niime 百科

Encyclopedia of niime

Autumn is the season for harvest! It’s also the season for a big appetite! Mr Kunio Nasu and Ms Shoko Fukumori are in charge of “Maku team” where they cultivate their original material of cotton for products as well as growing rice and vegetables. Mr Mizuki Oishi, Ms Nanami Kamiyashiki and Ms Hatsuko Sakai are the “Kuu team”, where they provide meals for staff, providing nutrition and tasty foods. Those two teams are called the “Minoru team”.


Developing Banshu-ori to advanced new creation, “tamaki niime” is expanding more creativity into all of our living items of meals, clothing and housing. I took time to interview the staff who are growing “cotton”, a fundamental material for “tamaki niime” and also the team working with meals.


—— Mr Nasu, you have been working here quite a long time in the vegetables and rice fields. Right?

Nasu

It’s been six years this September. When we were at a little place in Ueno, Nishiwaki not far from here, Ms Tamaki rented the land to make cotton. But she was too busy to do it and asked me to. I have been doing it ever since.

—— Ms Tamaki had already started making cotton, right?

Nasu

We were making cotton at 3 or 4 places and got about 30 or 40 kg a year, which was like the hobby amount. We had too many weeds to grow cotton.

—— You couldn’t make a reasonable amount to make it into threads…

Nasu

We have actually made it after we moved in here. We have decided to put together all cultivated lands at Hie district, which is where we have 5 cotton sites now.

—— I heard Ms Tamaki decided what kind of cotton to use.

Nasu

The one we are cultivating is one of the Western kinds of cotton, very close to the purest white Egyptian cotton. The harvested cotton is sent to a spinning mill to make them into threads.

—— When is the harvest this year?

Nasu

It’s coming soon. The fields are not only here. We have other sites that we ask some customers to grow, too.

—— What?

Nasu

We have been giving out cotton seeds at various events. At the nearest place, the people of a facility in Shisou City are making for us.

—— I see.

Nasu

At this remote location, do you know Teshima in Kagawa prefecture in Shikoku?

—— That’s the island where there is an art museum for Tadanori Yokoo who is from Nishiwaki.

Nasu

A group of people in Teshima are making efforts to grow it. They open events for cotton.

—— They send the harvested cotton to you, right?

Nasu

Yes, we purchase them all.

—— How many different locations do you have?

Nasu

We can get a large amount from one of the suppliers in Gunma prefecture and Kasai City near us as well.

Fukumori

The rest is from the general public.

Nasu

They each make small amounts; like 50 or 100 kg.

—— Are they your customers?

Fukumori

It started from leftover seeds at various places. We made connections to people to increase sites for growing them. Especially this year, we have more locations.

Nasu

People in Bizen are growing them, too.

Fukumori

Other than that, if you search for “purchasing cotton”, you can see our website and come to the page for “sakumen”, making cotton, that people contact us.

—— Do they continually make such efforts every year?

Nasu

Yes, they do. Actually, they have been increasing.

—— That’s wonderful.

Fukumori

This year, many people are voluntarily self-quarantining or staying home, and there are many requests from people to share the seeds. That’s why especially this year many people are growing them.

—— I see. You have been broadening your connections. So, the harvested cotton is gathered to go to a spinning mill to make threads, and go to the “Dye team”, right?

Fukumori

That’s right.

—— Ms Fukumori, when did you join the company?

Fukumori

I came here last September.

—— Did you make a request to work in the fields from the beginning?

Fukumori

It all started when I was interested in “nature restoration” around the Shop & Lab and came here for the tree maintenance last summer. I like to work in nature basically, and heard they looked for field staff. I moved here to work from Mie.

—— Thank you for coming all the way to Nishiwaki.

Nasu

I had never worked in farming at all, but taking the opportunity for retirement, I came here for my son (Mr Sakai). I was taught agriculture by people or learned online. I am doing it somehow in my way. I am also making rice, but I feel natural cultivation is hard, indeed.

—— Are you doing organic farming?

Nasu

We have harvested through trial and error this year. We made it using completely natural cultivation.

—— You made it pesticide-free. How did you use fertilizer?

Fukumori

We used the compost sold by “Nuka Tengoku (bran heaven)”. They recommended it for use. We may make it on our own next year.

—— What kind of compost do you want to make?

Fukumori

We want rice-husk compost.

—— You want a plant-based one, not animal-based like cow or chicken manure.

Fukumori

Yes.

Nasu

As far as the rice cultivation, we haven’t used any fertilizer at all.

—— You have done fertilizer-free cultivation.

Nasu

This year, no one had a good rice harvest. We estimated we expected to have 1000 kg in less than 6000 square meter field, but I wonder how much we actually got?

Fukumori

We got about 700kg.

—— How do you harvest a crop?

Nasu

Half is made into a bundle after reaping by binder and all the staff work on them to be sun-dried on the rice drying racks, and for the rest, we ask local farmers’ associations to do it. We also ask them to remove rice hulls to produce brown rice, because we can’t do that.

—— I see. Then, how do you plant rice?

Nasu

There are 9 rice fields. This year, our staff worked with bare feet on the only rice field.

—— Oh, I watched it on the TV program “The Leader”, where they covered “tamaki niime”.

Nasu

For the next year, we are planning to plant 4 rice fields by hand.

Fukumori

Because we did it too quickly this year.

—— How many people participated?

Nasu

I think they were about 30 people.

Fukumori

That was the first trial we did. First, we planted 3 rows by the rice transplanter, which created the guideline for producing by hand. And we were surprised that we finished it in an instant. (laugh)

Nasu

We bought the tool following the guidelines for hand planting. Ours are pot seedlings, which are even easier to plant.

