Why was human waste the main fertilizer in the Edo period?
The increasing population and urbanisation meant that the previous method of burying leaves and grasses as compost was not enough. The lack of horses (as only the upper classes were allowed to ride them) and other animals (as most people did not eat meat) meant that humans were the main alternative source. The fact that city dwellers lived in blocks with shared toilets must have also have made this system easier than in some countries and so have lead to its development.
Why are Japanese fields still so small and irregularly shaped?
Land was redistributed after the Second World War by the occupation authorities as a way of breaking down the feudal system that was thought to have led to the war.
Why do you still see people planting rice by hand?
Blooming in Japan said,
June 15, 2008 at 3:12 am
I have question. Why doesn’t the water seep away. I know the rice paddies are edged with concrete but are they also lined with concrete? like a pool? is the water running continually to keep it full? There are a lot around my place and I was wondering …?
alexcase said,
June 16, 2008 at 11:34 pm
That’s a great question. I haven’t noticed that they have water running in to them all the time and obviously it was the same before concrete was invented. Could that be the reason why the soil has to be like clay, because it retains the water?
AMIIE said,
March 24, 2009 at 5:51 pm
HELP ME!!!
WHAT IS INDOOR FARMING LIKE?
ANYONE…
HELP I NEED THIS BEFORE 31ST MARCH
AMIIE said,
March 24, 2009 at 5:52 pm
SORRY INDOOR FARMING IN JAPAN