駒場農学レガシー，ケルネル水田を未来に継承するために

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Thank you for visiting this page. Our school was established in 1947 as a junior and senior high school attached to the Tokyo College of Agricultural Education, the predecessor of the College of Agro-Biological Resource Sciences, University of Tsukuba.

 

It is a small school with a capacity of about 840 students.

 

Under a free and open school atmosphere, we devote ourselves to learning, club activities, and school events with the goals of challenge, creativity, and contribution.

 

When our school opened, we inherited the Kellner rice paddies from Komaba Agricultural College and have been blessed with the honor of using them as a place of education.

 

This field is supported not only by school officials but also by many others, including local communities and universities.

 

 

For the last 75 years since the school opened, we have studied rice cultivation every year without fail.

 

First year students (freshmen) from junior high and high school conduct a series of work over a year, from seeding to husking, and engage in educational activities while handling actual plants and materials, providing a wide range of lessons for the future.

 

Our school been working in the Kellner field for 75 years without running out of water, and it has a long and rich history of nearly 145 years as a culturally significant site since its foundation by Komaba Agricultural College, the first agricultural research institute in Japan.

 

 

 

 

The rice grown from a grain of seed rice eventually becomes Sekihan (steamed red rice) for new students and graduates. They have been producing rice for their seniors and juniors for a year.

In addition, the paddy field study is conducted by teachers across subjects. From a technical point of view, a biological point of view, and from a social point of view, learning and teaching are conducted from various angles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Even during the pandemic, paddy field studies, which go beyond simple agricultural studies, have continued to be conducted with great wisdom.

 

｜Study on paddy rice cultivation in FY 2020

In FY 2020 (the year in which the state of emergency was declared in April), the study on rice paddies was conducted while paying close attention to infection control measures and taking the utmost care so as to continue rice cultivation, despite the proximity of the rice paddies to the center of Tokyo, two stations away from Shibuya Station.

Seeding was performed by first-year junior high and first-year senior high students, and the plantings were carried out by school teachers. Then, the baton of cultivation was passed to high school students in late June and junior high school students in early October.
 

It was an initiative completed in an uncertain situation, and a new challenge to give the students an opportunity to learn.

 

 

　　

 

 

｜Study on paddy rice cultivation in FY 2021

In FY 2021, students who had not experienced rice planting in fiscal year 2020 tried rice planting at a different time.

The students who could not experience rice planting were first-year junior high school students (currently third-year junior high school students*). *As of April 2022

Since this was just the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, students brought home seedlings they had begun to grow in the greenhouse when they came to school in May. Each family nurtured seedlings, and each student shared the growth status of their own seedlings online. They did as much as they could at that time, but nothing is more valuable than hands-on activities in the field.

We wanted to give them some experience with rice planting, so in fiscal 2021, one year later, we changed the cropping period and tried to produce a second crop of rice. By doing this, all paddy rice farming activities were able to be carried out for both students who entered in fiscal 2021 and students who entered in fiscal 2020.

Students who entered the school in 2020 experienced seeding in early spring and harvesting in midsummer, and were able to dry, thresh and harvest in the first term.

Unfortunately, the harvest in the second term did not yield the desired results, but the series of activities proved to be a solid step toward a new form of paddy field learning.

 

　

 

 

 

Part 1: Bringing in and mixing of soil

 

The current soil has been used for nearly 40 years since the last major renovation, and its physical properties, such as drainage and hardness, and its biochemical properties, such as fertilizer and microbial content, have deteriorated considerably.

During the past two years, due to COVID-19, farmers were unable to plow and flood (taokoshi/shirokaki) the paddies, so they were unable to remove weeds, plow in organic matter, promote decomposition, and improve soil structure.

Also, the areas that are muddy have increased, so there are places where students can sink in to their knees after entering the paddy. We hope to restore the original state of the soil in paddy fields by bringing in natural mountain soil and mixing it with conventional soil.

 

 

Part 2: Prevention of water leakage in the ridge

Holes and cracks that are difficult to see from the outside are found in the "ridge" that separates rice paddies from water channels or other rice paddies. Therefore, water comes out of these cracks, and there are many places where water cannot be stored sufficiently.

Such areas lead to dry fields, where weeds grow rampant while rice growth is poor, and rice plants don’t produce a full crop. In this renovation, we will also repair this ridge.

 

 

Part. 3: Ensuring land uniformity

The water level of rice fields affects the growth of rice plants. However, if there is a difference in height between the rice fields, the water level cannot be kept constant.

 

The whole rice field will be leveled while adding the new soil. In addition, we are planning to cut down unnecessary trees that are hindering our work.

 

 

 

A detailed maintenance plan has already been designed, but since a budget of 53 million JPY is required for the repair work, there is currently no prospect of implementation.

 

This time, we’ve taken on the challenge of crowdfunding with the aim of proceeding with the renovation of some sections.

