Farmers and Fishermen of Japan, 1950s

[Music] in the village of Asino at the foot of fujian the melting Snows of the beautiful mountain join a streamlet which passes through the village driving water wheels as it wends its way to join the Waters of the North Pacific Ocean the water wheels will will furnish power for the rice [Music] harvesting the crystal clear waters leave the m and enter the stream which passes by the rice Farm only in Japan does the water of a praic stream take on such vivid coloring as it passes over the water weeds beneath its surface it is the harvest season and the busiest time of the year for the rural folk they have cut the rice crop by hand sickle and have stoked it ready for the removal of the grain from the rice [Music] straw the corn has been harvested and husked and it hangs up to dry this Farm is more fortunate than most workes are few in Japan in the courtyards the family secures the bean crop by flailing the harvested Vines bean curd is a staple of Japanese diet rice is stripped from the straw by machine on this Farm on most Farms it is stripped and winnowed by [Music] hand there is no more arduous task than that of planting and harvesting rice the staple food of the Japanese people the Japanese Farm unit is on the average Less Than 3 acres but those 3 Acre units are cultivated more intensely than any other areas of the world's Surface by Dent of this intense cultivation Japan has performed the remarkable feat of making herself almost self-sufficient in her food requirements the oldest member of the family are spared the arduous work of the rice Harvest and they spend their time collecting vegetables for pickling comes the welcome luncheon break when boiled rice garnished with pickles and pieces of preserved raw fish washed down with plenty of green tea is enjoyed by young and old alike there is no more beautiful waterway in the world than that of the Inland sea the Waters of this sea provide an important source of food for the many fishing villages nestling closely together along the coastal shores of the island of honu the people of these Villages live in closely knit communities from which come the expert fishermen who reap a marine Harvest not only from the sheltered Waters of the Inland sea but from the length and breadth of the Pacific Ocean [Music] the people of these fishing villages cultivate the steep hills which sweep down to the very shores of the [Music] sea so restricted is the available arable land that the village graveyard is limited to a small area on a Hilltop but the greater part of the Fisher people's time is taken up with the demands of their industry which is a strenuous one long lines are baited in Readiness for trolling operations over the Shelf which edges the Pacific deeps near the islands of Japan [Music] water is a problem for most of the villages but the young women perform the task of water carrying with a Grace that one might envy the fresh water is drawn from Deep Wells sunk in the hillsides one can always admire the industriousness of the Japanese people surely there was never an idol person in this country a great burden of work falls to the lot of most Japanese girls but with it all they remain unaffected and essentially a happy race of people and so winter and summer the Japanese girls carry day in day out the fresh water for the household needs of their families [Music] on the shores of the Blue Pacific two Fisher girls see in the distance the drawing in of a community fishing net all members of The Village join in this work the men going out into the sea sometimes submerged to help haul in the big net the other members of the village community hauling it in from the beach the economy of the Japanese fishing industry is of extreme importance to the nation fish and fish products form the main animal food of the people being second only to rice in the nation's diet more than 20% of the population of Japan is employed directly or indirectly in the fishing industry which is the country's leading Enterprise Coastal fishing within 10 Mi of the shores is the principal type of fishing in Japan and employs nine out of every 10 fishermen but the other 10% of the fishermen are involved in deep sea fishing and bring home 40% of the nation's yearly catch the main catch in the coastal Waters is the Sardine and much of this is converted into oil and fertilizers about 1/3 being retained as [Music] food the net is in and the hall is ready to be transferred to baskets for transport to the Sardine canaries some of the fish will make a tasty morsel for the evening meal but most will be sold as it is The Village's only source of income the Fisher girls return to their homes on the shores of honu and the huge net is carried by the men along the beach to be spread out and dried and when necessary sections will be repaired these people live a simple life in which their Chief preoccupation is in the winning of a living from the narrow Terraces of their closely cultivated Hillside farms and from the Waters of the Seas surrounding the islands of Japan and from the broad Pacific Ocean they are the Mainstay of the nation since they contribute largely to the food resources of the country and are in addition self-supporting they have earned the title of the world's best fisherman and no one will deny them this distinction so we leave the shores of Japan with the memory of an industrious people the Flawless beauty of fujian will be a memory too which time will never dim oh