The Story of Nori, Part II: Modern Mariculture and Processing*

Since the 1970s Japan has produced billions of nori sheets a year at a market value exceeding one billion dollars. The development of this technology stems from the work of Kathleen Drew-Backer, a British scientist who found a ‘missing link’ in the life cycle of nori, a red alga (Rhodophyta, Porphyra spp). She discovered the ‘conchocelis stage’, a filamentous diploid generation that grows on oyster shells (see Photo 1). It is the conchocelis stage that produces the spores (conchospores) that grow into nori.

Photo 1: Life cycle of nori (Porphyra spp). The GAMETOPHYTE generation produces the familiar leaf-like ‘body’ (thallus) harvested for nori. A microscopic CARPOSPOROPHYTE generation develops on the GAMETOPHYTE generation and produces carpospores. Carpospores settle onto oyster shells (and similar substrate) where they develop into a small, filamentous ‘Conchocelis’ stage (generation). The conchocelis stage produces the conchospores that settle onto shorelines, bamboo poles and nets to produce the GAMETOPHYTE generation, i.e. nori. The conchocelis stage was originally considered a completely separate species, Conchocelis rosea, until Dr. Kathleen Drew-Baker discovered it was part of the Porphyra life cycle. Photo copyrighted and used by permission, with thanks to its creator: Lisa Chen, and the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute.

The discovery of the conchocelis stage enabled nori farmers to culture this stage and use it to ‘seed’ their nets**. Nearly all the nori grown today in Japan is susabinori (Porphyra yezoensis); it tolerates warmer waters, and waters less than pristine. Additional advances in nori culture include the floating net system, freezing nets so that nori can be grown over a longer season, and the development of the ‘One Man’ machine to process nori into sheets.

To learn more about nori mariculture (sea farming), Reiko and I visited the nori farmers of Bouze Island last fall and winter to observe three main steps: ‘seeding’ the nori nets, first stage of cultivation in the ocean, and the eventual harvest. This May, we visited the Awaji Nori Center and its Nori Kenkyusho (nori research center). It is here where the conchocelis stage is cultured. This stock is used by the nori farmers of Hyogo Prefecture, including the farmers of Bouze Island. It is here that I will begin the modern story.

Culture of the Conchocelis-Stage

The Awaji Nori Center lies on the northwest cost of Awajishima (Awaji Island), on the eastern shore of the Seto Naikai (Japan’s Inland Sea). Yoshimi Konishi, Chief of Research at the center, oversees the production of the conchocelis stage. His facility has supplied the conchocelis stage to the farmers of Hyogo Prefecture for forty years. He continues to search for new varieties of nori while at the same time maintaining strains developed decades ago (see Photo 2).

Photo 2: Yoshimi Konishi, Chief of Research at the Awaji Nori Center, and I holding up oyster shells covered with the conchocelis stage of nori. The conchocelis stage appears as dark purple to brown patches on the white oysters. Note the upper rows of oysters tend to have more conchocelis growth, due to their greater exposure to sunlight.

The process begins with the collection of nori in February and March. Prior to this time, nori undergoes sexual reproduction to produce a microscopic carposporophyte generation. Carposporophytes develop within the sheets of living nori, the ‘gametophyte’ generation (see Life Cycle, Photo 1). The collected nori with carposporophytes is kept in glass jars. Carposporophytes release carpospores, which develop into the conchocelis stage: small filaments a few centimeters in length. The filaments are separated from the nori and carposporophytes, and stored in flasks under refrigeration (see Photo 3). As they grow, each culture will be split into two, to create clones. Each of these two cultures will be split into two, etc. to create large numbers of free-living conchocelis filaments. While new material is harvested every year, most of the conchocelis filaments used to make nori come from well-established clones; some are 20 years old. Farmers prefer known strains that grow well in their local waters.

Photo 3a: Flasks of free-living conchocelis filaments are kept under refrigeration at the Awaji Nori Center. Rows of flasks in the refrigerator; labels indicate the strain.

Photo 3b: A close up of one flask of conchocelis filaments.

In nature, the conchocelis stage attaches to oyster shells and other substrate. From December to March, the Awaji Nori Center inoculates oyster shells with the free-living conchocelis filaments. They buy oyster shells from Miyagi Prefecture, famous for the number and quality of its oysters. Only the lower shell is used; it is relatively flat, which provides an even exposure to sunlight. Two holes are drilled into each shell, and pairs of shells are tied back-to-back with their inner shells exposed. Five pairs of shells are then tied together, with a loop tied at each end of the string to suspend the shells in the water. Periodically, the oysters will be turned upside down to ensure each shell receives adequate light (see Photo 4).

Photo 4a: The conchocelis stage of nori is grown on oyster shells; shells from Miyagi Prefecture are preferred. Two holes are drilled into each shell.

Photo 4b: Pairs of shells are sown together, back-to-back with the inner surface of each shell facing out. The conchocelis face will grow on this inner surface.

Photo 4c: Five pairs of shells are tied together, for a total of 10 shells per string. A loop is added to each end of the string to suspend the shells in water.

Photo 4d: A group of five women work seven hours each day creating strings of oysters. They typically process 11,000 shells per day. These women laughed when informed they will be stars on an American blog (thanks!).

Before inoculation, staff at the center use a blender to chop free-living filaments into 0.4 mm lengths. Next, they place oyster shells on the bottom of a tub, covered by approximately 15 cm (6 inches) of seawater, and spray the chopped filaments over the shells. Over the next few days, the shells will be examined to ensure that the filaments have attached to the oysters. This year, it took 9-10 days to verify successful inoculation (normal range 5-14 days). Rarely, they spray the shells a second time with more filaments. Finally, they suspend the strings of shells from rods that rest on the top of tubs, and fill the tubs with seawater to a depth of approximately 50 cm (1.5 feet; see Photos 5 & 6).

Photo 5: Oyster shells covered in conchocelis stage nori (purple/brown patches) submerged in seawater. The smaller green spots are an unknown alga that compete for space on the oyster shells, but usually disappear over the summer.

Photo 6: Thirteen (13) strings of oysters, with 10 oysters per string, are suspended from a single bar that rests on the edges of a culture tub. These shells are well covered with conchocelis stage filaments of nori.

Each tub supports 20 bars, with 13 strings of oysters per bar, and ten oysters per string, a total of 2,600 oysters per tub. Currently, the facility has 325 tubs, for a grand total of 845,000 oysters (see Photo 7).

Photo 7: The Awaji Nori Center cultures the conchocelis stage of nori on a total of 845,000 oyster shells in 325 tubs. The center has been producing conchocelis stage nori for 40 years.

