2023 from the Hourokusha vol.2 「Fujino boarskin card case experience」

2023.12.10

Photo:Junichiro Morinaga

Text: Kayo Arita

What brought Mr Ichihara, who used to work for a shoe manufacturer in Tokyo, to Fujino?

She wanted to send her child to a Steiner school, but there were a number of things that led her to this point.

While working for a shoe manufacturer, he spent about two years at a manufacturing plant in Yonezawa, Yamagata.

Yonezawa was a thriving agricultural area, and it was during his time there that he realised that "we live off what comes out of the soil" and became interested in agriculture.

He changed jobs to pursue his passion for farming, and during his four years working in agriculture he learnt that there are different philosophies and methods of farming, such as conventional, organic, natural and biodynamic, and among these he became interested in the biodynamic method advocated by Steiner.

Apart from agriculture, Steiner's name appears in all the books I read with interest, including spirituality and economics, and when I became interested in Steiner himself, I also came across Steiner education in that context.

I wanted to "make something from local products".

At the moment, I get wild boar and deer skins from hunters in Fujino and have them made into leather by a supplier in Tokyo.

The skins have some scratches characteristic of wild animals, which makes them difficult to use, but they are very expressive leathers.

He told us that the leather from Fujino was used to organise this workshop.

At the end of November, the Hourokusha held an experience of making small leather goods from boar skin.

We asked Mr Ichihara about his thoughts on starting this experience.

In Hourokusha, Ichihara and his colleagues grow and sell vegetables in their fields.

When they first started, the vegetables were eaten by wild boar and deer from the side where they were growing.

They were finally able to grow vegetables in a stable way after erecting a 2m animal-proof fence.

Thus, 'animal damage' is a problem in satoyama throughout Japan, and many wild boars and deer are killed in the form of pest extermination.

Mr Ichihara decided that they would use as much of the boar and deer skins from the area as possible, as well as making leather products.

'I hope the workshops will give people an opportunity to think about where the materials for leather goods come from, and to appreciate the charm and ingenuity of life in the satoyama.'says Mr Ichihara.

As the children gathered, he talked about how leather is made and the harm done to animals, while actually touching the leather.

The children loved hammering on buttons and touching the leather to create their own accessories.。

After listening to his lecture, they actually touched the leather of the animals and worked on their own small items with great concentration.