We decided to set the goal in stages by dividing the construction into three sections. We will start the renovation work from the paddy field on the east side, which is in worse condition.

Construction schedule
After the completion of the 2022 paddy field study, we will start construction in November and finish by March.

In order to protect paddy fields and educational activities for a long time to come, we would like to improve them at this time.

 

 

 

 

Paddy field study is an important event for all of our students and teachers. Based on the concept of "rice-paddy cultivation," we are implementing educational activities that gradually broaden our perspectives on rice cultivation by including content related to each subject in our classes.

 

We strongly hope that our students will continue to learn the joy of experiencing nature and harvesting crops with their own hands while being covered in mud.

In the 2022 academic year, the "Time for Comprehensive Exploration" will begin in high schools. In cooperation with research institutions, we will disseminate the traditional paddy field studies to various fields as examples of pioneering educational practices.

 

 

Veteran teachers have pointed out that rice yields have been decreasing year by year recently. It is natural for students to get a bit muddy during rice planting, but it is thought that the reason why their clothes are muddied during other processes such as mowing is because the rice fields are not in good condition.

If the paddy field condition returns to its original state, the work efficiency will increase and learning opportunities in the paddy field will become more fulfilling. If small agricultural machines are able to be used, the rice paddies can be used for many purposes, such as double-cropping with wheat or growing astragalus as green manure.

 

If we do this, we believe we can pass on this legacy to future generations as an agricultural heritage that will appeal not only to school officials but also to visitors.
 

We look forward to your support

 

 

 

Member Introductions

 

Yutaka Kitamura

Principal, Komaba Junior and Senior High School, University of Tsukuba; Professor, Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba

 

When I was a student, I was told by two of my former teachers that they had been in the Kellner rice paddies as a faculty member or student of the Faculty of Agriculture at Tokyo University of Education and had conducted research and development of agricultural machinery.

 

While I am engaged in rice processing research at my university, I feel that the time and opportunity has come for a large-scale repair of the Kellner paddy field, which can be said to be an agricultural heritage site. We look forward to your support in maintaining and sustaining Japan's oldest test and research paddy field. Thank you in advance.

 

 

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Takamasa Watanabe

Teacher at Komaba Junior and Senior High School , University of Tsukuba, part-time lecturer at Tokyo University of Agriculture

 

In terms of the environmental aspects of paddy rice cultivation, the senior students faced various problems before harvest, such as irrigation water, bird protection measures, and levee restoration.

 

The Kellner paddy field has been improved repeatedly, by current and former members of the school's paddy field committee, homeroom teachers, and teachers in the General Affairs Department, and supported not only by school officials but also by many others, including Meguro town and the University of Tsukuba.

Kellner field has never stopped running water since it opened. We would like to continue our educational activities here as the birthplace of modern agricultural research and education.

 

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Hiroshi Yamamoto

Executive Director of Wakaba-kai

 

Tsukukoma (formerly called Kyokoma) Wakaba-kai is an alumni association of the University of Tsukuba Komaba Junior and Senior High School. I'm in charge of that office.

 

The "Kellner rice field" is called by several nicknames including "Komaba Tanbo". It is a precious place where all students are involved in not only rice planting and harvesting, but also rice cultivation during their school days, creating unforgettable memories they hold deep in their hearts.

 

At a time when people are calling for the importance of biodiversity, we are eager to work together to develop this precious local property.

 

 

 

 

HIROSHI TSUJI

Chairman of Komaba area, Meguro-ku, Tokyo; Advisor of Wakaba-kai

 

As a person who was involved in the construction of the Rice Field Monument, which stands beside the Kernel Rice Field, and was an editor of the Komaba Rice Field Journal, I would like to ask for donations.

 

When the issue of food self-sufficiency was discussed, this Kellner paddy field was the first to lead the way. Graduates of this school later became Treasurers of the Hokkaido government, establishing rice paddies in Hokkaido, which has since become the largest rice producing prefecture in Japan.

 

This paddy field is a guidepost for mankind to follow in order to enrich the people through peaceful means.

 

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Shigeru Omi

Representative Director, Japan Anti-Tuberculosis Association (JATA)

 

I am currently the representative director of JATA and the chairman of the COVID-19 Prevention Subcommittee. I graduated from Komaba Junior & Senior High School, Tokyo Univ. of Education (Present Univ. of Tsukuba).

 

My high school years of planting and harvesting rice in the Kellner paddy fields were very precious experiences for me growing up in an urban city, and I still vividly remember them.

 

Recently, I heard that there are serious problems in continuous paddy field utilization, such as soil deterioration and poor drainage; however, I am convinced that agriculture is a vital part of our lives and will become increasingly important in the future.

 

In that sense, I have great expectations for the revival of the Kellner paddy fields.

 

 

 

Please refer to the website of the University of Tsukuba.

（ https://futureship.sec.tsukuba.ac.jp/tax/index.html )
 

 

 

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