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Back to Table of Contents Minor grains have a longer history than rice

Minor grains - I did a little research and learned that minor grains are part of the Poaceae or Gramineae family and collectively refer to grasses that grow bran and fruit seeds. And as the name, minor grains, indicates they refers to cereal grains that are not considered major staple foods like rice and wheat are, that are not eaten as often. The term minor grains refer to oats, barley, ancient rice, and red rice, and it also encompasses buckwheat and legumes, and sesame, which aren't from the Poaceae/Gramineae family.

Tall millet/photograph provided by: Hideyo Takamura

People who lived here in Japan during the Jomon period, so some 5,000 years ago, ate minor grains such as foxtail millet, Japanese millet, and other millet as well as nuts in various creative ways. It is said that rice cultivation began in Japan about 3,500 years ago, so minor grains have had a longer history here in Japan than rice.

Iwate prefecture is one of the most renowned cultivators of minor grains in Japan. And the people there refer to the following 5 grains as Gokoku (meaning 5 grains).

[Foxtail Millet]Poaceae/Gramineae. Original strain is believed to be setaria (green foxtail). The place of origin extends from India to Afghanistan. There are 2 types - glutinous and nonglutinous.

[Millet] Poaceae/Gramineae. Place of origin is believed to be China, India, and Central Asia. There are 2 types - glutinous and nonglutinous.

[Japanese Millet]Poaceae/Gramineae. Place of origin is believe to be Japan. They are mainly nonglutinous, but some glutinous strains have been found.

[Tall Millet (Sorghum)] Poaceae/Gramineae. Place of origin is believed to be Africa. It is also called Kaoliang in China. The reddish brown and white calico pattern is its distinctive characteristic.

[Amaranths]Amaranths. Place of origin is believed to be central and southern America. It has been cultivated by indigenous people in the mountainous region of the Andes.

The national crop acreage for minor grains is quite large if you also combine buckwheat, but the acreage for the 5 grains mentioned above is only 549 hectares (as of 2004*). If you compare the yield during the peak cultivation period in 1892 (Japanese and foxtail millet) and 1914 (millet) to levels in 2004, the production has decreased to 230:1 for Japanese millet, 5,000:1 for foxtail millet, and 290:1 for millet (according to the data from the Foundation for Promoting the Farming Industry in Japan). The recent boom for minor grains has resulted in greater demand, but as grains produced in Japan are expensive, there has been a rapid increase in imports. Minor grains sold in Japan at the moment are 95% imported; domestically produced grains only amount to 5%.

*Statistical data post 2004 is not available.

Back to Table of Contents A small seed has grown to 2 meters!

Photograph provided by: Hideyo Takamura

I developed the urge to go to Ninohe in the northern region of Iwate known for minor grain farming when I saw a photograph of a bright crimson ear of Amaranths. It has an extremely small fruit in comparison to other minor grains, and the vivid color of the ear reminded me of a tropical plant.

I was also surprised when I learned that it grows to 2 meters in height. It felt as though I could sense the strong life force contained in the small grain.

My urge to want to see the farm became more pronounced as I looked at the photograph. Iwate prefecture produces about 70 percent of minor grains produced in Japan, and Ninohe is known as a major center of cultivation.

Back to Table of Contents Visiting Mr. Takamura

I visited Mr. Hideyo Takamura, an organic farmer in Ninohe, in January 2009. Mr. Takamura has been involved in the launch of the organic minor grain farming group, "Ikago Minor Grain Society," and has played a major part in bringing about the "Minor Grain Renaissance" in Ninohe.

As the representative of ancient grains in northern Iwate, Mr. Takamura conducts research on cultivation methods and the benefits offered by the minor grains with his friends and professors in Iwate, conducts seminars in other prefectures, invites local children to his farm, and holds classes on food education and environment - he is very busy every day acting as the "face" of Ninohe's minor grains.

A very loving couples, Mr. Hideyo Takamura and his wife, Tamiko-san.

Back to Table of Contents A warm welcome with traditional cuisine

His wife, Tamiko-san, welcomed me with great local Ninohe cuisine.

