How Fruit Farmers Are Reviving Shodo Island

The island of Shodoshima in the Seto Inland Sea is Japan’s number one olive producer. It is also known for its somen noodles, soy sauce, sesame oil, and a rich food culture. However, few know that it is also home to a unique and budding fruit culture. Let’s venture to this scenic place to meet the people revitalizing the land through the power of fruit!

From denshogiku chrysanthemums to rare grapes

Shodoshima-cho (formerly Ikeda-cho), the town that lies on the island’s southern side, is a flourishing denshogiku-growing area and Japan’s leading producer of these chrysanthemums grown with artificial light. Yukou Okada’s family were once growers of denshogiku (chrysanthemum grown with artificial light). After studying cultivation methods by himself, he branched out around 15 years ago into growing grapes: 80 varieties of grape, to be exact!

“80 varieties is a lot, I admit,” Okada chuckles. “Growers typically just keep to three or four!”

Okada hails from a local denshogiku-growing family. There were formerly many families engaged in the production of these small chrysanthemums, but after a peak in the 1970s, the scale has cultivation has been on a steady decline.

Okada used to work for a construction machinery maker, based in places like Hiroshima and Takamatsu. After changing jobs and going it alone, he headed back to Shodoshima. There, he started taking an interest in a greenhouse his then retired parents had formerly used to grow denshogiku.

“I thought, ‘Well, if we have the space, why don’t I try my hand at growing some of my favorite fruit?’ As a test, I started with Pione grapes — they turned out to be more delicious than the ones you buy in the store! I was having fun; I started reading up on the subject and really got into the grape-growing. Before I knew it, in the course of researching how I could produce grapes that were even more delicious, I ended up with about 80 different types growing here.”

Okada cultivates a wide variety of grapes, from the famed high-grade to the extremely rare. For example, the Goldfinger, which Okada describes as being "as sweet as candy," is a unique grape that rarely appears in the domestic market. There is also the Italian Pizzutello Bianco and the Kaiji, often referred to as the ‘Red Muscat’. More recently, he has started growing various wine grapes.

These uncommon grapes are sold without any fanfare at the local farmers’ market; Okada is not about big-noting his produce. The denizens of Shodoshima are maybe unaware of just how lucky they are to eat such rare and fresh grapes.

The ultimate goal is to produce the island’s first wine. “It may take a few more years,” Okada ponders, his eyes gleaming. Heading out of Okada’s property and walking around the old Ikeda Town, you come across several abandoned farms where the denshogiku-growing lights shone brightly every night; it will not be long, perhaps, that these weed-covered wastelands will have found a new life as beautiful vineyards.

A new generation of farmers bringing new life to neglected land

On the Mito Peninsula in the southwest of Shodoshima lies the Mito Farm, run by a couple aiming to reclaim neglected farmland by cultivating citrus fruit. This husband and wife team are the youngest full-time farmers on the island and their ambition is to produce citrus fruit and vegetables that use the bare minimum of pesticides.

“I had always envisaged myself becoming a citrus grower — after all, I studied citrus at university,” explains Ryoji Mukai. Originally from Hiroshima Prefecture, he attended Ehime University, at the time the only university in Japan offering studies in citrus fruit. He then moved to Shodoshima to work at an agricultural corporation. Some time after, he started the Mito Farm together with his wife, Ai, on farmland her grandfather owned.

Ai laughs wryly when she recalls creating the farm five years ago. “It was a ‘field’ in name only; it could more accurately be described as a wild mountain. It was a cultivated area a long time ago that had been abandoned. It took us almost a whole year to work on the large trees that had grown on it with a chainsaw and dig back the roots of the bamboo forest that had overtaken the place.”

The Mito Farm works on the principle of producing food that those of all ages can eat with peace of mind and therefore aims to establish production methods that eschew pesticides wherever possible. The citrus they now produce are basically grown with reduced pesticides; some are completely pesticide-free. Reducing the use of pesticides naturally makes the trees and fruit more susceptible to pests and as a result, can affect surrounding orchards. Finding a balance between the newer generations of farmers who do not wish to rely on pesticides and those who prefer to continue traditional methods of growing is a commonly encountered contentious issue that emerges in many parts of the country. In order to meet often strict standards that produce must attain in order to be put on the market and maintain production volume, there are certain situations where pesticides must still be relied upon, creating a conundrum for farmers.

“My wife is from around here so the local farmers have known us for a long time. Thankfully, there are so many who have supported us. They have all seen how we have regenerated the fields here and started growing citrus. In fact, I’ve even been asked, ‘Say, do you think you can use one of my fields to do the same?’,” says Ryoji.

“If left untended, the fields get overgrown in the blink of an eye,” Ai continues. “It’s an aging population here on Shodoshima and farms have become just too difficult to manage for some. We have our hands full with our own farm right now, but we’d some day like to inherit some of the abandoned land about the place to leave to the next generation. The land turns wild in an instant, but it takes such a lot of time and effort to regenerate.”

“I consider farming as being a hobby,” says Ryoji. “I want to convey to others that it is actually fun. If there are people who are interested, I’d like to join forces with them. I’d also be happy to see more come here to the island to regenerate the land!”

The Mukai’s goal for now is to make the Blood Orange a Shodoshima specialty — it is the fruit that inspired Ryoji to become a citrus farmer. From an abandoned plot of land left to nature to one that now could be mistaken for a beautifully landscaped garden, their dream continues to unfold on the hills overlooking the Seto Inland Sea.

The ‘Bank of Empty Trees’: Turning untended fruit trees into viable assets

The warm climate found on Shodoshima means that many gardens feature a variety of fruit trees growing in them, delighting the eyes and taste buds of the islanders. However, an aging society has also meant that many of these trees have been left unattended for years.

“I simply thought, “What a waste!”” remarks Miho Ueno, who moved to Shodoshima three years ago. Ueno’s main job is working as a nurse at the islands only hospital. However, she also devotes herself to the ‘Bank of Empty Trees’, an initiative that aims to regenerate fruit trees that are in a deteriorated state.

Owners of cafés off-island visit Shodoshima to harvest the fruit and make sweets. Meanwhile, craft beer-makers from the Kansai region have been making citrus beers from it. Through the medium of Shodoshima’s fruit, Ueno’s activities connect people on and off the island.

The Sakashitas are one couple participating in the Bank of Empty Trees. In their garden is a huge pomegranate tree; last year, the fruit was used to make grenadine syrup, which was then presented to the elderly pair.

Chikahiro Sakashita says that if it wasn’t for Ueno’s efforts, he may have decided to cut the tree down. “My grandfather planted it way back when to act as a windbreak. We just let it go and never paid it attention until Ueno-san came along. We are happy to get some delicious syrup from its fruit — I bet the tree is pretty happy with how things turned out, too!”

With a unique, warm climate, Shodoshima is home to a variety of fruit. There is immense potential for the Bank of Empty Trees to circulate a large range of discarded fruit and further connect people.

“You can find feijoa trees from South America about the place on Shodoshima. There are also blueberries and avocados growing wild. I think there’s a treasure trove of possibilities here. If you start to look at all these untended fruit trees from a different perspective, you’ll see an enormous potential asset. And, perhaps the best thing is, we can get rid of all the rotting fruit and reduce the amount of abandoned land!”