The center uses water from the Seto Naikai (Inland Sea), passed through a sand filter and treated with chlorine, to grow the conchocelis stage. They add nutrients to the water as well: sodium, phosphorous, iron and magnesium. Despite the many oyster shells, the conchocelis filaments themselves are quite small, and do not need much care. An air stone is turned on for only 10-30 minutes per day in each tub and the water is changed only twice until September, when they are ready for sale. Sunlight comes through the roof of corrugated fiberglass, regulated by a mechanized system of curtains (see Photo 8).

Photo 8: Clear fiberglass panels in the roof allow sunlight into the Awaji Nori Center’s culture tubs. Mechanized curtains regulate the amount of sunlight.

Temperatures in the summer reach 27-28^oC (80.6-82.4^oF). The conchocelis filaments grow well in these conditions. However, the purpose of raising these filaments is for their conchospores, the ‘seeds’ that will grow into nori. To stimulate the release of conchospores in September, they reduce the temperature to 17^oC (62.6^oF).

The Awaji Nori Center is owned by the Hyogo-ken Gyogyou Kyoudou Kumiai Rengoukai (Hyogo Prefecture Fisheries Co-operative). Hyogo has the second highest production of nori in Japan (Ariake Prefecture, on Kyuushuu Island, is the leading producer). Many of the oysters remain on Awajishima to seed the nets of local nori farmers (see Photo 9). Other farmers buy the oysters and bring them to their home facility before they ‘shock’ the oysters to seed their nets. Last September, we watched the seeding of nets in Bouze Island.

Photo 9: The Awaji Nori Center has a seeding facility outside and next to the conchocelis stage facility. Tubs of sporulating conchocelis stage nori will be placed under the large rollers. Nets placed on the rollers will move through the tubs picking up conchospores (‘seed’).

‘Seeding’ Nori Nets

Bouze Island lies in the Seto Naikai, a 25-minute boat ride from the Port of Himeji. Bouze Island and its three neighbor islands are included within Himeji City (Phoenix’s sister city). Bouze Island’s Fishermen’s Association separated from the other islands in 1989. It is the largest association in Hyogo Prefecture with 500 members, and one of the most productive. They have owned their own nori seeding facility for 30 years: Saibyojyo (collecting seed place); it was upgraded with the latest equipment 10 years ago (Photo 10).

Photo 10: Inside Saibyojyo, Bouze’s nori seeding facility, after a morning of seeding nets. Nets are spun on large rollers (background) for ‘seeding’. Seeded nets are pulled from the rollers into the long receiving tubs, and later onto drying racks. Compare to Photos 9 and 17.

We visited the facility on the afternoon of September 26, 2011, the second day of seeding. Seeding was already done for the day, but Mr. Katsura, Director of Saibyojyo, gave us a tour of his facility. He was very gracious, especially considering that his crew started work at dawn and seeded 2,800 nets that day. As we toured the facility, he described the main steps in the seeding process (see Photo 11).

Photo 11: Mr. Katsura, Director of Saibyojyo, shows us some nets. Sets of 5 nets are tied together and will remain together through the first two months of nori culture.

In Hyogo Prefecture, nori is grown on standard-sized nets, approximately 1.6 m wide x 20 m long (5’2.5” x 67’; the actual measures are in traditional Japanese units). They store hundreds of these nets in a shed (Photo 12). Each nori farmer is responsible for cleaning the nets they use. The association has a machine to clean them, available to each of the farmers. Nets can be used a second year; older nets are re-purposed (e.g. to protect crops from birds).

Photo 12: Piles of nets ready for seeding at Saibyojyo.

Mr. Katsura took his boat to the Awaji Nori Center the previous week to pick up their order of 50,000 oysters covered in conchocelis-stage nori. They use a special strain, Kousuion (‘high water temperature’) that grows well in warmer waters and allows for growth earlier in the fall (see Photo 13). They chill the conchocelis-stage nori to 19.5^OC (67.1^OF) to stimulate sporulation, the release of conchospores (the ‘seed’). By comparison, the ocean surrounding Bouze was 24-25^OC that day (75.2-77^OF).

Photo 13a: The Bouze Fishermen’s Association buy conchocelis-stage nori from the Awaji Nori Center. Mr. Katsura took a boat to Awajishima the week before to bring back 50,000 oysters coated with conchocelis-stage nori. Mr. Katsura holds up a rod with strings of oysters.

Photo 13b: Close-up of the conchocelis-stage nori and oyster shells. Compare the amount of nori on these shells (September 2011) to those in May 2012 (at the Awajishima Nori Center, Photos 2 & 6).

Mr. Katsura told us we could not really understand tanesuke (the process of seeding), until we saw it the next morning (we had to see it to believe it). Briefly, a few rods of oyster shells with conchocelis-stage filaments are placed into a tub below a large roller. Women wrap 16 sets of five (5) nets each (a total of 80 nets) around the roller, and spin it in the tub with oysters. The spinning agitates the water, which stimulates sporulation – the release of conchospores; the spores become attached to the net (i.e. the nets become ‘seeded’). After a few minutes of spinning, runners cut a sample from the outer net. The sample is brought to Mr. Katsura’s office, where he and his colleague inspect samples for spores (Photos 14-16). If enough spores are found, he will order the removal of the outer layer of nets.

Photo 14: Samples from nets are cut out during seeding and inspected for the presence of conchospores.

Photo 15: Mr. Katsura in his office inspecting pieces of net for conchospores at 100x magnification. From his ‘command center’ he can observe the entire facility and direct the efforts of his crew. Seeding was finished for the day; his office was set up for the following morning. On his left are 10 petri dishes, each with a number corresponding to the 10 rollers used to seed the nets. Pairs of scissors rest below the window, ready for the runners that sample the nets.

Photo 16: Reiko examines conchospores on a sample of net left over from earlier that day. Mr. Katsura can view samples from either inside his office, or through this window. A second microscope is set up to his left and used by his colleague.

Once the nets have been seeded, they are pulled off the wheel into long receiving tubs. They will remain there through the early morning, allowing the spores to become well attached. Later, the nets are hung on racks for drying. Finally, the nets are placed in plastic bags and boxed up for the freezer. Seeded nets will kept frozen (-30^OC) for the next month before being placed into the sea (Photos 17-19). Freezing preserves the spores for at least two years, and inhibits other organisms from growing on the nets. We thanked him and prepared for our return at dawn (Photo 20).

Photo 17: Dried nets are placed in plastic bags and cardboard boxes, and then taken to the freezer.

Photo 18: Boxes full of seeded nets are driven to the Bouze Fishermen’s Association freezer.

Photo 19: The seeded nori nets will be kept inside the freezer at -30OC for one month.

Photo 20: Reiko with a hearty fisherman’s dinner at Minshuku Yamamoto (Yamamoto-san’s motel). Yamamoto-san has been our host on each of our visits. His minshuku sits across the street from the docks. Every morning we hear the boats as they head out before dawn.

