DBJ Research Center on Global Warming
Discussion Paper Series No. 40 (7/2011)

Linking City and Farm Village :An Experiment to Rebuild Abundant Farm Community

Hiromichi Kaneko

This paper is a preliminary material in the draft form to stimulate discussion
and comments from academics and policy makers. Views expressed in thispaper are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official
views of the Development Bank of Japan.

1Linking City and Farm Village:
An Experiment to Rebuild Abundant Farm Community
Hiromichi Kaneko

1. Introduction
Farm villages have often been placed as an opposite of the cities in discussions.
Metropolitan cities such as Tokyo and Osaka are the centers in politics and culture, andmajor issues for regional communities have became difficult to solve, whether they arepolitical administration or industrial matters.
In farming communities, there are abundant natures, relief and human feelings,
things are lost in large urban cities. Still, young people in farming communities are attracted
to the charms of urban cities and walk out their birth places. Many farming communities
are facing with declining population and ageing.
Farm lands located around metropolitan cities did not suffer from population
losses, but they are exposed to the waves of housing development for city dwellers and arefacing new environmental problems.
Farm lands located around metropolitan cities did not suffer from population losses, butthey are exposed to the waves of housing development for city dwellers and are facing newenvironmental problems.
When we refer to "the age of local community" or "localism," they should be also
takes as a cry aiming at restoration of farming community.
Interests of city residents to the agriculture and agricultural districts rose increasingly inrecent years.
Targets of such interests range from preservation of natural environment toproduction of safe food, biomass on behalf of fossil fuel, and 'life with agriculture' whichseeks for healing.
Citizens' farms in vicinities of Tokyo and Osaka are always filled with people
seeking to enjoy contacts with the nature, and have a long waiting list.
Through the changes in value judgment of city residents and diversification of life
style, relationship of metropolitan cities and farming communities will drastically change.
Such a change will lead to a new appreciation of domestic agriculture, and is also amovement to look for a new relationship between cities and farm lands.

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Walls which have long separated cities and farming villages will gradually taken away.
Urban planning and construction of living environment in cities will need to be worked out
in a united style.
The Basic Law on Food, Agriculture and Farming Communities enacted in 1999
defines a farming village as "a community where farming is a living place for residents"(article 5). In other words, farming village is sustainable only if it is maintained as a living
place for residents living there. This is a big turn from old Basic Law where farming village
is a "place for agricultural production."
Agricultural communities need voluntary conducts and activities to constructfarming village as a living place. New Basic law points that building of farming village
should aim at: safe and peaceful life, attractive resources unique to farming community,
districts where active traffic of people, materials and information, and communities where
people can live and learn in active manners. To realize such targets, polity should draw out
independent attitudes of farm villages and support.
Agricultural villages are basic part of the Japanese society. Raising personality inthe nature in rural community, environmental protection function through maintenance ofrice paddy and forests are important elements which contribute to the social stability.
To make use of these functions of rural communities, a comprehensive
understanding of nature environment and culture of rural villages as well as agriculture
itself will be needed. Maintenance of appeals of farming villages can be discussed on thebasis of such understanding.
In this chapter, case studies of voluntary revitalization of farm villages and mutual
association of cities and farming communities will be introduced.

2. System of Agricultural Environment Protection
2.1 Farmers' Corporation
City of Taketa, Oita Prefecture, has a population of 18,000, and is surrounded by the outerrim of Mt. Aso. Kujuno district is located in mountainous area, about 30 minutes drivefrom central Taketa. Grazing land, formerly used as rice paddy, spreads in the valley, andblue soybeans and buckwheat is grown in steep slopes.
Kujuno district signed a contract with the Agricultural Ministry in 2000 under"direct payment system for mountainous farm community." "Direct payment system" is set

