About farming methods

<About farming methods>

I, Nomura, fell in love at first sight with the tea leaves grown in this tea plantation.

Basically, they bring in things from outside the tea plantation, such as pesticides and fertilizers.

We do not spray it on tea fields.

Since it's "basically" we sometimes spray insect repellent on ourselves.

When we say no pesticides or fertilizers, it is generally called "natural cultivation."

We often express it that way for convenience.

But let me explain a little more carefully,

I believe that I am farming in the in-between.

＜Awai Tea＞

From Nomura's perspective, agriculture feels like it's somewhere in between.

It's not a mountain, it's not a sea, it's not a city.
"More natural" is a word often used to describe agriculture.
Or something like that.

It is grown without pesticides or fertilizers, and is "naturally grown."
When I say that (I'm saying it)
"After all, the most natural way is the best!"
It was said like that.

Agriculture is a very artificial activity.
I think so.
They grow the same plants in incredibly high densities, crammed together.
Tea plants and other plants are shaped in a uniform manner to suit human needs.

Actually, I have some doubts about the word "nature" in the first place.

A long time ago, when I had just moved here and started farming, I had the opportunity to have a drink with someone who was involved in preserving native species.

I said with a grin, "I use natural farming."

"Nature" is written as "to let things happen naturally."
In the same way, mountains, rivers, plants, and trees are "born, grow, and die by themselves."
This kind of sensibility did not exist in Japan.

This is what I found when I searched for the translation of the word "nature."
It is a term borrowed from Buddhist terminology,
It's not a word we've used since ancient times.
What do you mean by "natural farming"?

That's what I was asked.

At that time, I thought, "Oh, I was just repeating things like 'natural farming' without thinking about it."
I reflected on this.

Changing the subject a bit,
My father had a family of mountain ascetics, and the goal of mountain worship is to go into the mountains and practice asceticism.

"I get in"

He said, and entered into the Buddha,
Apparently it's like having Buddha inside you.

I think this feeling might be something Asian or Japanese.

For example, in waka poetry,
There are a lot of songs that compare themselves to flowers and plants.
(Like those cherry blossoms, my life will also fall.)
Apparently, Western sensibilities don't understand that sort of thing at all.

"What we see is a part of me, and I am a part of what we see."
It's like that.

Words have a strong power to concentrate our sensibilities in a certain direction.
(For example, even though "yellow" has various gradations in reality, it is positioned as a concentrated feeling of "yellow.")

The word "nature" has now become firmly established,
He has the ability to concentrate his sensibilities in a certain direction.
I think that is certainly Western, Christian, and monotheistic.

"More natural" or something like that.
I think it might be a monotheistic religion where there is a hierarchy based on God.

There probably isn't anything like "More from the mountains and rivers."

That's why I want to cherish the sense of ``ambiguity.''
"Awai" is written in kanji as "間".

A world completely untouched by humans would be desolate and uninhabitable, and agriculture would be impossible.
However, just like making products in a factory,
Crops that are grown using chemicals and even genetically controlled seem rather dull and a little scary.

A comfortable position for me is somewhere between those two extremes.

There's no clear boundary, it's more like "I guess it's around here."

At the moment, that position for me is "no pesticides or fertilizers."

The kanji for "senrei" is also
The "Seven Bowls Poem" written in " The History of Xianling Tea "

Six bowls of sake lead to the immortal spirit. If you drink the sixth bowl, you will become a sage.

This comes from the idea that a "hermit" is something between a human and a god.
I'll never become a god, though.
I'm a little far away from people.

"Senrei" "SENREI"
I want to cherish this feeling of "border",
I hope to be able to embody this in many different areas, including farming methods.

It's pretty abstract though.
Thank you for reading this long post!