We arrived at the seeding facility just after 6:00 AM. A crew of 34 women had nearly finished stringing nets onto ten rollers. While the last few nets were being added, the crew moved drying racks out of the way and prepared nets for the second round of seeding. By 6:15, the rollers had begun to spin their nets into the tub below. A few bars of oysters with conchocelis-stage nori were suspended within each tub. The spinning of the roller agitated the water, which stimulated the release of the conchospores (‘seeds’; see Photos 21-26). Three runners stood by ready to sample the nets.

Photo 21a: A spinning roller covered with 80-90 nets. The lower part of the roller spins through a tub. Conchocelis-stage nori on oyster shells is suspended from bars at either end of the tub.

Photo 21b: The spinning of the wheel agitates the water and stimulates release of conchospores into the water. Conchospores (‘seeds’) attach to the net.

Photo 22: A group of women pick up a drying rack and will move it out of the way. It will be brought back later to dry the nori nets. Six rollers are visible in the background.

Photo 23: The drying rack is turned upside down to move it.

Photo 24: Preparing more nets for seeding. Sets of five nets each are tied together. Two-woman teams position fresh nets by the rollers.

Photo 25: Carrying nets to a roller.

Photo 26: Positioning nets by a roller.

Mr. Katsura, the Director, called out to his runners, ‘‘Jyuu ban, kyuu ban” (‘number 10, number 9’) telling his runners to sample the outer net of these rollers. The runners ran to the rollers, cut a sample, and ran it back to the office (see Photo 27). Mr. Katsura and his colleague took the net samples, twisted them to separate the fibers, and inspected them under their microscopes (Photo 28).

Photo 27a: Three runners were responsible for taking samples and rushing them back to the office for inspection. A runner cuts a sample from the outer net.

Photo 27b: Running with the sample back to the office (caution: do not try this at home. Running with scissors can be hazardous).

Photo 27c: Delivering the sample.

Photo 27d: Samples are placed into numbered petri dishes (numbers refer to the roller that was sampled).

Photo 28a: Samples from the nets are twisted to separate the fibers, and then inspected under the microscope for the presence of conchospores. Katsura-san reads a sample.

Photo 28b: Katsura-san shares inspections with his colleague.

Katsura-san quickly called out, “Kyuu ban, jyuu ban, jyuu mai” (‘number nine and number ten, 10 nets’), telling his crew to remove the outer ten nets from rollers 9 and 10. It took 50 seconds from the time he requested the sample to his order to pull the nets.  Women ran to the rollers, untied the nets, turned on the roller again to unspool them, and pulled the nets into their receiving tub. The first set of nets had been seeded and removed from the rollers after 35 minutes (see Photos 29-31 and Video 1).

Photo 29a: When the nets have been adequately seeded, Mr. Katsura announces the removal of the top set of nets. Roller 4 is turned off.

Photo 29b: The lines of the top set of five nets are untied from either side of the wheel.

Photo 29c: The nets are pulled into the receiving tub with the help of the roller. Note the tub is empty; these nets are the first of the day.

Photo 30: Unspooling nets from roller 6. Note the ropes tied together (foreground). Nets are arranged in sets of five, but two sets of five nets are tied together for seeding. In the center a runner (red shirt) samples the next layer of nets from roller 4. This picture was taken four and a half minutes after the first nets were removed (see Photo 29c).

Photo 31: Removing the final set of nets from roller 7 (round one). A pair of women will immediately reload the roller with another 80 nets.

As each wheel was emptied, two-woman teams rapidly reloaded it (about 10 minutes) and started it spinning (see Photo 32). Whereas the first batch of nets took 30-35 minutes for seeding, subsequent nets seeded more rapidly (10-15 minutes). The first nets had to stimulate the process of sporulation. Once started, sporulation continued as long as the rollers were spinning.

Photo 32a: A pair of women rapidly reload a roller with another 80 nets. A set of five nets is spread out.

Photo 32b: One end of the nets is hooked around the roller, but not tied; the nets will come off easily after seeding.

Photo 32c: The roller is turned on to spool the nets.

Photo 32d: The other end of the nets is tied to a spoke of the roller. These ropes will be untied and used to pull nets off the roller after seeding (e.g. Photos 29-31).

The oysters/conchocelis-stage nori that had been in use from the first day of seeding was still in use this morning. Shortly after 7:00 AM, however, the runners began to add new oysters/conchocelis-stage nori to the tubs (Photo 33). They left the older material in the tubs; it can be used for up to five days.

Photo 33a: A pair of runners carry fresh conchocelis-stage nori from the storage tub to a roller.

Photo 33b: And place it into the roller tub.

The crew works from 6:00 AM to noon. By 7:15 AM, the third round of nets were being seeded. Having seen the main steps of seeding, we returned to Minshuku Yamamoto for breakfast. Our host, Yamamoto-san, had gone fishing while we were out. He showed us his catch of aori ika (Sepioteuthis lessoniana, bigfin reef squid) and served us some for breakfast (Photo 34).

Photo 34a: Yamamoto-san loves to go fishing for his guests, his own family and just for the sake of fishing. Live aori ika (Sepioteuthis lessoniana, bigfin reef squid) caught this morning by Yamamoto-san, while we were watching nori seeding.

Photo 34b: Yamamoto-san returning after fishing and a swim, in his undies.

Seeding takes place 20 days each fall, within a four-week period. The seeded nets would wait in the freezer until late October, when they would finally go into the sea. We made plans to return. Yamamoto-san sent us home with some of Bouze Island’s seasoned nori from the last harvest (early 2011; Photo 35). The Kousuion strain they prefer in Bouze grows well. It produces a relatively thick and durable nori, good for seasoned nori and foods like onigiri (rice balls).

Photo 35: Reiko stands in front of Minshuku Yamamoto with a package of seasoned nori from Bouze Island, Hyogo Prefecture.

Initial Growth of Nori: First Ocean Phase

Whereas Bouze Island’s seeding facility and freezer are owned by the Fishermen’s Association, individual farmers grow nori on their own. Each farm gets a share of the seeded nets, approximately 900 nets per farm. Growing areas in the sea are assigned by lottery. All farmers must have gyo-ken (fishing rights) and be members of the fishermen’s association, but not all members of the association choose to farm. Thirty-one farms grew nori around Bouze this season (2011-2012). Most nori farms have four to five people (often family members) to work the farm.

On October 20, 2011, Bouze’s nori farmers began to put their nets into the sea. Nets were still tied together in sets of five. They were suspended from a complex of floats and lines. It took several days prior to October 20^th to create this complex, and three days to complete the placement of all the nets. Nets would remain in the sea for 3-4 weeks, and then be returned to the freezer. During this initial phase in the sea, the single-celled conchospores grow into the multicellular gametophyte, the form know as nori (see Photo 1).