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up for farmers whose production costs are higher than average due to disadvantageousland location, such as steep slopes where use of agri machinery is difficult. A certain
amount of income is guaranteed for farmers under the system, if they agree to maintainfarming environment or not to abandon their fields.
"Let's use the grant for offense, not for defense," said Mr. Seiya Goto, who ischairman of successor raising committee in Kujuno. The committee is made from 111
farmers of 8 villages in Kujuno district.
The direct payment covers about 100 ha of farming land in Kujuno, and a total of
21 million yen is paid annually, amounting 105 million yen in five years. The money isalmost equal to "home land revival" project which recklessly spent 100 million yen for all
local governments under the idea of former Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita. The
committee decided to keep two thirds of the grant to spend for processing plants ofagricultural produce and sales promotion of them.
Behind the idea is the aging of Kujuno district. In Kujuno, average age is 69, farhigher than other mountainous communities. Kujuno is on the verge of extinction unlessyounger generation will succeed the farming land, and integration of fragmented farm land
into larger size will be a good idea to attract "fresh blood," thought Mr. Goto and others.
They came up with the idea to manage farming in a form of company organization.
Members of the Kujuno successor raising committee will become shareholders, and they
trust their farming land to the company.
According to Mr. Goto's scenario, trusted farm land will be separated into
"ownership" and "right to use the land." Salaries will be paid to "employees" according totheir labor and the size of the trusted farm land. The company will integrate farm land by
the unit of "valley," and when the management of the company has got going, they will hire
new farmers.
Shares of the company is temporarily trusted to the Kujuno successor raisingcommittee, as the government is modifying the Farm Land Law to restrict entry ofcorporations into agriculture.
Mr. Goto and others will register Kujuno as corporation as soon as thegovernment deregulates entry of companies into agriculture.
Although a stock company may not fit to agriculture, Mr. Goto says, "Rural
villages have long traditions of collective decision-making and common interests. Such
traditions have concepts similar to stock company. Therefore, members do not feel
reluctance to form a stock company."
The first "valley company" started in May 2001. A total of 5 ha farm land,

4formerly used as rice paddy and thicket and possessed by 6 farmers, integrated into two
cattle raising farmhouses and grazing land. The only problem was that there was a river
right below the land. There was a possibility that heavy rain may wash discharges of cattle
into river and the water may get contaminated.
Mr. Goto and others studied appropriate number of cattle to raise in the land, andconcluded that 15 cows in 20 ha land will not bring water pollution. In the European
Union, appropriate head count of cattle is one per hectare. Kujuno has a stricter rule.
Cattles released outside will become healthy and vigorous, and their discharges will fertilize
the grazing land. Thus, valley company became useful to protect the environment of
Kujuno's farm lands.

2.2 Cooperation with Cities
Another vigor of Kujuno district lies in processing of agricultural products. In Taketa city,
there are 13 agri processing groups. They sell such products as rice cakes and tofu in
department stores and pilot shops in Oita city, made from local produces. Kujuno agri
processing plant joined this group in fiscal 2002.
What is unique about Taketa city is that the city supports projects of Kujuno andother districts in the hope that the success of such projects will contribute to the revival of
Taketa city itself.
The beginning of the story is restoration project of Miyase Bridge which wasdestructed by heavy rain in 1993. Citizens in city and rural areas jointly formed a group to
restore the bridge, and the Miyase Bridge was renewed in 1998. Through the project,
residents of city and village shared a sense of unity.
A year after the restoration of the bridge, city began to repay to the kindness ofthe farm village. A shopping district in Taketa city proposed to sell buckwheat as dry
noodles in town. Buckwheat was products Mr. Goto and other farmers produced as analternate agri products for rice, but they were struggling in marketing.
The proposal made Mr. Goto so delighted, but that was not the last offer of
support from the town. They proposed to market wheat, kabosu orange, and soybean.
They even mentioned to help raise stoneweed, designated as one of plants in the red data
book of the Environment Ministry on the verge of extinction. Stoneweed is used fordyeing.
Taketa city government officials say that selling farm produce and other processed
goods of rural villages in the city helped city and villages get integrated, and they anticipate

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more linkage of two communities because Taketa city as a whole will stagnate unless cityand village together think about the future of Taketa. Vacant store space and abandoned
farm land in Kujuno are the same "hollowing out," and a system must be established inwhich the community will take over farm land or real estate if individuals cannot bear theburden.

