Miyoshi Town, located about 30km north of Tokyo, is famous for Santome-Shinden, which was developed 350 years ago by the Kawagoe clan. It is a farming method that enables sustainable and self-sufficiency by combining long and narrow fields, deciduous secondary woods where fallen leaves used as fertilizer, and residential forests for protect farmers houses.

This fallen leaf compost farming method has been registered as a Japanese agricultural heritage, and is aiming to be registered as a World Agricultural Heritage by FAO. I participated in the Agricultural Heritage Concierge Training Course held by the Miyoshi Town Office in order to spread the wisdom and hardships of these wonderful predecessors. The sweet potatoes produced here are famous as Kawagoe potatoes, and they are just be harvested.

In this course, we can the land division of the long and narrow field from a high place, and visited historical places such as Tafukuji Jizodo, which became the heart of the farmer who cultivated this area, and the mortuary tablet of Yoshiyasu Yanagisawa former load of the Kawagoe clan.

I was also able to listen to precious lectures by the chief priest of Tamon-in, as well as historical heritage that is rarely seen. We also toured the woods and potato fields,

After that, I took a walk around the city of Kawagoe, including the main Palace, the first circle of Kawagoe Castle and Kawagoe Daishi Kita-in Temple, where we can see the room the third Tokugawa shogun was born, which was moved from Edo castle.