Yamamoto-san picked us up in his boat at the Port of Himeji on the afternoon of October 23^rd. Nori work was already completed for the day. We walked around the island, stopped by the fishermen’s association, and enjoyed the views. Some of the nori nets were visible from shore (Photos 36 & 37). Yamamoto-san made arrangements for us to visit his nephew’s farm in the morning.

Photo 36: Bouze Island Fishermen’s Association office. The association has 500 members, the largest of Hyogo Prefecture. Within Japan, Hyogo Prefecture ranks second in nori production.

Photo 37: A view of a nori farm from the shore of Bouze Island.

We departed at 5:10 AM in Yamamoto-san’s skiff and met his nephew and crew at their dock. Similar to other fishers, whalers and Ama divers in Japan, they started the day around an open fire, chatting and getting warm. After a few minutes, we went together on Kobayashi-san’s boat to the farm. Along the way, Reiko explained our interest in nori, and asked Kobayashi-san about his farm. He was born and raised on Bouze Island, although he went away to college and knew the story of Dr. Drew-Baker. His father established the farm over 30 years ago. He has worked the farm for 20 years, and took over when his father became ill. Growing nori is still a good business, but the price has declined over the last decade. He had two younger relatives working with him, and a more experienced farmer (another Katsura-san, not related to the other two Katsura-sans).

It was a 20-minute ride in the dark. We could barely see the nets when we arrived. Kobayashi-san still had his nets tied into sets of five (from the seeding factory), but now two sets of five were tied together (10 nets total, Photo 38). Five sets of these pairs were lined up end to end in a row (50 total). Kobayashi-san had 19 rows for a total of 950 nets (Photo 39).

Photo 39: A larger view of Kobayashi-san’s nori farm. By 6:30 AM most of the nets have been raised.

The job this morning, and throughout this phase of mariculture, is to raise the nets out of the water. Wild nori grows in the intertidal zone of the ocean, that part of the ocean that is periodically immersed (covered) and emersed (uncovered) by the tides. Lifting the nets out of the water mimics the natural tidal cycle. For the first few days of this phase, the nets were kept out of the water for one hour per day. Today, they expected to keep the nets raised for two hours. In the last two weeks they would typically keep the nets out of the ocean for 4-5 hours, depending on the weather. Their goal is to dry out the nets enough to kill other marine organisms that might grow on the nets. However, they don’t want the nets to completely dry out (e.g. if windy), nor do they want the nets exposed in the rain. Experience with how long to leave nori emersed is critical at this phase, and will determine the future success of the crop.

To raise the nets, each of the workers moved into small boats. The nets were supported by a system of buoys and poles. Rings attached to the nets were placed over the poles. When we arrived, the rings rested around the bottom of the poles and the nets were immersed (in the sea). One-by-one, each ring was lifted up and attached to a notch near the top of the pole, approximately one meter above the surface. Next, the boat was pulled by hand along the ropes to the next float, and the process was repeated. After completing one side of a row, the boats were swung around the end, or pulled under the nets to work on the other side (see Photos 40-43 and Video 2).

Photo 40: Raising nets just before dawn. A row of nets on the right side of the picture is still immersed (in the sea). Note the buoy and poles that support the nets, and the orange ring that attaches the nets to the poles. A boat on the other side of these nets is moving toward me and raising that side of the nets. A row of nets on the left have already been raised.

Photo 41a: Raising the nori nets. This farm worker has just pulled up the net by the orange ring in the center of the picture and attached it into a groove near the top of the pole. He pulls himself along by the rope system. Note the boat is shallow and rectangular. A single oar is the only other means of locomotion.

Photo 41b: The next ring has been raised. Note the other side of these nets is being raised simultaneously by the boat carrying Reiko and myself.

Photo 42a: Closer up view of the buoy, pole and ring system.

Photo 42b: A ring in the upper notch of the pole.

Photo 43a: Moving under the nets. It was often more direct to travel under the nets, rather than go around them. Having completed one row, this farm worker lies on his back and pulls himself under the nets.

Photo 43b: He emerges on the other side.

Photo 43c: He begins work on the next row of nets.

All of the nets were raised by 6:30 AM. One by one, we emerged from the nets. The three smaller boats were tied off to the net system, ready to lower the nets in a couple hours. The larger skiff picked up all the farm hands and brought them back to the boat (see Photos 44-47). They would take a break and then lower the nets back into sea.

Photo 44: Katsura-san took us into the nori nets with the larger skiff. We finished first and picked up the other farm hands.

Photo 45: Another farm worker finishes his nets. He ties off his boat to the float system. It will be used again in about two hours to lower the nets.

Photo 46: The farm owner, Kobayashi-san (orange shirt) is the last one to be picked up.

Photo 47a: Views of the raised nets.

Photo 47b: Views of the raised nets.

Yamamoto-san showed up just in time to pick us up. He had gone fishing and brought back squid for the crew to thank them for letting us ride along (Photo 48).

Photo 48: Yamamoto-san describes the morning’s fishing as he takes us back to Bouze Island.

Once back on shore, we visited Kobayashi-san’s processing facility and new ‘One Man’ machine. The government was currently providing 65% of the cost of new equipment for nori farmers. Kobayashi-san and ten others had taken advantage of this offer and installed brand new gear; full price: 100 million yen (about $1.25 million, see Photos 49 & 50). We would later see this machine in action (see below).

Photo 49: The front of Kobayashi-san’s nori processing facility.

Photo 50a: One of the most significant technologies of modern nori culture is the ‘One Man Machine’. It takes fresh cut nori and creates dried nori sheets: 5,600 sheets per hour. A view down the side of the machine.

Photo 50b: The One Man Machine has many mats to make many sheets of nori. Compare to Photo 17, Part I.

The initial phase of growth with daily emersion continued for the next three weeks, until the nori had grown 1-2 cm in length. Starting November 11^th, the nets were brought back to the freezer, a process that took nearly a week. Nori would remain in the freezer for a minimum of three days to kill unwanted bacteria and other microorganisms on the nets, while the nori lies dormant. It would be put back out to grow when waters cooled later in November.

Nori Growth and Harvest

This year, the nori farmers of Bouze Island began to put their nets back in the water around November 20. It took several days to put out the nets. Each farmer had multiple growing sites, and sites were set up to facilitate harvest. It takes about two weeks of growth for the nori to reach harvestable size. It can then be cut every 9-10 days, although the first cuttings are best (many seaweeds and plants respond to grazing by producing noxious compounds that deter grazers).