2.3 Three Hollowing Out in Rural Villages
Three hollowing out are under way in many farming villages: man, farm land, and ruralcommunity. Rural villages in mountain areas do not have working places around, and the
population of younger generations will decrease while aging will proceed. Depopulation
will mean sharp decrease of farmers, and a lot of farm lands are being left untouched.
Unless properly maintained, farming land sills sometimes cause natural disaster such as landslide. Abandoned rice paddies will affect neighboring paddies, because damage of irrigation
facilities of the abandoned paddy will inevitably give impact to others. Some farm villages
lost all of the population, because continuing agriculture became no longer possible.
While a chain reaction of depopulation, aging and expansion of farm land disposal
is spreading from low mountain rural area to plains, hollowing out of village is under way
as well. The hollowing out is seen in the form of lost function of autonomy in thecommunity. According to a research by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport,
more than 20% of towns and villages in mountain areas are facing diminishing traditional
culture such as village festival and decrease of tradition successors. An increasing numberof rural communities do not react to the calling of local government for community
activities.
How can three hollowing out be overcome? "Simple succession of local
community on the basis of present economic power will never produce new energy," warns
Professor Tokumi Odagiri of University of Tokyo graduate school. He says old deadlocked
paradigm should be abandoned, and new framework should be created. Kujuno's attempt
to introduce corporatization into farming community is a good example.
New paradigm may differ by community. Professor Odagiri points that at least
three conditions have to be met. First, the framework should include new sense of value
fostered by the community. Second, new entry from outside is guaranteed. Third, humanrights, such as medical care for the elderly and education of children, must be secured.
Unless residents cannot find value or take pride in the community they live in,outflow of population will not stop, even if a temporary revitalization of the community is6realized.
Indeed, blocking new entries into agriculture and forestry will lead to no solution
to aging of the rural community or abandoning farm lands. It is true that medical treatment,
nursing and education are services which are taken care of by local governments. Still, amechanism is necessary to integrate the community as a whole in order to conduct suchservices in a more effective manner.

3. Creating a Landscape of Farm Village
Exploring and utilizing "local resources" is a key in awakening self-motivation of local
residents. Local resources are natural environment of the rural community, farming ground,forest, river, landscape of the community and ecological system. To lead voluntary actionsof local residents, an increasing number of rural districts are organizing "exploration team"
to find out local resources which have not been perceived by residents, and extend
activities which promote utilization of such resources, preserve local environment throughdiscussions among residents. Preservation of rural landscape is an example of suchactivities.

3.1 Preserving Village Landscape
Yokaichi-Gokoku district in Uchiko town, Ehime Pref., is known for its row ofstorehouses over 2 km length along the former Ozu Main Road. Uchiko town government,
together with citizens' groups, made efforts in preserving the street landscape. In 1982, thearea was designated as preservation district of historic buildings.
Based on the know-how of preservation of Yokaichi-Gokoku, Uchiko town
started farm village landscape preservation project, which aims to build by residents anagricultural community with a beautiful landscape.
Uchiko-town proposed creation of village landscape in the second half of 1980s.
Setting fiscal 2000 as the target, "Ecology Town Uchiko Plan," a town planning, stated thatthe plan will pursue preservation or creation of rural environment and landscape unique to
Uchiko. Creation of village landscape was repeated in the second town planning which
ends fiscal 2010.
"Stone Pave" district, about 12 kilometers away from the central Uchiko, waschosen as a model area of the project. Concerned about the future of the community under7
the decreasing population and ongoing aging, a 12-member resident group formed private
gathering in 1987 to preserve the environment in the district. Uchiko-town reformed an old
farmer house into a private inn, and trusted the management of the inn to the local
residents.
"We were trusted the inn, but at first we did not know what to do," says Sadamu
Yamada, who was the third head of the private group. While the town government asked
to preserve "rural culture," it was residents of urban communities who admire rural culture.
Consequently, it took two years for the group to reach a conclusion as to a landscape which
they feel beautiful, after reviewing history, culture, and scenery of their community.
The group started restoration of a water mill in the district as the first step oflandscaping. Until mid-1960s, there were more than 30 water mill along the Fumoto River
which flows in the area. All of them were destructed during the high economic growth
period in 1960s and 1970s. None of the member group actually knows the water mill.
They agreed that water mill is an element to make Stone Pave district original. The
cost of restoration was financed by members, each paying 50,000 yen. With help of a water
mill carpenter, the first mill was completed in 1990.
Other local people in the community, who were first indifferent about restorationof water mill, began to visit the completed mill to polish rice or buckwheat every day.
Eventually, water mill became a pride of the village.
Realizing the upsurge among residents over water mill, Uchiko town government
built a second water mill, as part of park infrastructure building project. Stimulated by thegovernment's action, the private group constructed the third water mill with a thatchedroof, and started marketing local rice polished at the mill under a name of "Water Mill
rice."The number village residents who joined the group increased to 25.

