The Mechanisms Supporting Hiroshima’s Primary Industries: A School for Sake Brewing, Lemon Shipments, and Paper Mulching

Three movements are converging in Hiroshima’s primary industries.

A school dedicated to the art of sake brewing has been revived, lemon shipments have commenced, and in the agricultural sector, paper mulching is being introduced as an alternative to plastic—these are not flashy stories. However, when viewed together, a common structure emerges: someone is working behind the scenes to create a “sustainable system for people.”

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The Reason Behind the Revival of the “Sake Brewing School”

In Saijo, Higashi-Hiroshima City, a region renowned for sake production alongside Nada and Fushimi, a place once known as the “Sake Brewing School” has been revived.

Led by the Hiroshima Toji Association, this initiative opens the brewery of Fukubijin Sake Brewery for practical training. Originally established in the Showa era to cultivate sake brewers, Fukubijin was once referred to as the “Saijo Sake Brewing School,” where young brewers from various breweries gathered to share practical skills such as handling koji, managing the temperature of the mash, and assessing quality through the five senses.

Why now, this revival? The background lies in the aging of toji (master brewers) and structural changes within breweries. According to a survey by the National Tax Agency, the number of sake breweries in Japan has decreased to about one-third of its peak. In Hiroshima Prefecture, few breweries can afford to employ their own toji. If individual breweries only pass down their “techniques” in a closed manner, there is a risk that these skills could become extinct.

The association’s chairman, a toji himself, stated in an interview, “When one toji retires, it doesn’t just change the sake of that brewery; it weakens the overall depth of sake brewing in that region.”

This statement indicates that the issue of skill inheritance is not merely an individual problem but a matter of the regional industrial foundation. By establishing a “place” like a school, techniques can transform from being personal to becoming a shared asset. The revival of the sake brewing school is a choice to preserve skills not reliant on individual efforts but as a systematic approach.

Among the young participants are those who have transitioned from different industries. The fact that people motivated by a desire to “get involved in sake brewing” are knocking on the door, not just successors of brewery owners, speaks to the broad reach of this system.

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Japan’s Top Lemon Producer: The Island’s Coordination Supporting “60%”

Hiroshima Prefecture accounts for about 60% of Japan’s domestic lemon production. According to statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, the lemon harvest in Hiroshima for 2022 was approximately 5,900 tons, giving it an overwhelming share nationwide. This year, shipments of green lemons have begun, with farmers bringing freshly picked lemons to sorting facilities in Kure City and Osaki Shimojima.

When one hears “Hiroshima lemons,” they might think of the natural bounty blessed by the warm climate of the Seto Inland Sea. While climate conditions are indeed significant, the reason for maintaining the top position cannot be explained by climate alone.

What stands out is the system for sorting and shipping. The Hiroshima Agricultural Cooperative has established a no-wax shipping system early on. The strength of domestic lemons lies in the “peace of mind of being able to use the peel,” but to guarantee this as quality, strict temperature and time management from harvesting to sorting and transportation is necessary. It is not enough for farmers to simply grow good lemons; the logistics of delivery support the brand.

This year’s shipment volume is expected to increase by about 10% compared to last year, with approximately 1,200 tons of green lemons gradually hitting the market starting in October. The demand from restaurants and patisseries is growing year by year, and the expansion of commercial demand is driving an increase in production.

However, challenges for producers are also becoming apparent. In some areas of the islands, farmers are aging, making it difficult to maintain and manage their orchards. Establishing “systems beyond cultivation,” such as securing housing for new farmers and reducing the physical burden of working on steep slopes, will influence future production volumes. Lemon trees take several years to bear fruit after planting. In other words, the current shipment volume is the result of decisions and arrangements made by someone years ago, and the future shipment volume depends on the systems being established now.

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The “Subtle Shift” of Paper Mulching Eases Farmers’ Burden

Another quiet change is spreading in the agricultural sector: the movement to switch mulching materials from traditional polyethylene film to paper.

Mulching refers to sheets that cover the base of crops or entire rows, serving roles such as suppressing weeds, regulating soil temperature, and retaining soil moisture. While it is an extremely basic material in agriculture, there has been a long-standing issue with it. Used plastic mulch must be disposed of as industrial waste, and the process of removing it requires considerable labor. In aging agricultural settings, this “cleanup effort” has become a barrier to continuing farming.

Paper mulch can be incorporated directly into the soil after use. It decomposes through microorganisms, resulting in no waste. Farmers who have adopted it report that “just eliminating the removal task has made things much easier on their bodies.”

In terms of cost, the unit price of paper mulch is often higher than that of plastic. However, when considering the total cost, including disposal processing fees and labor for removal, estimates suggest a reduction of about 20-30% annually. It is crucial to understand that simply comparing “material prices” does not reveal the reality. When factoring in farmers’ time and physical effort, the rationality of paper mulch becomes apparent.

There is also significance in the context of reducing environmental impact. Agricultural plastic waste has been linked to marine pollution and the accumulation of microplastics in soil, prompting the EU to strengthen regulations on agricultural plastics. In Japan, the “Green Food System Strategy” has set environmental impact reduction in agriculture as a policy goal. The spread of paper mulch is positioned within this larger trend.

However, paper mulch also has its challenges. Technical limitations remain, such as being prone to tearing in strong winds or heavy rain and potentially being less effective in raising soil temperature for certain crops compared to plastic. It is not a panacea. Therefore, accumulating knowledge on which crops and field conditions are effective will be key to its adoption. Farmers in the field need to experiment, share results, and connect improvements—this also requires a “system.”

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Common Structures in the Three Movements

The sake brewing school, the lemon shipping system, and the introduction of paper mulch—all differ in their fields but share a common underlying effort: the establishment of a sustainable system.

The sake brewing school separates techniques from individuals and places them in a shared environment. The lemon shipping system organizes the logistics to deliver farmers’ quality to consumers. Paper mulch represents a material transition that protects farmers’ bodies and time. All of these efforts aim to ensure the sustainability of the industry by designing the “beyond” and “around” the people sweating in the field.

Articles about primary industries often narrate stories of “farmers’ efforts” or “the inheritance of traditions.” Of course, the industry cannot exist without the dedication of the people on the ground. However, a structure that relies solely on individual efforts collapses the moment that person falters. It is the existence of a system that allows for continuity even when people change. Because people continue, skills are preserved. Because skills are preserved, the regional industry continues to thrive.

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What to Watch Going Forward

Graduates from the sake brewing school will spread out to various breweries over the next few years. How they apply their skills in the field and what kind of sake they produce will yield results in the near future. Hiroshima lemons must tackle two simultaneous challenges: maintaining and expanding production volumes while securing successors in the island regions. The adoption of paper mulch will depend on whether technical improvements and the sharing of field knowledge progress.

None of these issues will yield immediate answers. However, that is the nature of systems. Today’s decisions will change the landscape of years to come.

Behind the scenes of Hiroshima’s primary industries, someone is organizing the arrangements. This unassuming work is making the next season’s sake, lemons, and fields a little more certain.