Aug 06,2020
Iwata Noriko runs a ume [Japanese plum] farm in Shinto, Gunma. She practices natural farming to raise ume, rice, soybeans, and wheat. In a 100-year-old traditional farmhouse, which also serves as her home, she opened the Haruna Sanroku Nou Café. Here, she run various hands-on events for many people, including ume picking and ume processing as well as rice planting and harvesting.
Communing with the changes of the seasons, connecting with the soil, and sharing nature’s bounty with others, Iwata lives this slow agricultural way of life, where the distance between people feels relaxed and welcoming. We spoke with her about the allure of farm work and her recommended ume recipes.
Iwata was born into a farming family that has lived for generations in Shinto, Gunma. She grew up surrounded by agriculture and had plenty of opportunities to help out with the family business. However, she never had any intention to take over the farm.
Iwata and her pride and joy, ume fruit harvested in her backyard orchard
“I used to work as an architectural designer in Tokyo, and I spent my days working on store designs and renovations. But one day, when I saw a building being demolished even though it was still in good condition and the resulting mountain of scrap materials left behind, I began to wonder, ‘Is this really what I want to do?’”
When she received news that her father had only three months to live, she returned to Shinto with a heavy heart. For a while, she wore two hats, working as both an architectural designer and running the farm. That was exactly 20 years ago. A turning point came just as she finished renovating her family home, a former silk farmhouse, which was 80 years old at the time.
“That project solidified my conviction to restore old houses, something that had been just a dream. As I reevaluated and carefully put back into use old but perfectly serviceable things, it dawned on me that this is what I truly love doing. At the same time connections blossomed with lots of people, something I hadn’t had while working at a firm in the city, and I began to better appreciate the magnificence of nature. These discoveries made farming more and more interesting to me.”
Her new revelations led Iwata to get involved in natural farming to grow ume without pesticides or chemical fertilizers.
The changes she has undergone since starting completely organic ume farming have been profound. “Every aspect of my life has totally changed. What I eat, what I wear, how I interact with people — everything. Even my values themselves have shifted.”
“When I’m working in the fields, I can sense the power of the soil and earth. Just being on the land gives me a sense of calm. It’s a wonderful feeling.
“Having the old farmhouse that I renovated and returned to its original state, and seeing the agriculture that thrives here naturally, I had a growing desire to share this environment with others rather than keep it all to myself.”
The 100-year-old farmhouse that Iwata renovated on her own
This desire manifested itself in the Haruna Sanroku Nou Café. At this café, Iwata leads such events as ume picking, rice planting, rice harvesting, and miso and soy-sauce making. Also very popular are workshops where people can experience Iwata’s regular ume-related work. Depending on the timing of the ume, these workshops can include making crispy small ume pickles, ume liqueur made from the shiro kaga variety of ume, and making umeboshi [pickled ume] from the nankoume variety. People can enjoy events tied to the season and farming year round.
“The ume activities you can experience at the Nou Café are all things that Japanese households have done for centuries. You don’t need any special skills. Some people, after enjoying an event here, have gathered their friends and held sessions to pickle ume together. When I see how the agricultural way of life is growing like this, I’m both delighted and gratified.”
In our modern living environments, most people have no opportunity to engage in farming activities in their daily lives. This is why Iwata really hopes that kids will experience connecting with the land.
“In my opinion, the experience of touching the earth and getting absolutely muddy broadens the scope of your life going forward. It’s okay even if your reaction is like ‘I hate getting dirty in the mud’, there are some things you simply can’t learn or understand without actually experiencing them.”
A scene from a ume workshop. The workshops often attract people of all ages.
Families often join the workshops and events, and working together in large groups is lively and festive.
Sweating under the sun or eating hearth-cooked rice together. Or gathering cozily around a wood stove in winter.
“Eating is living. Nothing beats having fun cooking a meal and having fun eating it. I hope participants take home ideas and inspirations that can become a source of comfort, something that truly makes them feel at ease.”
Whenever Iwata mentions ume, she always adds the honorific san. This reflects her deep love and gratitude for the crops.
“It might sound like baloney, but I swear I can converse with the ume-san. (laughs) When I go to pick a plum, I can sort of hear the tree say ‘Harvest me!’. It’s surely something akin to how pet owners can speak with their pets or how mothers know what their babies are thinking.
“Maybe it’s because I treat them with care and respect that I can sense what they are looking for.”
She has the same sensation with making miso and soy sauce, which she started doing with the single-minded intention eating these fermented foods.
“It’s strange, but the more times you make fermented foods, the better you get at it. This is probably because invisible bacteria began living in this house.
“In my miso-making workshops, even though the participants use the same soybeans and prepare the miso in the same way, after the miso ferments in their respective homes, it turns out completely different. If you treat the bacteria with love and get along with them, they will make your miso more delicious. That is probably what fermenting is really all about.”
Each Wednesday, Iwata opens the Nou Café Bio Shop, where she sells homemade processed ume products and farm produce. Her inspiration came from farmers’ markets she saw in France.
Iwata’s prized ume-san are perfect for making various ume staples.
“Since no pesticides are used, you don’t have to go to the trouble of soaking them in water, rinsing them, thoroughly drying them, and removing the tip of the stalk. All you have to do is give them a quick wipe with a dry cloth.
“By packing the fruit into well-sterilized, moisture-free jars, you can enjoy a variety of homemade ume products.”
For this article, Iwata shared with us her recommended ume recipes that she claims are “so super easy that anyone can make them”.
“People tend to think there’s a high hurdle to making umeboshi, but the fact is it’s very simple. For first-timers, I recommend making white umeboshi with just ume and salt to enjoy the pure flavor of the ingredients. Once you get the hang of it, I recommend adding perilla leaves to taste. The one thing to avoid is letting it ripen more.”
If you let the mixture marinate for three to four months, the ume themselves become edible. The ume soy sauce pictured was aged for a year.
“Ume soy sauce is really versatile, as it goes well with meat, fish, and anything else. The subtle ume aroma adds a nice accent, making it perfect as a condiment for summer meals such as chilled shabu-shabu hotpots or chilled tofu. It can be stored at room temperature for several months or in the refrigerator for up to a year.”
While sharing her agricultural way of life — a relaxed, enjoyable, and simple way of life — in her old farmhouse, Iwata’s sights are also focused on the future of the natural environment.
“Around the country, there are thousands of mountain areas, bamboo forests, fields, and rice paddies that lie neglected. I want to explore ways to restore these places to their natural beauty in a sustainable manner. The work of farmers may, ultimately, guide us to solutions.”
A ume farmer, Iwata restored a 100-year-old farmhouse in Shinto, Gunma, where she practices an agricultural way of life. Her farm’s main crops include ume, rice, soybeans, and wheat. She runs the Haruna Sanroku Nou Café, where she hosts events tied to the season and farming, including ume picking and ume processing, rice planting and harvesting, and miso and soy sauce preparation. Every Wednesday, Iwata sells homemade processed ume products and farm produce at her Nou Café Bio Shop.
https://noucafe-6.shopinfo.jp/
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