3.2 Philosophy of Residents Crucial
Once activities start off the ground, ideas continually proposed by residents one after
another. Stone Pave district had numerous resources; terraced rice fields, roofed bridges
constructed back in the Edo era, and some 20 dams made in the Fumoto River. "Residents
began to think how to sustain those resources and even transform them into what they
believe a beautiful landscape," Mr. Yamada looks back.
Uchiko-town government advised the residents' group a landscaping "based on
subtraction." The subtraction method is the know-how on how to maintain the landscape8of a community, and its main strategy is to remove items such as electric wire andfreestanding signboards which spoil town view.
Following the advice, "road sign guidance group" of the meeting began to replace
metal signs into ones made of wood which better matched the surroundings. Walls ofterraced rice fields, once covered by concrete under land improvement projects of theAgriculture Ministry, were changed by piles of stones, its original structure.
Concrete blocks shaped like picture frames have been embedded on both banksof the Fumoto River to prevent land slide, but residents and town government of Uchikorequested to Ehime Prefecture reforms of the slopes on the banks. They made shelves
between concrete blocks by wood, and planted broadleaf trees in there. The reform wasless expensive than paving the slopes with grasses, and the banks will be lines with trees inyears. A flume of concrete tension has been changed into piled stones at the time of river
construction works, which reserved a habitat area for fireflies.
Mr. Fumitoshi Okada, former planning section chief of Uchiko-town government,
who is now general manager of the Center for Uchiko Town Landscape Preservation andalso an advocate of village landscape creation, thinks rural landscape is not just terraced rice
fields and forests. "A living mood and local cultural activities are necessary to brighten rurallandscapes."
Rural scenery is not made for residents who live in urban areas and visit ruralcommunities occasionally. Priorities should be put on rural landscapes which local residents
feel comfortable. To build such scenery, habitants must think and act themselves. Chiyomi
Ono, section chief of regional development in Uchiko-town government, says local
communities have been made up led by administrative authorities, but from now on,
independent farm village designing is necessary. Philosophies in such activities emerge
through spontaneous movements in the community.

4. Community Making with Participation of City Residents
Making of farm village comfortable to live in started in a variety of styles, including
introduction of stock company and landscape management. However, community making
by the hands of residents only is difficult if depopulation and aging are going on.
Meanwhile, city residents are increasingly interested in rural villages where naturalenvironment is attractive to them. Although there are still rural communities exclusive tothe outsiders, more rural villages are moving to link with urban residents.

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4.1 Helper Corps from the City
Oisawa area of Nishikawa-town, Yamagata Prefecture, is an old village known since morethan 1000 years ago for ascetics pilgrimage Mt. Yudono, surrounded by Mt. Gassan and the
Asahi mountain range. The village is also famous for one of the heaviest snowfall in Japan,
which caused depopulation during the economic growth period in 1960s and 1970s. The
village had a population of 1,500 in 1954, when it merged with two other neighboringvillages and became Nishikawa town. In 1970, the population declined to 900.
The community attempted to recover, such as the opening of guesthouse for ski
tourists and snow festival, all failed to stop the depopulation. The number fell to 122 in
2001. Driven by the crisis, residents in the village set up a community building plan anddiscussed ways to revitalize the village.
In the study of the plan, senior residents turned to the younger generations tocompose the plan. They thought there are limits to the ideas of senior residents, and ideasof the younger members are required to produce a community with "dreams." In 1998, avoluntary group named "Let's Bring Vigor to Oisawa" was formed, with members younger
than 45 years old.
In 2000, the group recruited urban residents for help in the community. With its
10th anniversary coming, Oisawa snow festival was on the verge of abolishment, as theaging of the residents in the community made it difficult. Senior members were thinking tocease the festival, but the Vigor group proposed to invite urban residents, if running thefestival by Oisawa residents alone is so difficult. The group solicited students in Sendai andTokyo areas to join the festival as helpers. The village could just pay for accommodation,and other expenses to participate in the volunteer event were not covered.
The reaction was more than they imagined. The group was expecting a turnout of
5 or 6, but more than 20 students applied. The Vigor group mobilized the applicants forbuilding snow statues, and the crisis of the snow festival was overcome. Since then, some
30 students came to the Oisawa village every year to help run the snow festival.
Rural community raising movement with participation of urban residents spread
into activities other than snow festival help. In the summer, grass cutting force wasrecruited to preserve the landscape of foothill areas of low mountains near the Oisawa. A
total of 150 students joined grass cutting through 2002. Fans of Nishikawa town who lived
in Sendai organized a group, "Nishikawa Mate," and began raising buckwheat in a former
rice paddy.