It was still dark at 6 a.m. on December 22(the longest night of the year) as we boarded a brand new nori harvesting boat. It was pitch black. A two-man crew of Maeda-san (42 years old, an experienced nori farmer) and Maeda-san (unrelated, 23 years old, his first nori season) took us out for the morning’s harvest at Yamaiwa Suisan (Mountain Boulder Marine Farm). This farm is owned by Mr. Koichi Uemura, head of the Bouze Island Fishermen’s Association. We were fortunate to be invited out on this new boat (part of the government subsidized program). The boat has a cabin and is much larger than the typical harvester – small, open boats similar to those used to raise the nets. More importantly, the new boat will quickly and efficiently cut nori from the nets (see Photo 51).

Photo 51a: A new-generation nori harvester unloading on December 21, 2011. 51a. The boat carries a system of metal tubes that will lift nori nets over the boat and direct the nori into the chopper. Note the dark red water; run off from the nori processing facilities along the waterfront.

Photo 51b: A closer view of the chopper that runs from starboard to port. As nori nets pass over the metal tubing, the nori hangs down where it meets the chopper.

Photo 51c: View from the port side into the hold full of fresh nori. The orange hoses suck up the nori and deliver it to storage siloes. Most of the driving and chopping can be conducted from the covered cabin of the boat.

The experienced Maeda-san drove us through the dark for forty minutes, mostly navigating on instruments, until we reached a 120-net site due for harvest. Yamaiwa Suisan has its nets set up in three distinct regions around Bouze Island. This site was situated in 30-meter deep water, and was relatively far from Bouze Island, hence the long drive (see Photo 52). It would be the third cutting of these nets. They are cut about every ten days.

Photo 52a: Inside the cabin on our ride to the nori farm. It was still night at 6:00 AM on December 22, 2011. Maeda-san navigated with the use of instruments and buoy lights.

Photo 52b: Reiko was thankful to be inside a cabin, rather than an open boat.

Initially, it was so dark that we could be barely see the nets, much less the nori. However, the boat and its crew performed well. The forward metal tubes were deployed off the bow of the boat, something like a cowcatcher on a train. This device lifted up the nets so they passed overhead. As the dangling nori hit the chopper, it sprayed everywhere. Most of it ended up somewhere on the boat, and all surfaces acted together as a single collector (see Photo 53).

Photo 53: Cutting nori in the dark (6:55 AM). A structure of metal tubes placed off the bow of the boat guides nori nets over the top of the boat. Nori dangling from the net is cut off as it hits the chopper, which was operated from within the cabin. Note the adjacent net on the side of the boat.

As the sun finally came up, we could see that the 120 nets were laid out in long, paired rows; the 20-meter long axis of neighboring rows aligned. This arrangement was designed to allow the harvest of two nets at a time, one from each row. After each pair of nets was cut, the boat turned around and began to harvest another pair of nets (see Photo 54 and Video 3).

Photo 54a: A 120-net section of Yamaiwa Suisan (Mountain Boulder Marine Farm). Floats in the foreground are placed on the periphery of the site. Ropes attached to the floats hold the nori nets.

Photo 54b: The boat runs between a pair of floats.

Photo 54c: As the boat engages the rope system, it lifts the nets. The adjacent rows of nets can be seen as they are pulled from the water.

Photo 54d: The targeted net comes over the boat, and nori enters the chopper.

Photo 54e: The cut nori falls onto the bow and is washed into the hold.

Photo 54f: Close up of the nori as it falls into the hold.

Photo 54g: Maeda-san simultaneously operates the chopper and drives the boat from inside the cabin.

As we cut nori from one net, nets on either side would be lifted from the water. From the cabin, it was easy to see the uncut nori on these adjacent nets, approximately 30-40 cm long (Photo 55), whereas the nori on nets after cutting was 5-10 cm long (Photo 56).

Photo 55a: Nori on the nets adjacent to those being cut passed close to the cabin and provided the best views of uncut nori. The strands of uncut nori hanging from the adjacent net, approximately 30-40 cm long.

Photo 55b: Close-up of uncut nori.

Photo 56: The trimmed net passes over the stern of the boat. Compare nori on the trimmed net to the uncut nori on the adjacent net.

By 8:20 a.m. the crew had trimmed 80 of the 120 nets and the boat was loaded with nori. We were met by another Katsura-san (unrelated, age 26) on a transport boat. He helped the crew transfer nori from the harvester onto his boat. They washed loose nori into the hold of the harvester, and then pumped nori from the hold into the transport boat. They also washed down the roof and other surfaces (see Photo 57). As soon as the nori had been transferred, the transport boat departed for port, and we went with it. As we departed, we were able to see the harvester boat with its ‘cowcatcher’ deployed (Photo 58).

Photo 57a: The morning’s harvest was too large to be carried by the harvester boat. A transport arrived to carry the cut nori back to port.

Photo 57b: Nori was pumped from the hold while the bow was hosed down.

Photo 57c: Nori from the roof of the cabin drained into buckets.

Photo 57d: Nori carried onto the transport boat.

Photo 58: The harvester boat with ‘cowcatcher’ deployed.

We passed several other farms on the way back to port. Most were set up with the same system of floats, ropes and nets, and they harvested nori by passing each net over a harvester boat. However, the boats were much smaller, with no cabins. The two-man crew pulled the boat along by the ropes, similar to the style we observed when raising nets. Also, many farms ‘fertilized’ the nets after cutting with a low pH solution that inhibited other organisms from growing on the nori (see Photos 59 and 60).

Photo 59a: Other farms used small boats to harvest nori and many added a ‘fertilizer’ after cutting. The long yellow boat carries a solution in its bow that is applied to the freshly trimmed nets. Nets are passed over the bow and dip into the solution. A small harvester boat with two-man crew is just behind the fertilizer.

Photo 59b: Close-up of small harvester. Note the net passing over the boat; the same general method used at Yamaiwa Suisan (Mountain Boulder Marine Farm).

 

Nori Processing: ‘One Man’ Machine

Back at the dock, nori from the boat was pumped into holding siloes at the processing facility (Photo 60). Processing continues 24 hours a day early in the season. The first cuttings produce higher quality nori and like all farmers, the nori farmers of Bouze are anxious to bring in their crop. It was a cold morning, the first day of winter. Fortunately for us, Mrs. Uemera invited us in for coffee break in their processing facility. She also roasted some fresh nori for us to sample and take home (Photos 61-63).

Photo 60: The transporter boat returned us back to the dock in front of Yamaiwa Suisan, where its cargo of nori would be unloaded. A fertilizer boat was tied up at the same dock.

Photo 61: Mrs. Uemura roasts fresh nori for Reiko and explains nori processing, in the office of Yamaiwa Suisan’s facility.

Photo 62: Most of the nori grown on Bouze Island will be sent to a large processor on Awajishima. However, Yamaiwa Suisan packages a small amount of their highest quality nori from a favorite growing area. Reiko holds a package given to us by Mrs. Uemura.