Everything except the seaweed is from Ninohe. Starting from the front right (and proceeding clockwise), hittsumi (a traditional soup), shredded seaweed, pickled turnip, ayu (sweetfish), and yam. "Hittsumi" is a soup made with southern flour dough stretched thin and pinched into shape.

Mr. Takamura says that "the northern region of Iwate is a great repository of traditional cuisine." Tamiko-san calls off names of traditional cuisines. "In addition to this hittsumi, we have hina manjyu (sweet dumpling). And we also have various rice cakes such as kamasu mochi, kushi mochi, shitogi..." "There's much, much more," says Mr. Takamura. It was amazing to learn what an important part food has played in the local culture. What was especially delicious was the steamed rice cooked with minor grains. The grains cultivated by Mr. Takamura and exquisitely blended included foxtail millet, Japanese millet, millet, and amaranths. It was the most delicious rice I had ever eaten; it was very fluffy and tasted warm and kind.

Hecchoko

I also finished dinner with a famous traditional cuisine known as "hecchoko dango (dumpling)" made of tall millet. The unique name comes from the phrase "Hecchoko hakaseyasita" (meaning "thanks so much for your help") that the locals say when they get together for some food and drinks after all the major farm work for the fall has been complete. But there is another theory that the name comes from the fact that when you make this dumpling, you press the center of the dumpling down, and it ends up looking like a belly button.

"Traditional cuisines are all foods we have been offering to the gods," says Mr. Takamura. "Whether it's hecchoko dango or hittsumi. There are many gods, such as the god of the mountain, and the Oshira. Even now, we dedicate one day a month to the gods, and offer rice and traditional cuisine to the gods first before we start eating."

Coming in contact with the sincere attitude towards food that the people in Ninohe have had a great sobering effect.

Back to Table of Contents Recycling based farming that has continued for more than 1,000 years

Traditional cuisine in northern Iwate prefecture is very deeply connected with the way farming has existed in the region since a long, long time ago.

Until modernized agriculture, which implemented machinery such as combines, became widespread, the people of the region treasured horses. Because they had horses, they had manure compost, they could till the land, and transport heavy things. And the shells from the Japanese millet could be used to feed the horses. Back then people in the region mainly ate Japanese millet. A recycling based agriculture and a trinity formed by "horses, Japanese millet, and humans" were passed down to generation after generation for over 1,000 years.

Japanese millet field/photograph provided by: Hideyo Takamura.

And crop rotation, which involved cultivating 3 crops - Japanese millet, wheat, and soybeans - every 2 years, has continued on for more than 1,000 years. Such an example of how long crop rotation has continued is said to be globally rare.

Even in Towada, with its volcanic ash soil, which requires additional nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium carbonate to become suitable for farming, the soil becomes rich in nitrogen if you plant minor grains after you have harvested legumes. Moreover, if you add horse manure compost, the Japanese millet puts on more grains. The wisdom of crop rotation, which has been passed down through time, is actually a very rational and intelligent farming method.

Back to Table of Contents Modern farming and pesticides

Mr. Takamura did not start out growing minor grains. He grew vegetables for a while. "I grew up watching and experiencing the lifestyles of my parents. Our meals comprised of steamed rice with Japanese millet, soup with dried radish leaves, and a bit of salted fish. When you mix Japanese millet with rice, the rice ends up looking very black. Back in those days ancient Japanese millet was dried in the sun, so it turned black. I used to have a negative impression about their diet thinking it was a very humble."

Mr. Takamura once dreamt of becoming an artist, so he told his parents that he "wanted to go to art school." But back then first-born sons were expected to step into his father's shoes. So Mr. Takamura ended up going to the Joboji Agricultural High School in Iwate.

Mr. Takamura says he likes impressionist paintings. The landscape of farmlands employing methods that have been passed down from ancient times, such as this "Japanese millet islands," reminded me of Monet's hay stacks. /photograph provided by: Hideyo Takamura

Japanese millet islands are a natural way of drying harvested millet that has been practiced since the late Jomon Period (from the Emishi period). To keep the grains from being exposed to direct sunlight, they are interlaced into the stem. The nutrients from the stem and leaves become packed into the grain and this helps increase their nutritional value and sugar content.

