Permaculture Center Japan spreading wisdom for sustainable living

As environmental problems caused by climate change become more serious, more and more people may be seeking a lifestyle that is kind to themselves, others and the earth. In Japan, the term “permaculture” is gaining ground among those interested in organic and sustainable living. Permaculture is a concept spreading around the world, based on the idea of modifying a lifestyle dependent on fossil fuels and building an environmentally friendly, sustainable society.

We interviewed Kiyokazu Shidara, head of Permaculture Center Japan, to explore the potential of permaculture in Japan.

Interviewee Profile: Kiyokazu Shidara

Representative of NPO Permaculture Center Japan (PCCJ). After working in agriculture in Niigata for four years, he moved to the U.S. to study environmental anthropology. After returning to Japan, he founded PCCJ in 1990 in Fujino, Kanagawa Prefecture, to establish a Japanese model of permaculture. Currently, his main activities are focused on educational projects to promote permaculture within Japan. Permaculture tutoring sessions are held throughout the year.

Permaculture is a term coined by combining three words: “permanent,” “agriculture” and “culture.” So many people think of permaculture as “sustainable agriculture,” growing vegetables and rice and being self-sufficient, but it is much deeper than that. Shidara has been involved in permaculture for over 25 years and keeps exploring it.

He says, “Permaculture is more than simply being self-sufficient in food, clothing and shelter. When people realize their own capabilities, it becomes apparent that nature is full of a variety of materials that can fulfill them. When human creativity and nature’s supply are in harmony within a space, we can design solutions to the problems that will sustain the earth. The first step is to become self-sufficient by creating what we need ourselves.”

How Japan’s unique permaculture formed

Permaculture was proposed by Bill Mollison and others in Australia in the 1970s and is practiced worldwide. However, the idea had already existed in Japan for 100 years.

According to Shidara, “Japan’s history has accumulated a lot of wisdom that can be applied to permaculture, such as rice farming techniques, folk art and how people interact. For example, the Mingei movement is a local culture created by the people of Japan about 100 years ago. It revealed the value of mingei (folk crafts), which was born out of people’s fundamental way of being and their relationship with nature. This is almost in line with the idea of permaculture.”

Shidara continues, “Each country and region has its own culture, which had existed since before permaculture existed. With its long north-south axis and climatic differences, Japan has many unique regional cultures. Culture grows where there is a combination of cultures, locality, wisdom and lifestyle of the people who live there. The diversity of these cultures has allowed them to interact with each other, resulting in higher quality culture.”

To promote more sustainable living in Japan

In a hypothesis, if all the people in the world lived the same way as the Japanese do today, more than 2.8 Earths worth of resources would be required. We are now in an era of mass consumption, but also of changing lifestyles, including how we work and what we eat, to create new values and innovations. What awareness do we need to have to live more sustainably in Japan?

Shidara replies, “What we need most is for everyone to get out of the ‘big system.’ Nature is full of energy that we can use. Humans are full of imagination that can give a shape to it and materialize the abundance of all living things, not just people. The goal of Japanese permaculture is for each individual to break out of the system and rediscover the value of the natural environment. With the creativity that each of us possesses, apply the natural properties of the materials around us to discover new uses that have never existed before and, in the process, enrich the earth.”

Wisdom and creativity valued by permaculture

Shidara says that the most important thing to live sustainably is self-sufficiency. “Originally, Japan was a mountainous country, with each region separated from the others, making it difficult for goods to be interchanged. Therefore, systems of local self-sufficiency, as well as individual self-sufficiency, were well established. Such a way of being for people and the region is the starting point of Japanese permaculture. In an island nation, we need to take another look at the accumulated knowledge and skills of how people can live more abundantly within the limited natural resources available to them.”

Finally, Shidara gave us three pieces of advice for living in the city with consideration for people, others and the earth. He is positive about urban life with lots of people and little nature.

1. Fill all visible areas of soil with food

   “It is important for self-sufficiency to include the concept of ‘eating.’ We should also plant ornamental plants such as flowers and foliage around us as much as possible.”

2. Build communities

   “There are many people in a city. This means that people are more likely to talk to each other, stimulate each other’s creativity, and create something great. Building communities makes it possible to develop wisdom to solve environmental problems with like-minded people.”

3. Use your imagination to problem-solve

   “Cities are prone to various problems because of the large number of people that gather there. At the same time, they are also spaces where solutions to problems that arise can be found. That is why cities have the potential to stimulate people’s creativity and enhance the value of the entire space based on new solutions.”