Photo 63: Early season nori, cut yesterday and fresh roasted, tastes good.

We actually arrived on Bouze Island the day before, December 21^st, to visit the processing facility of Mr. Katsura (unrelated to the many others we met with that name). Mr. Katsura is a nori farmer with 35 years of experience. He drove us around the island on our earlier visits, and invited us to his farm in October. However, he had strained his back in the net-raising phase of growth (described above, see Photo 64).

Photo 64: Reiko with Katsura-san and Yamamoto-san outside Katsura-san’s nori processing facility.

Katsura-san bought a new ‘One Man’ machine this year, the same type as Kobayashi-san, made by Nishihatsu Company (priced at 100 million yen, about $1.25 million). This machine revolutionized nori processing, although it actually consists of several machines working together. ‘One man’ can put freshly cut nori into the machine; the machine spits out dried sheets of nori at the other end. It performs all the traditional steps of nori processing (and more). It washes with saltwater, minces, washes again with freshwater, mixes minced nori with freshwater to the desired consistency, deposits the correct amount of nori ‘slurry’ into frames onto mats (to form the basic sheet), sucks out extra water, presses out extra water, dries the nori (the dryer is the largest part of the machine), and dumps the dried sheets of nori onto a conveyor belt that delivers it to an inspection room (see Photos 65-73).

Photo 65a: The ‘One Man’ machine actually begins with the ‘Catch Cleaner’.

Photo 65b: The ‘Catch Cleaner’ washes the freshly cut nori in seawater.

Photo 66: Washed nori enters the mincer and to be cut.

Photo 67: Minced nori is washed in fresh water.

Photo 68: Minced nori in fresh water enters the ‘Density Controller’ which adjusts the specific gravity of the solution. The slurry produced here enters the actual ‘One Man’ machine.

Photo 69: The ‘One Man’ machine turns the slurried nori into dried sheets.

Photo 70: Above the front end of the ‘One Man’ machine. Here, two rows of eight (8) sheets are placed on mats. Each row of 8 mats will travel together through this machine.

Photo 71: The new sheets are moved over a vacuum that will suck out excess water (exposed sheets), and moved to the right to be squeezed (under the white covers).

Photo 72a: The largest part of the ‘One Man’ machine is the dryer. View of the mats as the enter the dryer.

Photo 72b: The dryer is contained in this section, covered by blue panels.

Photo 72c: Nearly dried nori about to be released from the dryer.

Photo 73: Each row of mats with their sheets of nori will eventually be turned upside down. The sheets fall onto a conveyor belt, which moves them into a separate room. The ‘One Man’ machine is done with these sheets of nori. Note the empty mats above the conveyor belt. They will move to the front of the machine to accept more nori.

Depending on the model, it may also inspect the sheets for any defects (e.g. holes or frayed edges), bundle sheets in tens, fold them in half, combine these into hundreds, band them with appropriate labels and organize them in rows of 600 (see Photos 74-79 and Video 4). Katsura-san’s machine does all of the above at the rate of 16,800 sheets every 3 hours (5,600 sheets/hour). The nori produced on Bouze Island will be sent to the association for grading. Most of it will then be sent to Awajishima, where it will be roasted and packaged, or otherwise prepared for sale.

Photo 74: Sheets of nori from the ‘One Man’ machine enter an inspection room by conveyor belt. These sheets enter a small inspecting machine (foreground, bottom of picture) and are redirected to a second, larger inspector (right). Through the glass can be seen the empty mats that just released their nori.

Photo 75: Imperfect sheets of nori that were pulled aside by the larger inspecting machine.

Photo 76: Nori that passed inspection was grouped into stacks of ten (10) sheets by the larger inspecting machine and moves to a folding machine.

Photo 77: The folding machine folds the stacks of ten sheets once (in half) and pushes ten stacks together into a bundle (total, 100 sheets).

Photo 78: Bundles enter the binding machine, which binds 100 sheets together. The label includes the farms name and specific region where it was grown.

Photo 79: Bundles are pushed onto a shelf. Each shelf holds six bundles (600 sheets of nori). Full shelves are moved upward to accommodate more bundles. The inspection room houses the inspecting, folding, and binding machines. It also provides a warm place to rest for visitors and farmers.

Katsura-san still needs helpers to handle the nori after it has been bundled He hires three women that rotate in shifts; the factory runs 24 hours a day in December. These women are responsible for inspecting the nori rejected by the machine and bundling it by hand. It will be sold at a lower price. They also box the bundled nori and look after the office (see Photo 80). He also hires workers to care for the nori on the farm. He estimated his annual costs of running the factory and boats (gas, electricity, etc.) at 5 million yen (about $65,000). He expects the machine will be profitable in a few years, especially given the government subsidy. However, nori farming has experienced some recent problems.

Photo 80: Imperfect nori sheets will be inspected in more detail and bundled by hand.

The discovery of conchocelis-stage nori by Dr. Drew-Baker enabled the modern mariculture of nori. In 1965, the floating net system was developed, with the raising and lowering of nori to mimic the tides. At the same time, farmers started freezing nets to inhibit organisms and extend the growing season began. Nori production in Hyogo Prefecture went up ten-fold by 1972, to over 500 million sheets. The ‘One Man’ machine debuted in 1975. Production in 1978 exceeded 1 billion sheets; in 1983 Hyogo produced more than 1.5 billion sheets of nori.

As production increased, more people were able to eat nori on a regular basis and demand grew. The price went up initially, from about 5 yen per sheet (less than 4 cents at that time, 1965) to over 20 yen per sheet in 1977. The higher prices attracted more farmers and more investment; Katsura-san started farming at this time. Over the next decade the price varied  around 15 yen per sheet, but by 1988-2002 nori sold for 9-12 yen per sheets.

The last decade has been less successful for nori farmers. The price per sheet has declined since 2004 to approximately 8 yen per sheet (about 8 cents). In 2003, production dropped 25% with the first ‘iroochi’ (yellow nori) event. Yellow nori grows when blooms of diatoms remove too many nutrients from the water (diatoms are single-celled algae; common problem species are Eucampia zodiacus and Coscinodiscus wailesii, and last year Chaetoceros socialis). Without these nutrients, nori cannot produce their phycobili proteins, the photosynthetic pigments that give nori its red color. Yellow nori lacks flavor and earns little money for nori farmers. The problem develops during the coldest months (January and February). Bouze Island experienced yellow nori last winter (February 2011).

Rising sea temperatures pose another problem for nori farmers. Warmer temperatures in the fall restrict the growing season, and reduce production. Temperatures were above average through November this fall (2011), and all the nori farmers said it was a bad year.

Despite these problems, Bouze Island farmers may benefit this year from reduced production in other areas, particularly in Kyuushuu Prefecture, the largest producer. Kyuushuu is further south and experienced greater warming, with more significant consequences. A smaller crop tends to raise prices, and there is still strong demand for nori in Japan. Nori today accounts for more than 75% of Japan’s seaweed consumption.

