains to become the ta no
kami or paddy field god in the spring, residing in the rice fields during the subsequent
agricultural season. Following the fall harvest, the deity would return to its winter
FIGURE 12.1 Rural Japanese wedding in Miyagi Prefecture in the Tohoku Region of Japan
in 1983. The rice paddy (lower left corner of photo) with water plants coming out of it is
included in the wedding because the community observes single-heir succession, so this sym-
bolizes the transfer of land from father to son. The bride and groom also drink sake, which
is made from rice and consummates the ceremony. (Photo courtesy of Richard H. Moore.)
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