For Japan, the post-WWII era was about catching up. To scramble out of food insecurity and economic disaster, government policies encouraged the importing of foreign goods and technology, as well as the adoption of Western farming practices. Chemical fertilizers and tractors were going to revolutionize Japan, farmers proclaimed hopefully.

But as modern agriculture swept across Japan, one small farm in southern Japan went in the exact opposite direction. Instead of crops in neat rows, carrots were sticking out of the ground randomly among the weeds, chickens ran around freely among the vegetables and insects continued to chirp among the rice stalks that didn’t grow as tall as their neighbors, but yielded just as much grain. 

Here, Masanobu Fukuoka, a pioneer in the concept of organic farming, was sowing the seeds of revolution.  And he continued to do so until his death in 2008.

Masanobu Fukuoka by naturalfarming.org, File:Masanobu-Fukuoka.jpg – Wikimedia Commons

Born in 1913, Mr. Fukuoka wrote his memoir, The One-Straw Revolution, which expertly wove nuggets of practical advice with anecdotes that challenge the ideals of western modernity, the effectiveness of western science, and the priorities of post-WWII Japanese social and agricultural development. Those criticisms are just as relevant today as they were in 1978 when Mr. Fukuoka published his memoir.

Fukuoka’s journey to discover the most “natural” way of farming started when he recovered from a near-death experience with pneumonia, contracted from leading a “foolish life” that comprised of overworking himself in the lab during the day and going clubbing until late at night when he was in his twenties. His solitary confinement in the hospital led to depression. After being released from the hospital, he spent weeks questioning his definition of happiness. Neither the nightlife nor the research he once found so exciting appealed anymore. 

One sleepless night, while wandering listlessly through the streets, he saw the day break over the Yokohama harbor and a white herring glimmering in the emerging rays. 

Awestruck by the view, Fukuoka realized the insignificance of humans in the face of nature. The very next day—May 16th, 1938—he handed a resignation letter to his microbiology research laboratory supervisor and left for his father’s farm in southern Japan.

There, he set out to put his revelation into practice by completely rethinking agricultural practices, both within traditional Japanese methods and western large-scale farming. 

Although Mr. Fukuoka grew up on his father’s farm, what he was doing was unconventional and unheard of. After decimating thousands of his father’s citrus trees and many years of trial and error, he dismantled one by one what he deemed as unnecessary in maintaining high yields on his farm. What remained was a farm that never tilled, never used pesticides or fertilizers, and never weeded. 

The name he gave to this method, “do-nothing” agriculture, is somewhat of a misnomer. There are many things that he did instead of the conventional farming methods people usually think of to reach this state on his farm. 

Fundamental to his method was the re-utilization of waste produced from rice and wheat harvesting: straw. Usually, the straw left over from the rice or wheat harvest is discarded. Instead, Mr. Fukuoka covered the soil with uncut straw for mulching. The straw also blocks sunlight from reaching the soil, thereby suppressing the growth of weeds and further decreasing the necessity for pesticides and weeding. By returning all of the nutrients back to the soil, the soil gradually enriches: within 20 years, 4 inches of topsoil accumulated because of the seasonal mulching. This cycle of giving back the nutrients usually taken away by farming is the pillar of Mr. Fukuoka’s technique and also represents his philosophy of minimizing the human impact on the natural system.

His achievements were earth-building for nature. For scientists and politicians, they were ground-breaking. Many visited his farm, and yet natural farming is still not the major agricultural method today. Mr. Fukuoka explains why by tying in social and economic changes Japan was experiencing at the time.

With his experience in the laboratory in mind, Mr. Fukuoka repeatedly emphasizes how “an object seen in isolation from the whole is not the real thing.” The signature remark of “further research is needed from a different perspective to see if this method is truly effective” by visiting scientists seemed useless. In his view, the lack of a holistic approach to science leads to no practical action. It is the main reason why agricultural and environmental issues are never resolved effectively and efficiently.

Fukuoka’s criticisms of post-WWII Japanese agricultural policies still resonate. In the 1960s, in light of the thousands of deaths caused by industrial runoff, he decried the use of chemicals at a national assembly. Many stakeholders there were financially dependent on the industries responsible for the pandemonium. Instead of considering his proposal, “the chairman said, ‘Mr. Fukuoka, you are upsetting the conference with your remarks,’ shutting my mouth for me.” 

As a pioneer and advocate for sustainable farming, Masanobu Fukuoka traveled over the globe to improve soil quality and educate farmers and received numerous international awards such as the Earth Council Award. His agricultural techniques have recently become popular among farmers in California and other regions that promote sustainable agriculture. 

The idea of sustainable farming these days, however, lacks a major component in Mr. Fukuoka’s farming philosophy. In “The One-Straw Revolution”, he constantly reminds readers that a farmer should never pursue more profit when conducting natural farming. Nature does not understand currency, and trying to bend nature without understanding its complexities was the cause of western problems in the first place. 

“The ultimate goal of farming is not the growing of crops, but the cultivation and perfection of human beings.”  It is an idea that is as revolutionary today as it was in 1978.