Mr. Takamura learned about modern agriculture at his school; he learned about implementing machinery, using chemical fertilizer and pesticides effectively to increase harvest, and to increase sales. He developed his keen interest and devotion to farming vegetables through the agricultural methods he learned at school.

But in 1987, after continuing such a lifestyle for over 20 years, Mr. Takamura developed a symptom in his liver and fell ill. Such symptom was believed to be caused by all those years of spraying pesticide.

But in 1987, after continuing such a lifestyle for over 20 years, Mr. Takamura developed a symptom in his liver and fell ill. Such symptom was believed to be caused by all those years of spraying pesticide.

Back to Table of Contents Revisiting the relationship with minor grains

To kill insects that have developed a resistance to pesticide, you need an even greater amount of it. So Mr. Takamura, who fell ill, found himself in a vicious circle. In order to get his health back and to keep supporting his family, he had to somehow find a different way. That was when he came across minor grains produced locally.

In the autumn, you will find a type of millet known as "pearl millet" at the stands where you can buy produce direct from the farmers. In intermediate and mountainous areas, elderly women continued to grow millet employing an agricultural method using compost fertilizer that has remained unchanged for a long time. Although he had not really given millet a second thought before, he learned that it is a very powerful food that is great for one's health, and that when mixed with old rice, it helps the rice tastes as delicious as though it has just been harvested.

A field of millet./photograph provided by: Hideyo Takamura

In 1993, hearing that the government and citizens were jointly launching a program that would involve seminars on traditional cuisine using minor grains as part of their plan to boost the regional economy, Mr. Takamura encouraged Tamiko-san to take part. After 3 years, right about when the program was about to end, Mr. Takamura established the "Ikago Minor Grain Society."

In urban areas, there are children who cannot eat rice or wheat because of allergies and atopic dermatitis, and Mr. Takamura tuned into their very earnest wish to eat safe and delicious grains. "I want to offer safe and delicious minor grains to such families," he says. Having realized that the times were changing and people wanted organic minor grains, after a 3-year transformation period, Mr. Takamura rebranded himself as the first organic minor grain farmer in Japan. He began selling his grains in Tokyo when Ninohe city signed an organic produce distribution agreement with Tokyo prefecture.

Back to Table of Contents Unprecedented attempt at organic farming - takes great care and is very laborious

Although the cold climate in Iwate is well suited for organic farming, a great amount of effort is still necessary to maintain an organic certification. With help from Mr. Naoyuki Nishizawa, a research professor at the Iwate University, a compact minor grain-cropping machine is under development, but even still, a lot of the work must be done by hand.

Seeds are removed using "Madori," a forked-tool. In old times, this tool was also used for threshing (upper and lower left). Millets are sun-dried using a wooden structure called "hasekake" (upper right). /photographs provided by: Hideyo Takamura

Extremely small, foreign objects (like what you see in the photograph between the tweezers) are carefully removed. This work is a great strain on the eyes and shoulders, but it is an indispensable process for maintaining high quality

Minor grains grow several meters tall because they are close to the being wild. It is said that rice were originally as tall as these minor grains. Rice stalks in the paddy fields we see today are all about 1 meter tall; this is to make the mechanical harvest easier. This was realized as a result of ongoing efforts to improve breed. /photograph provided by: Hideyo Takamura

"If foxtail millet is planted year after year without rotation, corn borers eat up the stalks. This can be easily avoided by using pesticides, but in Ninohe, pesticides are not used even when yields decrease. Herbicides are very effective for millets but they are not used either. We remove the weeds by hand."

Such steady effort is what allows you to amass the know-how of making delicious grains and to pass that legacy down. Mr. Takamura kept saying, "Just come look at my fields." I felt Mr. Takamura's passion for his work.

Mr. Takamura's fields were covered with snow. Out of 3.5 hectares, nearly 2 hectares are organic. The orange sign indicates that his farm has received the organic certification.

