was a Japanese farmer and philosopher celebrated for his
natural farming
Natural farming ( 自然農法, shizen nōhō),1975 1978 re-presentation ''The One-Straw Revolution: An Introduction to Natural Farming''. also referred to as "the Fukuoka Method", "the natural way of farming" or "do-nothing farming", is an eco ...
and re-vegetation of desertified lands. He was a proponent of
no-till, herbicide and pesticide free cultivation methods from which he created a particular method of
agriculture
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peop ...
, commonly referred to as "natural farming" or "do-nothing farming".
Fukuoka was the author of several books, scientific papers and other publications, and was featured in television documentaries and interviews from the 1970s onwards.
[NHK TV 1976 Documentary](_blank)
(in Japanese). Retrieved 30 November 2010. His influences went beyond farming to inspire individuals within the natural food and lifestyle movements. He was an outspoken advocate of the value of observing nature's principles.
[Scheewe W. (2000]
Nurturing the Soil, Feeding the People: An Introduction to Sustainable Agriculture
rev ed. Rex Bookstore, Inc.
Life
Fukuoka was born on 2 February 1913 in
Iyo, Ehime, Japan, the second son of Kameichi Fukuoka, an educated and wealthy land owner and local leader. He attended
Gifu Prefecture
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Gifu Prefecture has a population of 1,991,390 () and has a geographic area of . Gifu Prefecture borders Toyama Prefecture to the north; Ishikawa Prefecture ...
Agricultural College and trained as a
microbiologist
A microbiologist (from Greek ) is a scientist who studies microscopic life forms and processes. This includes study of the growth, interactions and characteristics of microscopic organisms such as bacteria, algae, fungi, and some types of par ...
and
agricultural scientist, beginning a career as a research scientist specialising in
plant pathology
Plant pathology (also phytopathology) is the scientific study of diseases in plants caused by pathogens (infectious organisms) and environmental conditions (physiological factors). Organisms that cause infectious disease include fungi, oomyc ...
. He worked at the Plant Inspection Division of the
Yokohama
is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of ...
Customs Bureau in 1934 as an agricultural customs inspector. In 1937 he was hospitalised with
pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...
, and while recovering, he stated that he had a profound spiritual experience that transformed his world view
[1992 1996 translation ''The Ultimatum of God Nature ''The One-Straw Revolution'' A Recapitulation'' -page 2. "In an instant I had become a different person. I sensed that, with the clearing of the dawn mist, I had been transformed completely, body and soul."][2001 [(a title translate:) ''The One Straw Revolution: Recapitulation -Journeying round Earthwith clay seed balls-''] -biographical notes on page 271. ] and led him to doubt the practices of modern "Western"
agricultural science
Agricultural science (or agriscience for short) is a broad multidisciplinary field of biology that encompasses the parts of exact, natural, economic and social sciences that are used in the practice and understanding of agriculture. Profession ...
. He immediately resigned from his post as a research scientist, returning to his family's farm on the island of
Shikoku
is the smallest of the four main islands of Japan. It is long and between wide. It has a population of 3.8 million (, 3.1%). It is south of Honshu and northeast of Kyushu. Shikoku's ancient names include ''Iyo-no-futana-shima'' (), ...
in southern Japan.

From 1938, Fukuoka began to practice and experiment with new techniques on
organic citrus
''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. The genus ''Citrus'' is nati ...
orchards and used the observations gained to develop the idea of "Natural Farming". Among other practices, he abandoned pruning an area of citrus trees, which caused the trees to become affected by insects and the branches to become entangled. He stated that the experience taught him the difference between nature and non-intervention.
[1975 1985 translation -updated 1987 ''The Natural Way Of Farming-The Theory and Practice of Green Philosophy'' -pages 132 and 190-216 - page 132 "There is a fundamental difference between nature and the doctrine of laissez-faire or non-intervention. Laissez-faire is the abandoning of nature by man after he has altered it, such as leaving a pine tree untended after it has been transplanted in a garden and pruned, or suddenly letting a calf out to pasture in a mountain meadow after raising it on formula milk."][1992 1996 translation ''The Ultimatum of God Nature ''The One-Straw Revolution'' A Recapitulation'' -pages 5, 50, 97-8, 206-208 - page 98. "To put it very briefly, my theory is that human knowledge and actions have destroyed nature, and thus, if we abandon them and leave nature to nature, nature will recover on its own. This does not, however, mean nonintervention."] His efforts were interrupted by
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, during which he worked at the
Kōchi Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Kōchi Prefecture has a population of 757,914 (1 December 2011) and has a geographic area of 7,103 km2 (2,742 sq mi). Kōchi Prefecture borders Ehime Prefecture to the northwest and T ...
agricultural experiment station on subjects including farming research and food production.