Special thanks to Yamamoto-san, our host on many visits to Bouze Island. Thanks also to Mr. Katsura, Director of Saibyojyo, Bouze Island’s nori seeding facility, and Mr. Yoshimi Konishi, Chief of Research, Nori Kenkyusho, Awaji Nori Center. Many thanks to the nori farmers on Bouze Island, especially Katsura-san, Kobayashi-san, and Mr. and Mrs. Uemura for letting us intrude on their during their busiest times of the year. They were more than hospitable and we enjoyed every scrap of nori!

** Seaweeds (e.g. nori) produce single-celled spores rather than seeds for reproduction. The term ‘seed’ and ‘seeding’ are commonly used because of the more familiar seeds of plants used in agriculture.

Miyako Ecology Center Celebrates Earth Day & 10th Year: Part II*

The Miyako Ecology Center’s (MEC) 10^th Anniversary and Earth Day event drew a record number of visitors, despite a rainy day. Over 2,800 people came to celebrate and enjoy special exhibits, demonstrations, and activities for kids that included a toy exchange (see Photo 1).

Photo 1: Miyako Ecology Center (MEC) celebrates its 10th Anniversary and Earth Day, April 22, 2012. The main hall was packed at 10:00 for the opening ceremony. The poster on the second floor asks, ‘Who’s Earth Is It?’ (cartoon by High Moon, Director of the MEC).

The event began with the reading of an ‘uplifting’ story, in which animals were shown on one page standing, then on the next page jumping into the air. As each page was turned from standing to jumping, the leader on stage, and dozens of kids with him, jumped in unison (punchline: the snail does not jump very high). The last ‘animal’ was a child, which got everyone jumping and ready for the day’s activities. Kid’s received a worksheet and then headed off to two ‘classes’ to earn a ‘Green Consumer’ certificate (Photo 2).

Photo 2A: Part of the opening ceremony was the reading of a simple book that showed a series of animals sitting, then jumping. The audience was encouraged to jump along with the animals. Nice ice breaker! The first page showed a frog sitting.

Photo 2B: The next page showed the frog jumping. The reader gave instructions that we were all to jump on the ‘jump’ pages.

Photo 2C: Jumping with a dog.

The first class was a mini ‘dumpster dive’ skit. As a garbage man was about to haul away a bag of garbage, a staff member asked him to stop, and inspect the bag for any reusable or recyclable items. One-by-one she pulled out each piece and asked whether if it was garbage. Kids quickly understood and identified most of the recyclables. Recyclables were moved to separate bags. Other items were still useful; a coat was found and put on!  Marina raised her hand when a plastic PET bottle was held up. She said it could be cleaned and refilled for many future uses. After the bag was emptied, kid’s received a stamp on their worksheet (see Photo 3).

Photo 3A: The MEC held a ‘dumpster dive’ skit in which the garbage man was stopped and his ‘garbage’ inspected. The garbage man with ‘truck’ (blue paper on wheeled cabinet) and garbage bag, and an MEC staff member with poster of a landfill explaining the problems of garbage.

Photo 3B: The contents of the garbage bag have been spread on the floor and a series of alternate containers are labeled and ready, including a bag for cans and bottles, a box for compostables, a bag for plastics, and the original garbage bag.

Photo 3C: One of the kids explains what to do with a cardboard box. It can be flattened and put out with newspapers for recycling. Note the staff woman has put on the coat that was in the ‘garbage’.

Photo 3D: A boy says the cap must be removed from the jar before recycling.

Photo 3E: Marina explains that a PET bottle can be washed and re-used rather than recycled.

The second class was set up as a store in the ‘Alternative Valuable Lifestyle’ exhibit (see earlier post*). Kids were given a shopping list from ‘mom’: snacks and tea for a field trip, and ramen as a snack for their ‘brother’. Snacks varied in the amount of packaging involved: one large piece of chocolate in a single wrapper vs. the same amount of chocolate, but in several smaller pieces, each individually wrapped. The tea choice consisted of tea purchased in a PET bottle vs. tea that could be made in a thermos. The final choices were between ‘cup noodles’ (in a disposable cup) vs. noodles to cook in a pan. The environmentally friendly choosers picked less wrapping and re-usable containers vs. (more) disposable packaging. Finally, kids received their third stamp, certification and a special 10^th Anniversary ‘Eco-Mushi’ pin (see Photos 4-6).

Photo 4: Learning about alternatives in the Miyako Ecology Center’s ‘Alternative Valuable Lifestyle’ exhibit. Kids were asked to choose a drink and snack for a field trip, and a noodle snack for their younger brother. Choices varied in their packaging. Products with less packaging require fewer resources to make as well as less garbage.

Photo 5: Marina with her ‘Green Consumer’ certificate.

Photo 6: Ami holds up her special MEC 10th Anniversary ‘Eco-mushi’ pin. The ‘Eco-mushi’ icon is used throughout the center to draw attention to sustainable alternatives. Some of the icons are relatively hard to spot, which makes finding them a favorite activity at the MEC for Marina and Ami.

Nearby was a demonstration on furoshiki: the use of a cloth wrap to carry items, especially gifts. Wrapping styles resemble origami. When presented as a gift, the cloth is removed by the recipient and returned to the presenter. Marina and Ami learned to wrap two wine bottles together into an easily carried sling (great for going to a dinner party). They also made simple hats (see Photos 7-9).

Photo 7A: Furoshiki uses pieces of cloth to wrap and carry items, often presents. The wrapping styles vary with the object to be wrapped, somewhat in the style of origami. A single cloth can be used over and over again, very sustainable.

Photo 7B: Furoshiki cloths vary in size and color pattern. They can even be used as a handbag.

Photo 8A: Marina and Ami learn how to carry two bottles of wine, a nice gift for a dinner party. The bottles will be unwrapped by the host of the party, and the furoshiki cloth returned. The bottles are placed end to end, with a space between them.

Photo 8B: The bottles are rolled up in the furoshiki cloth.

Photo 8C: The ends are brought together.

Photo 8D: The ends are tied.

Photo 8E: The bottles can be easily carried by the knot.

Photo 9: Marina, Ami and I wearing furoshiki hats made by the girls, with their furoshiki sensei (teacher) behind us.

There were options to make crafts, try out a pedal-operated taxi, and pedal a bike to generate electricity for light bulbs. After learning about the energy efficiencies of different light bulbs, the generator was used to fill up balloons. Colored papers and pens were available for visitors to express ‘The Future We Want’ (Photos 10 & 11).

Photo 10: Ami pedals a bike to pump up a balloon. First she had to light up three types of light bulbs: incandescent, CFL and LED – a ‘feet-on’ lesson in energy efficiency.