Back to Table of Contents Mr. Takamura's reflections and insight

When Mr. Takamura and his peers started to sell organic minor grains, the market had little interest (according to Mr. Takamura), and the sales were so bad, he says it was "laughable."

What had kept Mr. Takamura going was the voices of the mothers of children suffering from serious atopic dermatitis and allergic symptoms. They praised Mr. Takamura saying that their children "no longer felt itchy," and their "festering pus healed."

Joint research on minor grains with Mr. Naoyuki Nishizawa, a research professor at Iwate University, also gave Mr. Takamura encouragement. Stories about "healthy foods" virally passed down from elderly women were backed by data, and their high nutritious value and functionality was proven left and right. For example, it has been proven that proteins contained in Japanese millet, foxtail millet, and millet act to increase the concentration of High-Density Lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol or good cholesterol within the blood stream.

And in the latest research, it has been proven that the Japanese millet native to the Ninohe region helps improve the numerical values of HDL cholesterol, adiponectin (etc.) concentration, helps prevent arteriosclerosis and metabolic symptoms, and moderates the rise of blood glucose levels. Such research results were published in the Iwate Nippo newspaper on February 20, 2009.

Planting Japanese millet, mowing grass, keeping horses, and harvesting the millet - Mr. Takamura began to realize the greatness of the farming style his parents had practiced that he had repudiated when he was younger. "The more I learned, the more I came across the way the elderly and my parents used to farm. It's just that I didn't understand the value of it back then. This is what made me look back on my life and learn from my mistakes. I told myself I would live the latter half of my life focusing on the environment, health, and safety. I learned the hard way that the old way of farming and the serious attitude with which farmers back then approached it, pave the best route to safe foods."

The fields are shrouded in autumn colors. And tall millet placed on racks. These are both breathtakingly beautiful scenes./photographs provided by: Hideyo Takamura

Mr. Takamura says, "You can't apply your own theories to nature. You have to adapt to it. You have to begin by accepting it, and we have to think very hard and rack our brains to find a way to live in harmony with it. There are a lot of contradictions in farming. But this is really a contradiction in life and death."

Back to Table of Contents Together with the children of the region

Since 1998, Mr. Takamura has invited children from the local school to his farm to let them experience farming and to educate them about food and the environment. He gets the children to go into the paddy fields barefoot to plant the millet because he wants them to feel the thick, slippery feel of organic farming with their flexible sensibility, rather than to try to teach them this by talking about theories.

Macrobiotic "margaritiferidae," which is said to have survived from the Ice Ages, live in the Mabechi River nearby and a very rare spider, Cyrtarachne inaequalis that protects its egg sacs, are also unique to this area. Children get to learn that a precious ecosystem can exist in the environment surrounding organic farms.

（Left）Organic rice grown by children in fifth grade (not available for sale). The scarecrow (handmade by the children) is a sign that they have finished their tasks.
（Right）A letter of appreciation from the children.

Back to Table of Contents Dreams of the future

In the future, Mr. Takamura would like to put his back into making "food recommendations." He would like to act now to pass on to the next generation the great log of traditional recipes the elderly ladies in Ninohe have.

On February 8, 2009 a unique event focusing on minor grains themed around food recommendations was held in an Italian restaurant, "Aqua Vino," in Hiroo, Tokyo.

A very popular chef took minor grains from Ninohe and mountain grapes from Kuji and arranged them in his own way. The event was organized by the regional development bureau of Ninohe and Kuji from the Iwate prefecture. The event was arranged by Good Tables, an organization that promotes "food wealth."

Mr. Takamura and Ms. Naomi Ando who had run a minor grains cafe called "Tsubukko Mamma" in the Ninohe station until December last year were invited to the event.

Ms. Ando came to recognize the goodness of local minor grains when she re-examined her own food lifestyle when she realized that her child had atopic dermatitis. And in order to support Mr. Takamura's efforts through cuisine, she became committed to making local dishes better known and developing new ways of arranging them.