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4.2 Environmental Reconstruction of Sagae River
The urban resident helper force spurred local residents in Oisawa, as young folks showedinterests in the Oisawa community far more than Oisawa people imagined. A variety ofactivities by residents started.
Oisawa area was active in agriculture movement utilizing local resources. Using
formerly rice field, they raised wild vegetables and flower trees. Oisawa cooperative union
was organized to sell wild vegetables and mushrooms to tourists.
Revival of traditional events such as Kagura, a Shinto-based music and dance
performance to drive away evil spirits, which traces back its history for some 300 years.
The performance was restored by a voluntary group and was shown as an event during the
New Year season. Another seasonal event, Yamaiokuri, was revived. The event has ceased
since 1960s, but was recovered again in 1990.
In the festival, a straw dolly is made to which sickness is believed to be transferred.
The dolly is handed over through small units in the town, producing a sense of fellowship
through the community. In 1990, a community hall was established, a base for "artisans"
who inherit traditional culture such as Japanese paper, Japanese wooden doll, onyx
workmanship and dyeing with plants. The accumulation of these activities led to theconfidence that the core of the community will not be affected by inviting "support corps"
from outside.
"Support corps" stimulated residents' interests to issues such as landscape of farm
village and environmental problems. Maintenance of rural landscape by restoration ofabandoned farming land is one of the subjects. Due to the aging of the population, half ofthe farm land in the village was deserted. To preserve the landscape, five farmers formed acooperative to cultivate buckwheat in the abandoned rice paddies. Separately, riceproduction began using charcoal to improve soil and reduce the use of agri chemicals.
Voices among residents grew, asking to restore environments around the river.
Sagae River, which flows through Oisawa district, was designated in 1995 by theConstruction Ministry as the best clear stream in Japan. Many fishing visitors come to theriver from Tohoku, northern Japan, and greater Tokyo areas.
Local fishery association raised rockfish and trout, but the increase of fishinglovers surpassed the pace of fish cultivation, and big fish were rarely seen.
Driven by the fear for the extinction of river fish, the fishery association andOisawa Vigor group proposed a setting up of "catch and release" area in Sagae River where

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fished game must be returned to the river, aiming to preserve river environment andcoexistence of fish and human. Yamagata Prefecture, local fishery association and leisurefishermen cooperated to the appeal, and an 8-km section of Sagae River was assigned ascatch and release zone, the first such attempt in the country.
In the zone, the number of rockfish and trout recovered. Even the size of trout
grew larger. Contrary to the initial projection, the number of fishing visitors increased toover 10,000 per year. They dressed in wears for fly fishing, and empty cans along the river
sharply declined.
Encouraged by the success of the catch and release zone, residents requested thegovernment to open slits in the soil saving dam constructed in the upstream of Sagae River.
If earth and sand are dammed up, stones in the river will decrease in the downstream,
which worsens the living conditions for fish. The dam itself hampers fish from going up
the stream. Accepting the request, the Construction Ministry started repair works of thedam in 2001 and put slits in the soil saving dam in April 2002, the first such work.
Although participation of urban residents is a key to rural village re-creation, there
are few examples. Some villages tried such exchange projects as eco tourism andshort-term transfer of students to schools in rural village from cities, but these proved to
be burdensome for the rural side. The question is how to build a scheme that will benefit
both communities, or how to set up a target which is common for both communities.

