"Direct-sale stores are a microcosm of the region." Based on this idea, we will tour the direct-sale stores in the Kōkō region.
During a break in the rainy season, I visited "Norasambutsu Chokubaijo Oraga Mura" (Our Village Agricultural Products Direct-Sale Store) in Kamisu City. The name "Oraga Mura" (Our Village) has a nice ring to it. As someone from Namegata City, I sometimes call my own home "uchige" (my place), so I felt a sense of familiarity even before entering the store.
The sign at the entrance also has a good vibe. By the way, there is also parking across the city road.
As it was July, melons and watermelons greeted me when I entered the store. The great thing about direct-sale stores is that you can feel the seasonality. Everything in season is delicious.
In Japan, there is a saying, "Hatsumono Nanajuu Gonichi" (first fruits extend life by seventy-five days). It seems that eating the first harvest extends one's lifespan by 75 days, which makes me want to retort, "If you eat seasonal foods every month, you'd be immortal!" but I'll omit the original reason.
Kamisu City is known for producing the most bell peppers in Japan. Of course, they were also sold here.
There are not only vegetables but also seafood and processed foods. However, the true charm of this direct-sale store is not just this.
It's senzō and wakamatsu!
Mizoguchi Farm Co., Ltd., which operates this direct-sale store, produces wakamatsu (young pine) and senzō (sarcandra), which are essential for New Year's flower arrangements, and sells and wholesales them to markets and businesses nationwide. At this store, they also sell directly around the end of the year, and it is said to be bustling with customers looking for these items.
The cultivation of senzō and wakamatsu in Kamisu City began in the early Taisho period, making them historic local specialties.
Senzō (sarcandra) is considered a good luck charm, linked to the "senzōbako" (a box containing a thousand gold coins). It is said to have been named so because its abundant red and yellow berries in the cold season are worth a thousand or ten thousand gold coins.
Pine, believed to ward off demons and evil spirits, has been prized as a New Year's decorative kadomatsu and as an ikebana element. As an evergreen tree that doesn't shed its leaves all year round, it symbolizes eternal life and has been considered auspicious.
Mr. Namekawa (the General Affairs Manager who assisted me), I had no idea! My apologies for my ignorance! On top of that, I was brazen enough to ask him to show me where senzō is cultivated.
They haven't turned red or yellow yet, but they will be carefully grown until harvest time. Even the scene of soft light filtering through is worth appreciating for senzō.
Senzō dislikes direct sunlight, so it is grown in an enclosure called a "gakuya," made of bamboo, for three years from a seedling. Cultivating it in a "gakuya" protects the berries from birds and prevents the leaves from getting too scorched by direct sunlight.
Harvesting begins in mid-October, and preparations for shipping start then, so I plan to visit again around that time.
I found the perfect place for senzō and wakamatsu! Truly, a direct-sale store is a microcosm of the region.
Text and Photos: Sekiguchi (Regional Collaboration Team)
Agricultural Products Direct-Sale Store Oraga Mura
http://tyokubaijo.mizoguchi-farm.jp/
198-1 Hazaki, Kamisu City, Ibaraki Prefecture
TEL 0479-44-5310