Mr. Kenji Yamamoto (left), Ms. Naomi Ando (right). Mr. Kenji Yamamoto from Good Tables MCed the event. Nicknamed "Yama-Ken," Mr. Yamamoto is very well versed in farm produce distribution. He has known Mr. Takamura and Ms. Ando for a long time, and he has extensive knowledge about minor grains.

The chef, Mr. Yoshimi Hidaka says, "I created this menu keeping in mind how best to bring the texture of minor grains to life."

Minor grains from Ninohe were transformed into a very beautifully arranged, delicious Italian dish.

I asked Ms. Ando about what she thought.

I was amazed at Chef Hidaka's creations; even with his trial dishes everything seemed to fit into place. I realized that this was because the traditional way of "making" food and the traditional way of "cooking" food was a perfect fit. In Italy, people eat buckwheat and they also eat a lot of pasta, so minor grains have been a part of Italian people's lives from long ago. That is something people in Ninohe have in common. It would be really interesting if we can continue this kind of collaboration in the future. If young people would start eating minor grains, we will be able to pass it on as part of our food culture to the next generation.

Mr. "Yama-Ken" gave a lecture on the basic information about minor grains. You can find an excerpt below:

• * Minor grains are mostly imported - 10,000 tons are imported and only 660 tons are produced domestically (as of 2004), so domestically harvested minor grains are very rare.
• * You will find organic minor grains from Ninohe, as well as a very nationally-unique brand launched by the farmers known as "Zakkoku Seikatsu (Minor Grain Lifestyle)" (as shown in photograph). The farmers in the region are committed to making high quality minor grains by establishing 6 criteria such as pesticide-free, use of more than a certain amount of organic materials, and specifying seeds.
• * With rice, you have all types of machinery such as for sorting, but there aren't many available for minor grains. A lot of the processes have to be done by hand, so the farmers are having a hard time coping with labor-intensive processes such as sorting. So we hope that consumers will purchase high quality minor grains for the appropriate price.
• (And lastly, an advice from Ms. Ando) * If you want to mix minor grains when you are cooking rice, it would be better if you washed the grains together with the rice because you will also be able to wash away the bran at the same time. If the grains are of high quality, they will sink to the bottom after a while.

Basic information about minor grains that I thought I knew, but didn't. I learned that with a little ingenuity, minor grains become even more delicious. And the event seemed to have left a strong impression on all participants that domestically produced organic minor grains are very rare and precious.

People who took part in the event and enjoyed the delicious food said, "The texture is interesting," "I want to incorporate minor grains into my daily diet," and "I learned about the possibilities of minor grains." (Ms. Yoshiko Fujino, a food/cuisine researcher on far right said, "You have to try to preserve good food!")

Back to Table of Contents Conclusion

The Ninohe minor grain event held in Aqua Vino was so popular, 30 seats that they had prepared became full in half a day. It seemed as though more and more people are becoming interested in minor grains, not because it is a "special food" that may help you from developing the metabolic syndrome or because they may be a good food for people with allergies, but because people want to just casually enjoy them as a part of their meal.

The potential capacity for minor grains is still unknown. Amaranths have an extremely high nutritious value - in comparison to rice, they have 27 times more calcium, 19 times more iron, and 25 times more fiber. I have heard that NASA has also zoomed in on amaranths as a major staple food for the 21st century.

Minor grains are coming into the spotlight all around the world. And for Ninohe, which prides in its very high-caliber Japanese millet, which aspires to pass on the legacy of the rich minor grains culture, the support of understanding consumer is key. I believe that what Mr. Takamura would like all of us to do is to "look at his farm and see the difference." But the next time you are going to buy minor grains, why not start by looking into the little details, such as where it was produced or how different they taste from one another.

Mitsuko Iwai Biography
She has worked for a local museum/news paper publisher before she became a freelance writer. In 2002, she became involved in publishing a book of record of government's cultural programs and became intrigued with the ideas and lifestyles in the various regions that are passed down from one generation to the next. In 2004, she published the first issue of "Satomi Tsushin" which focuses on the theme, fixed-point observation of farms and farmers. She is also an as an editorial staff for the Earth News for the Think the Earth Project. She currently lives in Takasaki.