5. Farm Villages are Vital Resource
Establishing a firm economic basis is necessary to root farm village as a place to live, and tourge spontaneous movements. Recent cases are direct agri produce stands and processing
plants run by farm wives. Other examples are movements to consume farm produce in thecommunity where they are raised, and "slow food." These activities are also seen in urban
communities as well.

5.1 Farmers in Kakuda Associates with Chamber of Commerce
It was in the second half of 1990s when the chamber of commerce in Kakuda city, Miyagi
Prefecture, started considering use of agriculture as the core of city restoration project. At
that time, Kakuda city was languid. Although the city had a population of 34,000,
consumers fled to Sendai, which was just about 1-houraway by train. Shopping arcade in12the center of the city lost traffic, and large retailer shop was closed. The arcade was called"shutter street."
The Kakuda city was struggling to face the situation. In 1997, the city received
government subsidy from the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (the present
Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry) to revitalize the local community. With the fund,Kakuda city started planning and research on local resources, development of local
specialties, and marketing of such products. Initially, the chamber of commerce of Kakuda
drew a revival plan with precision machinery industry and tourism industry placed as thecore, because those industries were in the city. However, the plan proved to be useless.
The city officials realized that Kakuda is more a garden city than an industrial city,and the resources it can utilize is the farm villages in the suburban area of the city.
Harrowing out is a common problem for both central shopping street and rural villages,
therefore solution may lie in mutual complementation, officials of chamber of commerce
thought. The chamber of commerce then invited farmers to the meeting to discuss revivalof Kakuda city. With the participation of agri extension worker wishing to stop decline offarm villages, dietician worried about food disorder, and organic farmers, the committee
repeated trial and error for the next three years. Their conclusion of discussion was statedin the report:
In the past, planning of specialties making was targeting the large metropolitan
area. But such strategy brought confusions and sometimes just resulted in withdrawal fromthe market. Therefore, we will seek for association with Kakuda citizens, not thoseresidents outside the city. Kakuda chamber of commerce will shake hands with agriculture,
another old neighbor of Kakuda city, and aim affluent food culture for residents of Kakudacity. (from "Rural Village Revival White Paper 2000, edited by National Association of
Chamber of Commerce)
The conclusion was that cooperation of commerce and industry with agriculture
will bring growth of local economy, and at the same time, revitalize local agriculture.
The first fruit of the cooperation was "Abukuma homemade tofu kit," marketedin March 2000.
The kit, priced at 2,500 yen, contains organic soybeans grown in the formerly rice
paddy, wood box made by craftsman in the city, natural bittern and sewing cloth bothprepared by local traders. The kit was introduced by local shops, with a PR saying "Withthe kit, you can make safe, tasty tofu at home."
The consumers' reaction was great. Thanks to the media coverage, inquiries
exploded from around the country, and 1,000 kits, the initial target, were sold out almost

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instantly. The chamber of commerce had to run around, seeking soybeans, to meet theadditional orders.

5.2 Local Joint Sake Brewing by Agri and Commercial Communities
Spurred by the success of Kakuda city, tofu kit spread to other communities in Miyagi
Prefecture as well as Oita, Yamagata, and Akita prefectures. Then, consumers and farmers
in Kakuda proposed to make second local specialty, following tofu kit. The Kakuda
chamber of commerce established a meeting with consumers and farmers "to cultivate
local specialties with good quality," focusing on safe and fresh food products.
In April 2002, the group solicited new tofu cooking menu, using soybean grownorganically in the city.
The group also held a contest of tofu cooking in the city center, collecting 50
recipes. Recipes with good reputations were added to the menu at a tofu restaurant, a
remodeled warehouse, in the city. A citizens' group was formed to discuss old warehouse.
Co-business with farming community began in the restaurants as well. Plum
farmers and city's restaurant union jointly held an event to develop new recipe using salted
plum. In April 2001, a variety of recipes lined up, using noodles, spaghetti, and sushi. The
restaurant union plans to use other "theme items" such as lotus root and rice and invite
new menus, hoping to recall consumers flowing out to Sendai back to Kakuda city.
Cooperation of rural and urban commercial communities using locally grown foodmaterials also reached to Japanese sake. A group of liquor shop in Kakuda city proposed tobrew and sell sake using locally grown rice which uses less fertilizer and other chemicals.
Supporters of the idea, including rice farmers, Kakuda branch of agri cooperative, local
chamber of commerce and consumers, established a meeting "to produce OUR own sake."
The meeting discussed from rice growing method and brewery style to marketing, with theinitiative of Kakuda city agriculture promotion corp. The agri cooperative gathered special
rice for sake from 1,000 farmers, and brought it to a brewery company in Shiroishi city.
The marketing was carried by liquor shops which are members of the Kakuda sake group.
In April 2001, four brands of Japanese sake were put into the market. In April 2002, thegroup marketed another brand which was stored in low-temperature tank.
Tsuneo Abe, counselor of Kakuda city chamber of commerce, says agriculture
and commerce fit well with each other, better than he expected. Mr. Abe says he hopes
mutual support of agri and commercial communities will lead to ways for both to survive.
Rural landscape and green tract of land will be maintained if rural villages can survive as a14place to live in, if the linkage with city communities will successfully strengthen theeconomic infrastructure of rural villages.
Although a quick linkage of a city and depopulated rural village will be difficult, if
there is an intermediate "city with rural villages" like Kakuda, which has both agriculturaland commercial communities of good size, linkage will smoothly established.

