I once met Masanobu Fukuoka, at an event at Waseda University, in 1995. My Japanese was not good then, and neither was his…of course, he spoke with a storybook country farmer accent. It didn’t matter though that I couldn’t understand his words. Maybe it was just his long white beard, or his faith in his cause: he was glowing like a prophet, and beautiful.

Now he has gone, but we are all lit up by him still.

Meet Masanobu Fukuoka, the Author of ‘The One-Straw Revolution’, and the originator of Natural or ‘do-nothing’ farming. This 1975 documentary shows interviews of the then 65 year old farmer-philosopher, who shares his techniques behind his farming success, and the philosophy that underpins it all. “The ultimate purpose of farming is not the cultivation of crops, but the cultivation and perfection of the human being” In 1988, Fukuoka was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay prize, known as the Asian Nobel Peace Prize, for his services to humanity.

I once met Masanobu Fukuoka, at an event at Waseda University, in 1995. My Japanese was not good, and neither was his…of course, he spoke with a storybook country farmer accent. It didn’t matter though that I couldn’t understand his words though. Maybe it was just his long white beard, or his conviction in his cause, he was glowing like a prophet. Now he has gone, but we are all lit up by him still.

If this video moves or inspires you, tell us why in the comments. Do you want to make something new happen in life? Tell us that too. In Japanese there is such a thing as ‘Kotodama’, the soul of a word. Once you utter something, you give birth to a kotodama, and it goes on existing in the world. Say what you wish to create, here in these comments, and it has already started its existence.

Translation: Cecilia Macaulay, Yuki Onohara, Tomoko Kobayashi, Dennis Nishihara Team: Natsumi Katagiri, Junko Kobayashi, Arby Rosellon

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