In 1940, Fukuoka married his wife Ayako, and they had five children together. After
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, his father lost most of the family lands in postwar land reform and was left with three-eighths of an acre of rice land and the hillside citrus orchards his son had taken over before the war. Despite these circumstances, in 1947 he took up natural farming again with success, using no-till farming methods to raise rice and barley. He wrote his first book, ''Mu 1: The God Revolution'', or in Japanese, during the same year, and worked to spread word of the benefits of his methods and philosophy. His later book, ''The One-Straw Revolution'', was published in 1975 and translated into English in 1978.
From 1979, Fukuoka travelled the world extensively, giving lectures, working directly to plant seeds and re-vegetate areas, and receiving a number of awards in various countries in recognition of his work and achievements. By the 1980s, Fukuoka recorded that he and his family shipped some 6,000 crates of citrus to Tokyo each year, totalling about 90 tonnes.
During his first journey overseas, Fukuoka was accompanied by his wife Ayako, met
macrobiotic diet
A macrobiotic diet (or macrobiotics) is a fad diet based on ideas about types of food drawn from Zen Buddhism. The diet tries to balance the supposed yin and yang elements of food and cookware. Major principles of macrobiotic diets are to reduce ...
leaders
Michio Kushi and Herman Aihara,
[1984 1987 translation ''The Road Back to Nature: Regaining the Paradise Lost''] and was guided by his leading supporter and translation editor Larry Korn. They sowed seeds in desertified land, visited the
University of California
The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Fran ...
in
Berkeley and
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...
, the
Green Gulch Farm Zen Center, the
Lundberg Family Farms, and met with
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...
UNCCD representatives including
Maurice Strong
Maurice Frederick Strong, (April 29, 1929 – November 27, 2015) was a Canadian oil and mineral businessman and a diplomat who served as Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations.E Masood (2015) Maurice Strong, Nature 528(7583), 480.
Strong ...
, who encouraged Fukuoka's practical involvement in the "Plan of Action to Combat Desertification". He also travelled to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
and surrounding areas such as
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...
and
Amherst College in
.
In 1983, he travelled to Europe for 50 days holding workshops, educating farmers and sowing seeds. In 1985, he spent 40 days in
Somalia
Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constitut ...
and
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the Er ...
, sowing seeds to re-vegetate desert areas, including working in remote villages and a refugee camp. The following year he returned to the United States, speaking at three international conferences on natural farming
in
Washington state
Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washingto ...
,
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
and at the Agriculture Department of the
University of California, Santa Cruz
The University of California, Santa Cruz (UC Santa Cruz or UCSC) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Cruz, California. It is one of the ten campuses in the University of California system. Located on Monterey Bay, on the edge ...
. Fukuoka also took the opportunity to visit farms, forests and cities giving lectures and meeting people. In 1988, he lectured at the
Indian Science Congress, state agricultural universities and other venues.
Fukuoka went to
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
in 1990 and 1991, visiting farms and collecting seeds for re-vegetating deserts in India, which he returned to during November and December that year in an attempt to re-vegetate them. The next year saw him participate in official meetings in Japan associated with the
Earth Summit
The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), also known as the Rio Conference or the Earth Summit (Portuguese: ECO92), was a major United Nations conference held in Rio de Janeiro from June 3 to June 14, 1992.
Earth ...
in Rio, Brazil, and in 1996 he returned to Africa, sowing seeds in desert areas of
Tanzania
Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...
, observing
baobab
''Adansonia'' is a genus made up of eight species of medium-to-large deciduous trees known as baobabs ( or ). They are placed in the Malvaceae family, subfamily Bombacoideae. They are native to Madagascar, mainland Africa, and Australia.Trop ...
trees and jungle country. He taught the making and sowing of clay seed balls in Vietnam during 1995.
He travelled to the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
in 1998, carrying out Natural Farming research, and visited
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wit ...
later that year to assist plans to re-vegetate 10,000 hectares (40 sq. mi.) around the
Lake Vegoritida
Lake Vegoritida ( el, Λίμνη Βεγορίτιδα, ''Limni Vegoritida''), also known in the past as Lake Ostrovo ( el, Λίμνη Οστρόβου, ''Limni Ostrovou''), is a large natural lake in western Macedonia, northern Greece. It is situat ...
area in the
Pella regional unit and to produce a film of the major seed ball effort. The next year he returned to Europe, visiting
Mallorca
Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean.