6. Wave of Development Undermining Rural Villages
A common problem for rural villages around major cities is disorderly development(sprawl). During the bubble economy period of late 1980s and early 1990s, both public andprivate sectors deforested for real estate development, and high-rise buildings sprang up in
the countryside throughout the country. When deforesting is over, real estate development
reached the rural villages. New housings shot up with no order. Faced with land reduction
policy, falling rice price, and lack of successors, many farmers gave up to continue
agriculture, and chose to utilize their land for housing, which destructed small agriculturalcommunities. Some people called these movements as community destruction, notcommunity making.

6.1 Symbiosis Zone Act in Kobe
Protection of farm village landscape and hilly mountain foot from sprawling is a serious
problem even for large metropolitan cities which holds rural communities.
Kobe city introduced "Act of symbiosis zone for human and nature" in 1996. The
act aims to stop sprawling by setting up a zoning in its urbanization control area.
Kobe is roughly divided into two by Rokko Mountains which run from east to
west. The south side of Rokko, facing the Osaka Bay, has long been urban district.
Meanwhile, the northern side still maintains some rural communities. Due to the difference,the south side is designated as urbanized area, while the rural areas and forests in the northside are defined as urbanization control area.
Urbanization control area is a zone where property development is restricted bycity planning law. However, the restraints are applicable in only construction of a buildingon the property will inevitably alter the condition of the site. Due to such a loophole, anincreasing number of vacant plots are misused as storages for scrapped cars and various
materials nationwide.

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In Kobe, not a few number of farming lands are converted into storage ofscrapped automobiles, as storages can raise better profits than agriculture. To control theseconversions, city planning laws and agriculture-related laws are not effective enough. Suchwas the background that Kobe city moved to enact a law unique to Kobe to bring an orderto land use.
What made Kobe different from other local governments was that agri politics
division of the city gave serious thought about land use in the city. In general, city planning
division is responsible for land use while agri politics division is in charge of farm
production. In Kobe, agri politics division, urged by the sense that Kobe's countryside andfarm land will be ruined, stepped up along with city planning division. Kobe's act aims
"symbiosis of human and nature." Human means both those living in the rural villages andcity residents who visit rural villages. Nature means rice fields, forests, rivers, animals andplants. Symbiosis means preservation of agriculture, forestry and ecological system in ruralvillages. "Symbiosis of human and nature" means, therefore, creation of comfortable ruralvillage environment through sustainable agriculture and farming community.
Kobe's restriction of land use, based on the act, designated most of ruralcommunities, which are classified as urbanization control area, as "symbiosis" zone. The
symbiosis zone further grouped into four categories: environment protection, agriculture
preservation, village residential, and specific use. Land use within each categories has to bereported to the authority.
The environment protection zone is defined as an area where countryside, riverand reservoir surrounding farm land and village will be protected. In the agriculture
preservation zone, agriculture will be encouraged. Village residential zone is defined as anarea where farmers' housing will be constructed on a planned basis. Specific use zone will
be defined into A and B. In Area A, public facilities such as primary and junior highschools are allowed to be constructed, while in Area B, other use is allowed.

