At UT, we would like to convey the beauty of Satoyama through the [SATOYAMA Landscapes] collection. This unique landscape has attracted attention from overseas by now, but what exactly is life in a satoyama? What does life in Satoyama teach us? We featured two women who actually live in Satoyama and asked them to talk about their lives.
Case1: Miori Baba (Minamiboso, Chiba)
Miori Baba is a satoyama-lover who splits her time between Tokyo and Minami-boso City, Chiba Prefecture. On weekdays she works as a construction writer in Tokyo and on weekends she spends her time in a beautiful satoyama surrounded by the ocean and mountains. She is also the chairman of the NPO Minami-Boso Republic (https://mb-republic.com) and helps to manage satoyama schools.
Why did you decide to have two lifestyle bases?
My son reads so much about fish, insects, rocks, and the universe. He has even committed many details to memory. One day he said to me, “I want to see real things.” That was when I decided to make this lifestyle change. Me and my husband are both from Tokyo and lived in this city where nothing is lacking. However, from the perspective of our son, who loves nature, we felt that Tokyo was lacking in terms of natural environments. So, we thought we would like to live in the country, even if just on the weekends when our schedules are flexible. We thought would be nice to have something like “grandma’s house in the country,” but without grandma. We thought this would be the rational approach to realizing our dream of raising our three children surrounded by nature.
Her son and daughter watching beautiful sun sink below horizon at the beach.
What attracted you to Minami-Boso area in Chiba prefecture ?
We spent about three years looking at various areas and properties. Among these, Minami-Boso stood out as it is only about an hour and a half away from our house and yet it has maintained the satoyama landscape from long ago. In other words, its was both the closest and truest countryside. There is none of the branding so common among people living in the city. The simple nature and low self-awareness of this area is extremely attractive. As we are located at the southern tip of the peninsula, we are close to both the mountain and ocean. So, in the summer, we do field work in the morning and evening when it is cooler. Then in the afternoon we play at the beach. During the winter we do field work during the day when it is warmer. Then in the evening we go to the beach to watch the sunset. The other day we spent the night laying in the middle of a field watching a Gemini Constellation meteor shower as a family. It was hard to believe that we were still in a prefecture bordering Tokyo. When our oldest son became a college student, he would voluntarily come to Minami-Boso by himself or with friends to enjoy surfing and fishing. I was glad to see my children’s generation become involved with Minami-Boso on their own.
Do you feel any changes to mind and body after starting life with two bases?
I think I am now at the healthiest point in my life, both physically and mentally. I think the reason, after all, is because I can regularly spend time in nature. There are times when I am very troubled by work and raising children, but when I put myself in nature completely removed from human society, I can put these troubles in perspective and become lighthearted thinking, “It’s not that bad.” By nature, I am a little bit lazy. The household is cheerful when mom is optimistic. Also, when you spend time outside using your body to cultivating the soil, cutting grass, chopping down trees, and building bonfires, you can naturally get in shape. Using your body to improve countryside environment (without fitness) is called “Satoyama-bics.” That reminds me, in the past I loved spicy foods and preferred foods with strong seasoning. However, recently I find I do not need such stimulation. I have probably somehow become satisfied. There is no end to my worries about poorer skin due to so much exposure to ultraviolet rays, but I feel that I don’t need to use any beauty treatments as I have a lifestyle that strikes the perfect balance for the inside and outside of my body. This is because my body is now a mirror to my soul.
Case 2: Anna Grønkjær Jensen （Komatsu, Ishikawa）
Anna Grønkjær Jensen , from Denmark, has spent her time studying play and food at the school where her father is the president, and feeling her parents’ passion for creating a better environment for children and young people. Approximately 5 years ago, she first came to Japan and became interested in Japanese food culture. After returning to Denmark to study more about design, food and education , she returned to Japan and in 2020 Spring she has moved to TAKIGAHARA FARM (https://takigaharafarm.com/) to provide.
Why did you decide to live in Takigahara?
I came to Japan last year in August to work at Aoyama Farmers Market in Tokyo. I am interested in the intersection between food and education, and the farmers market is a place where we can learn about food in close connection with farmers and producers. In April when COVID19 started reaching a critical condition, Aoyama Farmers Market was paused and we, the organising team, started working remotely. I saw this as an opportunity to explore other parts of Japan. I decided to make my way to Takigahara Farm for a couple of days. 3 days became one week and one week became two. The mountains were calling for my attention and the river was inviting for a ride into the summer. Takigahara felt strangely familiar, awaking feelings of my childhood where I grew up in the Danish countryside. A place I left when I was 19 to go and explore the world.
What do you do in Takigahara?
My ordinary life is like;
-Waking up to the sound of the seasonal insects.
-Getting interrupted by Nakade-san, the next door neighbour, knocking at my door around 7 pm to ask if I wanna help harvesting lotus roots before breakfast.
-Repeating the same act everyday of boiling rice in a clay pot to master the perfect texture.
- Finding comfort with the seasonal temperature: jumping into the river to cool down or making fire to heat up.
- climbing the tree to reach the beautiful autumn Yuzu which serves as the main character in a delicious jam.
-Making dinners with strangers and friends while listening to their stories from near and far.
Basically life in Takigahara offers good food and great people to share everyday with - what else do we need?
Did you feel any change in body and mind since you started to live there? How do these changes affect?
Nature and Human are not two separate things. Human is a part of nature which becomes evident when living in Satoyama. I eat my surroundings, I hear my surroundings, I touch my surroundings - my surroundings are part of me and I am part of them. One thing is to live - which is the act of surviving. Another thing is to feel alive - What makes you feel alive? This is a great place for exploring such a question.