The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bale ...
.
He visited
China in 2001, and in 2002 he returned again to India to speak at the "Nature as Teacher" workshop at
Navdanya Farm and at Bija Vidyapeeth Earth University in
Dehra Dun,
Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2007), is a States and union territories of India, state in the North India, northern part of India. It is often referred to as t ...
in northern India. On
Gandhi's Day, he gave the third annual
Albert Howard Memorial Lecture to attendees from all six continents. That autumn he was to visit
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bord ...
with Yuko Honma but was unable to attend, shipping eight tons of seed in his stead. In 2005, he gave a brief lecture at the
World Expo
A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...
in
Aichi Prefecture,
Japan,
[World Expo Aichi Japan 2005 appearance]
- official web page for his session in 2005 Aug 4. (Japanese only; Retrieved 30 November 2010) and in May 2006 he appeared in an hour-long interview on Japanese television network
NHK.
May 2006 NHK television interview between Fukuoka Masanobu and on the topic: Journey around the world with Clay seed balls
Masanobu Fukuoka died on 16 August 2008 at the age of 95, after a period of confinement in bed and in a wheelchair.
Natural farming
Fukuoka called his agricultural philosophy , most commonly translated into English as "
natural farming
Natural farming ( 自然農法, shizen nōhō),1975 1978 re-presentation ''The One-Straw Revolution: An Introduction to Natural Farming''. also referred to as "the Fukuoka Method", "the natural way of farming" or "do-nothing farming", is an eco ...
".
[. Translated and reinterpretated in 1978 under the title ''The One-Straw Revolution: An Introduction to Natural Farming''.] It is also referred to as "the Fukuoka Method", "the natural way of farming" or "Do-Nothing Farming".
The system is based on the recognition of the complexity of living organisms that shape an ecosystem and deliberately exploiting it. Fukuoka saw farming not just as a means of producing food but as an aesthetic and spiritual approach to life, the ultimate goal of which was "the cultivation and perfection of human beings".
The four principles of natural farming are that:
* human cultivation of soil,
plowing or
tilling are unnecessary, as is the use of powered machines
* prepared
fertilizer
A fertilizer (American English) or fertiliser (British English; see spelling differences) is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from ...
s are unnecessary, as is the process of preparing compost
* weeding, either by cultivation or by herbicides, is unnecessary; instead, only minimal weed suppression with minimal disturbance should be used
* applications of
pesticides or
herbicides are unnecessary
Clay seed balls
Fukuoka re-invented and advanced the use of clay seed balls.
Clay seed balls were originally an ancient practice in which seeds for the next season's crops are mixed together, sometimes with
humus
In classical soil science, humus is the dark organic matter in soil that is formed by the decomposition of plant and animal matter. It is a kind of soil organic matter. It is rich in nutrients and retains moisture in the soil. Humus is the Lati ...
or
compost
Compost is a mixture of ingredients used as plant fertilizer and to improve soil's physical, chemical and biological properties. It is commonly prepared by decomposing plant, food waste, recycling organic materials and manure. The resulting ...
for
microbial inoculants, and then are rolled within
clay
Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4).
Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay part ...
to form into small balls. This method is now commonly used in
guerilla gardening to rapidly seed restricted or private areas.
["Seed Bombs: A Guide to Their Various Forms and Functions. On Guerilla Gardening.org (English)](_blank)
(Retrieved 25 May 2011)
Awards
In 1988, Fukuoka received the
Visva-Bharati University's Desikottam Award
["Japanese Farmer-Philosopher Masanobu Fukuoka: Natural Farming Greening the Deserts" Japan for Sustainability Newsletter 2006 May. (English)](_blank)
(Retrieved 5 January 2011) as well as the
Ramon Magsaysay Award
The Ramon Magsaysay Award ( Filipino: ''Gawad Ramon Magsaysay'') is an annual award established to perpetuate former Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay's example of integrity in governance, courageous service to the people, and pragmatic idea ...
for Public Service in the Philippines,
often considered "Asia's Nobel Prize".
In March 1997, the Earth Summit+5 forum in Rio de Janeiro presented him with the Earth Council Award, received in person at a ceremony in Tokyo on 26 May of that year,
[Earth Council Awards 1997 Japan - Japanese Government Environment department website press release]
(Japanese only; Retrieved 30 November 2010) honouring him for his contributions to sustainable development.
