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[Special article] Rice making of Nagano that makes it better to overcome restrictions
Rice that has been a Japanese staple food since ancient times. While Nagano Prefecture has abundant water sources, rice is created under conditions that cannot be said to be blessed with rice -making, such as cool, rainy climate surrounded by mountains and many slopes surrounded by mountains. 。 In such a situation, why was Nagano Prefecture the top class in the country and the yield per area per area?
There were people's efforts to overcome various restrictions, such as the ideas of paddy fields and irrigation canals, and breeding in the environment.
Cultural landscape created by nature and people's efforts "Obasute no Tadan"
Minoru Tsukikai Chairman Minoru Kanai
Obasute area, Chikuma City, which is famous for its famous spots for the moon. Approximately 40 hectares and 1,500 terraces spread on the sloping lands facing the Chikuma River and Zenkoji Tadaira below.
Minoru Tsukikai Chairman Minoru Kanai
"Obasute's terraced rice fields are powerful soils that hold nutrients and water retention. This soil, which contains a lot of nutrients, nurtures rice with a lot of amino acids. Other warm rice is other warm rice. I think that the real value of rice is the only thing that is delicious in any rice, but the rice in the Obasute is sticky and delicious.
This is the story of Minoru Kanai, the chairman of the Meiji Tsukikai, who is engaged in the preservation activities of the rice terraces.
"Obasute no Tadan" is a slope formed by a large -scale debris flow caused by the eruption of Mt. In the books of the Muromachi period, there is also a description about "Obasute no Tadan", but it was in the Edo period that development became full -fledged. In order to increase the amount of tribute collected by the Shogunate's policy, rice fields were created not only on the plains but also on the sloping of poorly conditional mountains.
Rice making is essential for rich water in addition to fertile soil. At Obasute's terraced rice fields, there is a method of dropping the water of the "Oike" built in the Edo period into the Saraga River and recovering the water from the Saraga River near the terraced rice field.
"The water source of Oike is a water that springs out of the venue of Benzaiten, but this is strange. There are no expensive mountains like the Northern Alps in this area, but rainwater that has fallen in the mountains is on the ground. Mr. Kanai says that it will be a very good spring water over time, and it will spring out without withering. "
In addition, wisdom was needed to allow water to spread water to the distinctive terrain of Tanada and to be drained. By devising drainage methods by the culvert of a stone -set culvert, called "Ganise", which was created under the paddy field, the terraced rice fields spread throughout the slope, and a unique cultural landscape was formed.
* A waterway buried in the basement
"I made a system in which the ancestors were eating, so I had a hard work, piled up stones, turned them into a waterway, and sent water to the lower rice fields. I often talk to them. The terraced territory is always grateful to the slopes formed, that is, the power of nature and the wisdom of the predecessors.
On the other hand, rice making in Obasute rice fields has become a problem due to the aging of the bearers and the shortage of successors. The average age of the 13 members of the 13th Moon Association is about 74 years old. If there are no people who make rice, rice terraces will be devastated in five years. So the Moonkai thought about the "Tanada Rental System", which started in 1996. With the aim of retracting the landscape of the terraced rice fields into the future and deepening exchanges between urban and rural areas, members participate in rice planting, grass, harvesting, and threshing, and all harvests are for members. is. At present, about 90 pairs are participating, and half of them are repeaters. It seems that it is so popular that there are no lending rice fields depending on the year.
These conservation activities bear fruit, and Obasute's terraced rice fields were designated as the national scenic spot for the first time nationwide, and in 2020, they were certified as a Japanese heritage recognized by the Agency for Cultural Affairs.
From barren land to rice that competes for 1.2 in the prefecture
Kurashina Farm Takaaki Kurashina
Kurashina Farm Takaaki Kurashina
"Even if you say Nagano Prefecture, the formation of the land is completely different depending on the region. This area is gravel, but there are clay -quality land in the prefecture, and the situation is different for each region. Land in each region. I think that the cultivation technique according to the characteristics has been studied and developed, and the ingenuity and wisdom of the people are delicious.
This is what Takaaki Kurashina of Kurashina farm, which runs agriculture in the Azusa River district of Matsumoto City, is like this.
The Azusa River area of Matsumoto is located in the Azumino area at the foot of the Mountain of the Northern Alps, which spreads from Azusa River in the Matsumoto basin to Azumino City and Omachi City. Azumino has a wealth of water, such as wasabi cultivation that makes use of abundant spring water, but it is surprising that Azumino has a rich image of water, but it was a surprise that the wilderness was once spread due to the lack of water. 。 The reason for this is on a unique terrain nationwide, a composite fan -style, formed by overlapping several rivers from the Northern Alps.
