The Half-Farmer, Half-X Life: Naoki Shiomi's Vision

On-site interpretation/ Lai Qingsong Record/ Qiu Jiayuan

Mr. Naoki Shiomi is visiting Taiwan for the fourth time, and here is what he shared with everyone:

Hello, everyone. On this ordinary afternoon, thank you to so many friends for coming here. I don't know what kind of work you all do; I am Shiomi, and I live in Ayabe, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. Please treat me kindly. First, I want to thank all our Taiwanese friends for the tremendous assistance and support you gave to the people of Japan after the great earthquake and tsunami in March of last year in Japan. Thank you very much. Japan received warm assistance and donations from many Taiwanese friends, and we are very grateful.

Next, I will give everyone a simple introduction to Half-Farmer, Half-X. Actually, before I graduated from university, I was just like an ordinary Japanese university student; I did not think about anything in particular, and I just lived on until graduation (everyone laughs). But at the first company where I worked, I encountered my first inspiration regarding environmental issues. That was probably 20 years ago. When I first began to understand environmental issues, honestly, I was greatly shocked. At that time, my more direct feeling was: it seems that if human beings do not change their way of life or way of thinking, it may be too late. But at the same time I encountered another even bigger problem, which was: if we are going to change, how should we change?

This is a photo of the village of Ayabe where I live. From where I live, it is about four kilometers to the nearest traffic light (Qingsong: I can confirm this). Now in Japan, especially in agricultural countryside like this, there is a big problem: wild boars and deer both come out. Fortunately, the monkeys do not yet know about this place (everyone laughs). I remember one experience: I had originally planned to go dig sweet potatoes the next day, but when I got there and looked, I found that the wild boars had already finished digging them up (everyone laughs).

This is also a scene from our village. I really like this simple, plain scenery. This is the field I cultivate myself. You can look at the picture and guess what I am doing. When I work in the field, I often keep paper and a pencil in my pocket, because when I work in the field, it is often a time when inspiration comes flooding in. At such times I will discover what the "X" beyond "Half-Farmer, Half-X" is. In fact, this has a very deep connection with the other half, the "farming." I think this is a very interesting experience. In fact, sometimes poetry, literature, art, and philosophy are very likely something that grows out of the field.

Because my time is up, I will first thank everyone here.