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A deeply personal and intellectual 10,000-word blog exploring the agriculture, beliefs, and geocultural legacy recorded in the Tajima Fudoki, from the perspective of a disabled writer.
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Tajima Fudoki / Ancient Japanese Agriculture / Tajima Serpentinite Rice / Pesticide-Free Farming History / Tajima Place Names Origins / Awaga Shrine Rice God / Sustainable Ancient Farming / Disabled Blogger Perspective / Inclusive Agriculture / Fudoki Philosophy / Serpentinite and Rice Flavor
Table of Contents
- Introduction | What My Disabled Body Taught Me About Land and People
- What Is a Fudoki? — Chronicles of Land and Prayer
- Tajima’s Landscape and Agricultural Challenges
- Serpentinite Soil and Delicious Rice
- Awaga Shrine and the Gods of Agriculture
- Farming Memories Etched in Place Names
- Ancient Wisdom and Modern Agricultural Issues
- Reading Fudoki as a Philosophy — A Disabled Perspective
- Conclusion | Supported Farming, Supported Living
1. Introduction | What My Disabled Body Taught Me About Land and People
Several years ago, I suffered a stroke that left me severely physically disabled. I had to rebuild every part of my life—my routine, my work, my sense of purpose.
Yet in losing mobility, I gained something else: time and perspective.
Living in Tajima, in northern Hyogo Prefecture, I discovered an ancient record known as the Tajima Fudoki. Written over a thousand years ago, it describes local myths, names, crops, and ways of life. It’s a document filled with the intertwined stories of people and land.
I realized then:
Fudoki is not just history. It’s a guide to living well today.
2. What Is a Fudoki? — Chronicles of Land and Prayer
In 713 AD, Empress Genmei ordered each province to compile a fudoki—a geographic and cultural report covering terrain, legends, names, and local products. It was an attempt to catalog the spirit of the nation.
Among these, Tajima Fudoki survives with significant content intact. It includes valuable insights into farming, spirituality, and community life.
It’s not just a bureaucratic record. It captures sensory details—
- The wind’s direction
- The shape of rivers
- The texture of soil
—offering a living account of human adaptation and belief.
3. Tajima’s Landscape and Agricultural Challenges
Tajima is surrounded by mountains and the sea. With few flatlands and heavy snowfall in winter, it’s far from ideal for large-scale rice farming.
And yet, people built terraced fields, dug irrigation canals, and cleared stones to survive.
The Fudoki records their struggles:
“Rice planting was hard—little water and rocky soil made root growth difficult.”
But they persisted, prayed, and adapted. Their resilience and innovation are timeless lessons.
4. Serpentinite Soil and Delicious Rice
Tajima is rich in serpentinite—rocky soil high in magnesium and iron. It’s generally unsuitable for crops.
But for rice, the mineral-rich water it produces contributes to a distinctive taste—
- Mild
- Naturally sweet
The harsh soil ends up making the rice more flavorful.
As someone with physical limitations, I feel the same: hardship can lead to richness. Even if I can’t move freely, I can observe, reflect, and express deeply.
5. Awaga Shrine and the Gods of Agriculture
Tajima is home to Awaga Shrine, dedicated to Awaga-no-Okami, the god who taught people how to farm.
In the Fudoki, this deity appears as a cultivator of land, granter of crops, and guardian of survival.
Farming wasn’t just a profession—it was a spiritual act.
This belief in being “sustained by the divine” persists in modern sustainable farming like “Stork-Friendly Rice” projects that avoid pesticides and prioritize coexistence with nature.
6. Farming Memories Etched in Place Names
Fudoki explains many place names in Tajima:
- Inami (Rich Rice Fields)
- Takada (High Rice Field)
- Arata (Once Abandoned Fields Reclaimed)
- Mizumori (Water Protectors)
These names are more than labels. They are living stories, recording struggle, success, and sacred memory.
Modern people may forget the origins of their town’s name, but these names hold the collective effort of generations past.
7. Ancient Wisdom and Modern Agricultural Issues
Agriculture in the Fudoki is communal:
- Everyone plants together
- Harvest festivals include everyone
- Prayers and work go hand in hand
Modern farms struggle with isolation and aging populations. But perhaps what’s missing isn’t technology—it’s the spirit of “living together.”
As a disabled worker, I too rely on mutual support and shared tasks. Farming was never meant to be done alone.
8. Reading Fudoki as a Philosophy — A Disabled Perspective
Tajima Fudoki is a book of philosophy:
- How should we live with nature?
- What sustains life?
- What does it mean to live with land?
These are not abstract questions to me. With my physical limitations, I ask them daily.
Nature doesn’t rush. It doesn’t demand performance. It teaches us to be present.
9. Conclusion | Supported Farming, Supported Living
Fudoki is a thousand-year-old letter from those who came before:
“Are you living in harmony with the land?”
I want to say yes.
Despite my disabilities, I can write, think, and communicate. I can honor the past and imagine the future.
Agriculture, too, is more than growing food. It’s nurturing stories that nourish others.
May this blog post be a seed of reflection, hope, and encouragement to those who read it.
Thank you for reading to the end. Feel free to share or comment. Your support means the world to me and helps plant the seeds of future posts.
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