"Azumino varies from the upper, middle, and terminal of the fan -shaped area. The snowy water in the Northern Alps penetrates the basement and springs to the end of the fan, so the end part is growing the endos. On the other hand, there is no water on the surface because the gravel layer of the river is deeply underground. Mr. Kurashina is an area where there is no water on the middle surface. "
Azumino had no water on the ground while having a treasure trove of water called the Northern Alps. As a result, efforts were continued to secure water, and over a long period of time, the waterway has been stretched like capillaries. It is common for a vertical waterway that is taken directly from the river called a vertical weir, but the characteristic of Azumino is the horizontal weir, which runs almost in parallel with the contour lines. While the horizontal weir can carry water to a large area and moisturize the land, it is necessary to read the complex terrain and draw the waterway along the contour lines, which requires extremely high surveying technology and construction technology. I did it.
In Azumino, the Yahara weir was launched in 1654, and six horizontal spots were excavated. Especially famous is the pick -up made in 1816. It is the largest waterway in Azumino, which is about 570 meters, about 1,000 hectares, which moisturizes the paddy fields of about 1,000 hectares, which takes water from the Nara Igawa River and crosses the center of the complex fan.
In the early Showa era, a dam was built by power development, and a large waterway was drawn. In the structural improvement project, which starts around 1965, field maintenance has been performed, and as the 20 to 30 -ar rice fields have been developed square, it has been possible to cut them with large machines.
"The predecessors have made a considerable effort to draw water that is indispensable for rice cultivation. Thanks to that, there are plenty of water in this area, and fields have been maintained, making it very rice. It is an easy environment, "says Kurashina.
Azumino has transformed from a barren land to a rice point due to the accumulation of these people's efforts.
Nagano Prefecture Original rice "Kazeyaka"
Koyanagi Farm Yasuhiro Arai
Koyanagi Farm Yasuhiro Arai
Now Japan has more than 900 paddy rice brown rice brands, and the number is increasing year by year. In Nagano Prefecture, the cultivation of "Koshihikari" is thriving, and the total area is about 70 % of the total. In recent years, there are concerns that the lack of labor during rice harvesting is a problem and the effects of global warming. The birth of a variety of varieties that could be resistant to the heat, shift the harvest time, and show the characteristics of Nagano Prefecture was born in 2013. is.
"The wind is impressive and the sweetness and umami of rice are good, and the throat is good. Koshihikari is a delicious rice, but if you eat it with side dishes, you can complement the side dishes. It is good for rice, and it goes well with Japanese -like meals such as boiled food.
The charm of this wind is the Koyanagi Farm, which is a variety of rice cultivation such as Koshihikari, Hikari Mochikari, Sake Rice Yamae Nishiki, and Miyama Nishiki, in addition to 180 rice fields in Nakano City. Yasuhiro. In 2012, he had a background selected as a dedication to the Imperial New Year's Festival, and at that time, the word from the Emperor's Majesty was triggered by the words, "Please work hard on the development of local agriculture in the future." He has strengthened his aspirations for rice cultivation like Nagano Prefecture. For this reason, it is said that he has a strong feeling for cultivation, which is born in Nagano Prefecture.
Depending on the variety, Arai seems to have a highly water -retaining land, and "Kazeyaka" is cultivated in good drainage land, and cultivates according to the characteristics of varieties and soil. 。 The land that grows the wind and chicken is a fan -like fan of Segawa. It is a land that is suitable for fruit cultivation, a gravel layer in which stones carried from the mountains are deposited.
"Kazeyaka is a high -yield variety, and it has the characteristic that it absorbs fertilizer firmly. Therefore, we make it while adjusting so as not to give too much fertilizer so that the neat taste unique to the wind can be produced. Instead of the chimcho river water system, the water is also suitable for cultivation, which is a fertilizer, which is easy to flowing from the night Segawa, which is far from the upstream. I think it is "
In addition, it seems that one variety is cultivated in multiple eggs, confirming the growth status, and exploring land that suits the variety by eating.
"There are both land and water, and you can taste the rice. I would like to continue to face rice making while considering varieties and cultivation methods that match the land," says Arai.
Nagano Prefecture is nurtured by rice with each individuality in each land. In addition to the rich soil, water, and the unique climate of Nagano Prefecture, the wisdom of the predecessors and the efforts of the unwilling of the predecessors have led to the current rice making in Nagano Prefecture.
This article is information as of September 2022.
Please note that products handled are subject to change.