In 1998, Fukuoka received a grant of US$10,000 from the
Rockefeller Brothers Fund
The Rockefeller Brothers Fund (RBF) is a philanthropic foundation created and run by members of the Rockefeller family. It was founded in New York City in 1940 as the primary philanthropic vehicle for the five third-generation Rockefeller brothe ...
, but the grant was returned because his advanced age prevented him from completing the project.
[. "As a contribution toward the publication of a textbook, 'Natural Farming - How to Make Clayballs'."]
Influence

In the international development of the
organic farming
Organic farming, also known as ecological farming or biological farming,Labelling, article 30 o''Regulation (EU) 2018/848 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 on organic production and labelling of organic products and re ...
movement, Fukuoka is considered to be amongst the "five giant personalities who inspired the movement"
[''The Economics of Organic Farming: An International Perspective'', edited by N. H. Lampkin, S. Padel, p. 12. University of California. CAB International, 1994. ] along with Austrian
Rudolf Steiner
Rudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner (27 or 25 February 1861 – 30 March 1925) was an Austrian occultist, social reformer, architect, esotericist, and claimed clairvoyant. Steiner gained initial recognition at the end of the nineteenth century as ...
, German-Swiss
Hans Müller,
Lady Eve Balfour in the United Kingdom and
J. I. Rodale in the United States.
His books are considered both farming compendiums and guides to a way of life.
''The One-Straw Revolution'' has been translated into over 20 languages and sold more than one million copies
and Fukuoka has been widely influential, inspiring an international movement of individuals discovering and applying his principles to varying degrees,
such as Akinori Kimura,
[Akinori Kimura's "Miracle Apples"](_blank)
(Retrieved 30 November 2010) David Mas Masumoto David "Mas" Masumoto is an organic peach and grape farmer and author of ''Epitaph for a Peach'' (1995), which offers a glimpse of life on a family farm in Central California, ''Letters to the Valley, A Harvest of Memories'' (2004), ''Four Seasons in ...
and
Yoshikazu Kawaguchi,
[
] and has significantly influenced alternative movements in the West, such as
permaculture
Permaculture is an approach to land management and settlement design that adopts arrangements observed in flourishing natural ecosystems. It includes a set of design principles derived using whole-systems thinking. It applies these principle ...
.
[The Earth Care Manual: A Permaculture Handbook For Britain & Other Temperate Climates. Whitefield, Patrick, Permanent Publications, July 2004. 'The work of the Japanese farmer, scientist and sage Masanobu Fukuoka has been very influential in the permaculture movement worldwide.']
Rosana Tositrakul
Rosana Tositrakul ( th, รสนา โตสิตระกูล; born 27 September 1953) is a Thai politician and former Senator for Bangkok. She was first elected in 2006, only to find the polls scrapped by a military coup. She was voted int ...
, a Thai activist and politician, spent a year studying with Fukuoka on his farm. She then organised a visit by Fukuoka to the
Kut Chum District of
Yasothon Province
Yasothon province ( th, ยโสธร, ), one of Thailand's seventy-six provinces (''changwat''), lies in central northeastern Thailand also called Isan. The province was established by the revolutionary council of Field Marshal Thanom Kittik ...
in northeastern Thailand, which, together with his books, were influential in the rapid and widespread adoption of organic and
chemical-free
Chemical free or chemical-free is a term used in marketing to imply that a product is safe, healthy or environmentally friendly because it only contains natural ingredients. From a chemist's perspective, the term is a misnomer, as all substances ...
rice farming in the district.
Reception
In the preface to the US editions of ''The One-Straw Revolution'',
Wendell Berry
Wendell Erdman Berry (born August 5, 1934) is an American novelist, poet, essayist, environmental activist, cultural critic, and farmer. Closely identified with rural Kentucky, Berry developed many of his agrarian themes in the early essays of ...
wrote that Fukuoka's techniques are not "directly applicable to most American farms", but ultimately concludes that it would be "a mistake to assume that the practical passages of this book are worthless..." suggesting that Natural Farming would require farmers to have fresh eyes and the right kind of concern for their land in order to come up with methods relevant to their own farms.
Fukuoka's techniques have proven difficult to apply, even on most Japanese farms, and have been described as a sophisticated approach despite their simple appearance.
In the initial years of transition from conventional farming there are losses in crop yields. Fukuoka estimated these to be 10% while others, such as Yoshikazu Kawaguchi, have found attempting to strictly follow Fukuoka's techniques led to crop failures and require many years of adaption to make the principles work.