—— I see. Well, I would like to interview the two of you in the “Kuu team” now. First, Ms Oishi, you are in charge of cooking. Do you use the rice and vegetable ingredients provided by the “Maku team”?

Oishi

Yes, we do.

—— That’s how you are connected to them.


Oishi &

Fukumori

(laughs)

—— By the way, what kind of vegetables do you use?

Fukumori

There are various kinds, but we don’t have outstanding products this year.

—— What kind do you have now?

Oishi

We are given a lot of sweet potatoes.

Fukumori

We have sweet potatoes, bok-choy, Komatsuna (Japanese mustard spinach), green beans, etc.…

Oishi

Cauliflowers and broccoli.

Fukumori

And cabbages.

—— Wow. You grow a lot of vegetables.

Fukumori

(laugh)

—— How about summer vegetables?

Fukumori

We have peppers, eggplants, tomatoes, cucumbers, okras and what else?

Oishi

Did we have Goya (bitter melons)?

Fukumori

Yeah, we made them and also watermelons! What kind did we have more of?

Oishi

Oriental melons.

Fukumori

That’s right! Oriental melons!

—— Great!

Fukumori

Basil…

Oishi

Corn.

Fukumori

Speaking of corn, they were eaten by animals.

—— The crows came to eat them?

Nasu

Wild animals came this year.

Fukumori

Vegetables were eaten by them.

Nasu

One of the animals is Civet. Raccoons eat watermelons. The fields around Nakahata have traps, and if we catch one, we take them to the Hunting Club.

—— I see. So you receive various vegetables from “Maku team” and “Kuu team” cooks with them. Ms Oishi, how long have you been working here?

Oishi

It’s been about 7 months. My mother knew of this company and told me that they were hiring, that’s how I came for an interview.

Nasu

It’s nice that you live close.

—— It is easier for you to work in a close location. Would you tell me the daily schedule of “Kuu team”?

Oishi

I arrive in the morning and make lunch by noon, clean up, make preparations for the next day, and end up with cleaning for the day.

—— How many meals do you prepare?

Oishi

We make about 50 at most, and 35 at the least.

—— You adjust the amount by attendance, right?

Oishi

Just like today’s menu of Soba noodle, we have other shops come in to help us once a week.

—— You work on adjusting and also learn cooking techniques. How do you like working in charge of meals at “tamaki niime”?

Oishi

As I started working earlier, I have made menus. Seeing the vegetables received, I am allowed to decide the menu for the day.

—— Does “Maku team” inform you as to the vegetables they will get soon?

Oishi

They show me the vegetable book first, then they ask me what kind of vegetables I want this season when they buy seeds.

Fukumori

When we buy seeds in advance, we ask them what kind of vegetables they want, and grow them, and report them when harvested.

—— I see. You have fun in that way.

Oishi

Yes, we do. (smile)

—— Because you can get the vegetables you want.

Oishi

That’s right. We hope we can cook them without wasting as little as possible.

—— What do you do with the leftover vegetables?

Fukumori

When we have too much harvested…

Oishi

We sometimes give them away to the staff.

Fukumori

Yes. We share with them, telling them to pick them up freely at the field. (laugh)

—— That’s a good idea. They could enjoy picking the harvest.

Nasu

We had a lot of edamame (soybeens) last week, and Ms Fukumori asked the staff to get them for free on Saturday and Sunday.

—— Did you make the edamame dish?

Oishi

Yes, we made mame-gohan (rice with edamame).

—— That sounds nice. Well, Ms Kamiyashiki, I am sorry to have kept you waiting. I heard you haven’t worked here very long, as of yet.

Kamiyashiki

No, not very long. I arrived here earlier this month (October).

—— Wow, you are still a newcomer. What brought you here?

Kamiyashiki

I had been studying cooking abroad in France until March.

—— Is that so?

Kamiyashiki

But I had to come home because of the Corona pandemic. One of my friends knew about this place for a long time, and she recommended me to apply here when I was looking for a job.

—— Did you go to France because you chose to work as a cook?

Kamiyashiki

Yes, that was one of the reasons. I also studied fashion before that.

—— Is that right? That sounds perfect for you to work here.

Kamiyashiki

I hope I can work for both professions in the future.

—— That’s wonderful.

Kamiyashiki

I found the perfect place.

—— You had to come home while studying in France?

Kamiyashiki

Yes. I stayed for about 7 months and came home while studying as an intern at a restaurant.

—— Did you master something?

Kamiyashiki

Before going abroad to France, I studied at a cooking school in Japan, and was interested in wild game meat and French cooking. There were Spring and Autumn courses for the study abroad program. The Spring course uses Spring and Summer ingredients, and the Autumn course uses Autumn ingredients like wild game meat.

—— I see.

Kamiyashiki

It was just the hunting season that I was very interested in.

—— That’s why you went there around October.

Kamiyashiki

That’s right.

—— I see. Talking about wild game meat, I heard that Ms Tamaki wants to get a hunting license. By the way, how was the study of fashion?

Kamiyashiki

I learned about basic patterns. My main study was in textiles.

—— As a newcomer, what was your impression of “tamaki niime”?

Kamiyashiki

I have an impression that each staff is very unique.

〈continued〉


Many different personal originalities are gathered and intertwined at “tamaki niime”. For the next interview, we will have a “Mom”, Ms Hatsuko Sakai who couldn’t make it at the opening due to her schedule. She knows the history of the company very well and may reveal secret stories in the past. The staff of “farming” and “cooking” distinguishes themselves from the teams at the factory and the shop. Please enjoy their continuous discussions.

Original Japanese text by Seiji Koshikawa.
English translation by Adam & Michiko Whipple.