6.2 Village Planning with Participation of Residents
The feature of Kobe's city planning is unique in that citizens will participate in land use
planning. In the planning, the city government will propose two zone resignations:agricultural preservation zone and environment protection zone. Based on the proposal, acommittee, set up by farmers, non-farmers and landowners of the concerned community,
will draw a village plan which defines the use of the community. Village resident zone andspecific land use zone will eventually be determined by the committee. The invitation of

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residents in the local community aims to improve the effective utilization of land.
Facilities to be built within each zone have to follow guidelines set by the Kobecity which outline use of land in each zone. If an application for construction does not suit
the guidelines, the city will notify the applicant and make the application public. For
example, facilities allowed to be built within the agriculture preservation zone aregreenhouse/seedling raising house, livestock barn, and compost shed only. Other facilities,
including farmers' housing, are all approved for construction under certain conditions.
Constructions of scrap car lot, sand pit or waste disposal site are prohibited.
In the communities where village planning was drawn, number of residents
increased who are enthusiastic about agriculture. "This is because residents share acommon understanding that an orderly utilization of land is a prerequisite of maintenanceand development for agriculture," say officials of Kobe.
Matsumoto district of Nishi-ward in Kobe city is an example of such residents.
Residents in Matsumoto decided to stay in urbanization control area, as they feared
urbanization of the district will destruct farming community. In September 1998,
Matsumoto district made up a village plan which aims to revitalize the agriculture in thearea, based on three focuses: farming promotion, environment protection and land use
planning.
In Matsumoto district, farmers over 60 who live on pensions are called "3rdcategory farmers with side jobs," and organized support system by village to maintainagriculture, setting agriculture as part of policy for the elderly. In addition, Matsumoto
district opened rental farm space for urban residents and a farm produce store,"Sunflower," run by wives of farming houses.
Meanwhile, Matsumoto district reorganized it neighborhood association, which
had been consisted only by farmers since the Meiji era, and invited both farmers andnon-farming residents to join the association. In 1990, the district revived commons tofinancially support the community association, and provided grants to the member groupsof village making committee.
The revival of the commons and a dynamic reform of the neighborhood
association led the village making in Matsumoto district a great success. These activities put
the communities in the district together, and produced an exchange with residents in theneighboring newly developed town. Although it may not be appropriate to call Kobe a"farm community," it is a good model in making a rural community with urban characters.

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7. Developing a "Farming" City
The central government has, in the past, proposed a couple of plans to develop local
economy. The former National Land Agency, in its Third National Development Plan,
proposed a concept of permanent residence, while late Prime Minister Masayoshi Ohira's
cabinet drew a plan on "countryside city." Following the plans, new cities were developedin the suburbs of Tokyo and Osaka. However, most of such housing development werecounter measures for over population in the metropolitan cities. The plans consequently
caused disordered land development in rural villages. Zoning is a self-protection steps ofrural villages against such waves of development.
Japan's "countryside city" plan is based on the "Garden City" theory, proposed atearly 20th century by Ebenezer Howard of England.
Professor Osamu Soda of Kyoto University, who has studied a garden city inGermany, concludes in his book "Link of City and Farm Village" that garden city
movements in Britain and Germany look similar but totally different.
According to Professor Soda, garden city theory in Britain has a character ofdispersion of London's population and industry concentration. On the other hand, garden
city in Germany has priority in the linkage between cities, or between city and rural villages.
Prof. Soda explains that British garden city theory is more "winding up, or
passive," while that of Germany is "full-scale, or active." He points that Japan's community
planning theory should convert to German one, otherwise "formation of living space thatis close and well-built will be difficult."
Professor Soda of Kyoto University says that in the postwar Japan, therelationship of rural village against city has gone through roughly three stages: against
metropolitan city, new industrialized city, and garden city. Soda argues that the relationshipshould move to the fourth stage; an agricultural city. According to Soda, agricultural city is
not a metropolitan city, nor an industrialized city. It is not a garden city, either, whereinterests of urban community is prioritized. Soda says an agricultural city is a core whenurban and rural communities will be integrated. In other words, it is formed on the basis ofrequests from both farm villages and cities.
Forming an agricultural city needs to bring up potential power of local residents
which aim to create a new community, and the central and local governments should
support.