In the early 2000's, Theodor Friedrich and Josef Kienzle of the
Food and Agriculture Organization
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...
(FAO) opined that his rejection of mechanisation is not justifiable for modern agricultural production
[Friedrich, Theodor and Kienzle, Josef (2008]
Conservation Agriculture: Impact on farmers’ livelihoods, labour, mechanization and equipment
in: Stewart, B.I., Asfary, A.F., Belloum, A. Steiner, K., Friedrich, T. (eds): Conservation Agriculture for Sustainable Land Management to Improve the Livelihood of People in Dry Areas; Proceedings of an international workshop, 7–9 May 2007 in Damascus, Syria, Damascus/Syria, pp 25-36. and that the system cannot interact effectively with conventional agricultural systems.
More recently however, the FAO (along with multiple research universities and organizations such as the
Union of Concerned Scientists
The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) is a nonprofit science advocacy organization based in the United States. The UCS membership includes many private citizens in addition to professional scientists. Anne Kapuscinski, Professor of Environmenta ...
) have found conventional industrial agriculture systems to be rooted in unsustainable practices that ignore basic biology and the needs of ecosystems. Many of Fukuoka's principles are now being incorporated into modern forms of farming that are more biodiverse, less reliant on chemicals and machines, and which produce similar yields while increasing the health of the soil and surrounding environment. In particular, the concepts of non-tillage, relay cropping, cover-cropping, and plant biodiversity have been shown to prevent soil loss, reduce or eliminate the need for pesticides or fertilizers, and reduce flooding, while increasing water retention, and providing habitat for insects that contribute positively to both crop and ecosystem health.
In Japan, where Fukuoka had few followers or associates,
his critics argue that the "inner world and the connection between humans and nature does not, however, exhaust reality" and that he did not give sufficient attention to interpersonal relationships or society.
These criticisms were in some ways addressed by the next generation of natural farmers in Japan such as
Yoshikazu Kawaguchi, who started a movement of widespread free schools, and yearly conferences to help spread the mindset of natural farming. There are now over 40 learning sites and more than 900 concurrent students in the Japanese natural farming network.
Family farm recent developments

Fukuoka's farm in Shikoku was taken over by his son and daughter-in-law in the late 1980s, as Fukuoka reached an advanced age.
[Esu Coop Osaka exchange visit to Fukuoka Masanobu's son's family's nature farm]
(blog page posted 2004 Dec) His grandson also took up farming. Many of the farm's
iyokan and
amanatsu mikan trees remain,
although some old iyokan were replaced by new varieties of fruit. Woodlands remain along with orchards, including some areas of wild vegetables still growing amongst them. Some areas of straw-mulched cropping continue to produce grains and vegetables. The farm also features an orchard area of
ginkgo
''Ginkgo'' is a genus of non-flowering seed plants. The scientific name is also used as the English name. The order to which it belongs, Ginkgoales, first appeared in the Permian, 270 million years ago, and is now the only living genus withi ...
trees,
shiitake
The shiitake (alternate form shitake) (; ''Lentinula edodes'') is an edible mushroom native to East Asia, which is now cultivated and consumed around the globe. It is considered a medicinal mushroom in some forms of traditional medicine.
T ...
mushroom crops growing on tree logs in shady woodland, and plantings of
limes,
grapefruit
The grapefruit (''Citrus'' × ''paradisi'') is a subtropical citrus tree known for its relatively large, sour to semi-sweet, somewhat bitter fruit. The interior flesh is segmented and varies in color from pale yellow to dark pink.
Grapefruit i ...
s,
feijoa
''Feijoa sellowiana'' is a species of flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. It is native to the highlands of southern Brazil, eastern Paraguay, Uruguay, northern Argentina, and Colombia. It is widely cultivated as an ornamental tree ...
s,
avocado
The avocado (''Persea americana'') is a medium-sized, evergreen tree in the laurel family (Lauraceae). It is native to Americas, the Americas and was first domesticated by Mesoamerica, Mesoamerican tribes more than 5,000 years ago. Pre-Columb ...
s and
mango
A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree '' Mangifera indica''. It is believed to have originated in the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in Sout ...
es.
[Japan's nature model farming for more than 30 years.]
TERRE issue No. 12 2007
(Japanese only; Retrieved 30 November 2010)
The farm is now run using some natural farming techniques: no chemicals, no tillage of the land and no use of composting. Other techniques have been changed; the pattern of irrigation is more conventional to reduce conflicts with neighbours. A do-nothing philosophy has been followed on the hilltop surrounding Fukuoka's hut. Here it has become a natural, fruit-bearing forest with minimal intervention.
Selected works
Articles
*
*
*
*
*
*
Bibliography
In Japanese
* 1947 – , self-published, incorporated into later editions.
* 1958 – , self-published, later incorporated into .
* 1969 – , self-published; republished as by , Tokyo, 1985.
* 1972 – , self-published; republished by Shunjūsha, 1985.
* 1973 – , self-published; republished by Shunjūsha, 1985.
* 1974 – , self-published.
* 1975 – ; republished by Shunjūsha, 1983.
* 1975 – ,
Jiji Press Co. .13-3
* 1984 – , Shunjūsha.
* 1992 – , self-published. .
* 1997 – . Co-authored with . Shunjūsha, .
* 2001 – , self-published; republished by Shunjūsha, 2010.
* 2005 – , Shunjūsha,
In English
* 1978 1975 Sep. – ''The One-Straw Revolution: An Introduction to Natural Farming'', translators Chris Pearce, Tsune Kurosawa and Larry Korn, Rodale Press.
* 1985 1975 Dec. – ''The Natural Way Of Farming - The Theory and Practice of Green Philosophy'', translator Frederic P. Metreaud, published by Japan Publications.
* 1987 1984 Aug. – ''The Road Back to Nature - Regaining the Paradise Lost'', translator Frederic P. Metreaud, published by Japan Publications.
* 1996 1992 Dec. – ''The Ultimatum of God Nature ''The One-Straw Revolution'' A Recapitulation''; English translation, published without ISBN by .
* 2012 –1996 – ''Sowing Seeds in the Desert: Natural Farming, Global Restoration, and Ultimate Food Security'', edited by Larry Korn, Chelsea Green.
Bilingual
* 2009 – , Fukuoka. Contains Masanobu's hand-written classical song-verses and drawings. Bilingual Japanese and English. ,
Documentaries
*1982 –
The Close To Nature Garden'; produced by Rodale Press. 24 minutes. In English.
*1997 – ''Fukuoka Masanobu goes to India''; produced by Salbong. 59/61 minutes. Available in Japanese or dubbed English.
*2015 -
Final Straw: Food, Earth, Happiness'; directed/produced by Patrick M. Lydon and Suhee Kang. 74 minutes. Subtitled in English.
See also
*
Conservation agriculture
*
Ecoagriculture
Landscape-scale conservation is a holistic approach to landscape management, aiming to reconcile the competing objectives of nature conservation and economic activities across a given landscape. Landscape-scale conservation may sometimes be atte ...
*
Ecosystem restoration
*
Reconciliation ecology
*
Rewilding
*
Spiritual ecology
*
Vandana Shiva
*
Shripad Dabholkar
Shripad A. Dabholkar (1924 – May 2001) was an Indian intellectual and activist. He was the founder of a non-structured methodology of grassroot networking for nature-friendly neighbourhood development called Prayog Pariwar (Experimenting Communit ...
*
Bill Mollison
Bruce Charles "Bill" Mollison (4 May 1928 – 24 September 2016) was an Australian researcher, author, scientist, teacher and biologist. In 1981, he was awarded the Right Livelihood Award "for developing and promoting the theory and practice o ...
*
Arne Næss
*
Mokichi Okada
Mokichi Okada (岡田茂吉 ''Okada Mokichi'', 23 December 1882
He founded the World Church of Messiah, that later became the Church of World Messianity, and also is the spiritual leader of Shumei and the Johrei Fellowship. He is known by his fo ...
References
External links
* Official Website
Masanobu Fukuoka Natural Farm interview with Masanobu Fukuoka
Masanobu Fukuoka and Natural Farming Gandhi Foundation
Masanobu Fukuoka: Japanese Organic Farmer ''Mother Earth News'' magazine
Nature - Nature knows best Life Positive
* ''Farmer philosopher Masanobu Fukuoka'', par
123 Japan Economic Forum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fukuoka Masanobu
1913 births
2008 deaths
Japanese Buddhists
Japanese conservationists
Japanese educators
Japanese farmers
Japanese microbiologists
Japanese philosophers
Japanese writers
Non-fiction environmental writers
Organic farmers
People from Iyo, Ehime
Permaculturalists
Ramon Magsaysay Award winners
Religious naturalists
Sustainability advocates
Sustainable food system
20th-century philosophers