Photo 11: Ami and Marina pose by the ‘Future We Want’ display, after adding their wishes on colored hearts.

The toy exchange seemed to draw the most kids. First, kids brought their old toys to an exchange window. They received a ‘credit card’ based on the items they donated. Then, they went shopping with their credit cards to find new treasures. Credits could also be used for new ‘green’ items such as cards made from recycled paper, re-usable plastic tops for the microwave, etc. (Photos 12 & 13).

Photo 12: The toy exchange brought together new owners and lots of good toys.

Photo 13: Our girls offered their credits to their mom Reiko. She bought toilet paper made from the recycled milk cartoons used at school lunch, and re-usable tops for the microwave. [The girls are limited in what they can carry back to Arizona, a return trip coming soon.]

A special kitchen was set up to make vegetable curry with rice. The veggies came from an organic farm just outside the city, and some of the farmers were there to serve it. Yummy! You could eat your lunch while watching a play at the ‘Eco-Neko’ theater (Photos 14 & 15).

Photo 14: Organic curry and rice were available for lunch, served by the farmers that grew the food.

Photo 15: The ‘Eco-Neko’ theater featuring an ecologically friendly cat (neko) in a tale of deforestation.

We were interviewed toward the end of our visit. Marina spoke for our family. When asked what she liked the most about the day’s events, she mentioned the ‘Eco-mushi’, learning about garbage, and how to make furoshiki wraps. Her interview is online (in Japanese).

There were many other exhibits inside, large and small. Outside exhibits included some of the pellet stoves displayed earlier this year (see link*). The stoves had extra visitors on the cold, wet day. Other foods (e.g. cookies, crackers) and fresh produce were available, and a special booth accepted both common and unusual items for recycling or disposal. Altogether, it was an excellent event with an incredible turn out, especially considering the constant rain and no parking; everyone came by foot, bike or public transportation! A great example of the ‘Do You Kyoto’ spirit (see Photos 16-18).

Photo 16: A pellet stove display provided some warmth outside in the rain. Wood pellets make use of scrap wood, a form of ‘bio-fuel’. Because the trees that produced the wood took CO2 from the atmosphere to make the wood, this form of energy is renewable and can potentially reduce net carbon emissions.

 

Photo 17: Booths outside the MEC offered food and educational materials on sustainable living. Umbrellas get regular use in Kyoto, and umbrella stands are placed in the doorways of most public or business establishments.

Photo 18: A recycling booth in front of the MEC provided information on recycling and accepted unusual items, including batteries, glass bottles, milk cartons, mercury thermometers, oil, CD’s, DVD’s, lighters, ink cartridges and fluorescent light bulbs.

Harie Town: Water Springs Forth on the Shore of Lake Biwa (Biwako)

The following Thursday (April 26) we went to Harie Town on the shore of Lake Biwa (Biwako) with several of the MEC staff. A natural aquifer lies just below the surface of Harie and provides abundant, clean water. Famously, the town cares for this water supply and their potential downstream effects, within the town and Lake Biwa (Photo 19).

Photo 19: Standing along the stream in Harie Town. Artesian water flows near the surface here and is used naturally in homes for drinking, cooking and cleaning. Residents maintain the quality of the water and send it from their homes into the stream.

For over 200 years, the residents of Harie have built special buildings for the spring water. Water continuously springs up in a pipe and into a large bowl where it can be used for drinking and cooking. Water spills from the bowl into other bowls and eventually flows into a small pond at the base of the house. Koi (carp), kingyo (goldfish), masu (trout) and other fishes live in these ponds and clean dishes, pots and pans. A long ditch runs along the sides of houses; grates in the walls of these houses allow this water to flow in and out of the ponds, but prevent the fish from leaving (Photos 20 & 21).

Photo 20A: A house built for spring water. Looking into the water house from outside the door. Many dishes and cleaning items can be seen on shelves and hangers over the pond.

Photo 20B: From inside the house the pipe, bowls and ponds can be seen, along with some of the resident koi (carp) and kingyo (goldfish).

Photo 20C: Reiko samples the water with a bamboo cup handed out on the tour. Very refreshing.

Photo 21A: A smaller water house from the outside.

Photo 21B: Inside a smaller water house.

Photo 21C: Grills let water enter the pond from the ditch and pass back out from the pond. This flushing action helps keep the water clean. Note that water is also flowing continuously from the pipe inside the house.

The fresh spring water is tested regularly and exceeds all health standards – we tried it at several of the houses. The water that flows from houses into the ditch system is as clean as stream water, and flows into the streams in the middle of the town. Residents get together four or five times a year to trim the grasses that build up in the stream. The grasses, fish and other inhabitants clean the water before it enters Lake Biwa (Photo 22). The cool water is also used as a natural refrigerator for tofu makers and to store fresh vegetables in the summer (Photos 23 and 24).

Photo 22: Houses line the stream and have easy access to the water via many sets of stairs. Note the long green grass in the stream that helps remove nutrients from the water. Town residents cut the grass four to five times each year.

Photo 23: This woman makes tofu with the spring water and keeps it fresh in the water. This particular house has been making and selling tofu for over 100 years old.

Photo 24: Our tour guide has built several small basins in front of his house to keep his cucumbers (and other veggies) cool in the summer. The basins are decorated with a few of the ‘Seven Dwarves’ and other characters. Water flows from the basin into the ditch.

Schools bring kids here in the summer on field trips; the kids love to play in the stream. Lake Biwa has been impacted by agricultural run-off around the lake. In Harie, they have built wetlands between their rice paddies and the lake, to minimize these effects. Also, they have developed protected stretches of beach to foster re-growth of the native reeds (Photo 25).

Photo 25: A restoration project on the shore of Lake Biwa to re-establish native reeds.

An unusual problem faces the residents of Harie. Because the water table comes so close to the surface, it is impractical to put sewage pipes far underground. Instead, they have developed a vacuum system that sucks sewage from homes into the main pipe. This system is powered by solar panels and water wheels; they also power street lights (Photos 26 & 27).

Photo 26: A small pump house provides the suction to move sewage from this home into the main pipe. It is powered by a solar panel.

Photo 27: This water wheel powers another sewage pump – visible through the spokes of the water wheel.

 

Oh the places you’ll go

You did it guys ! We did it! Another academic year accomplished, and that great efffort is something to be proud of. It is not just the letter grade you received, but rather the incredible effort and hard work, and all that we gave of ourselves to receive that grade. I believe that is what academia is: a character building experience, it’s an opportunity to go far above yourself, and accomplish something beyong your wildest and most ambitious expectations.

At this very moment a first year student is finishing a final to complete their first academic year, at the same time, a long time and hard working nursing major has finally been accepted into the program they have more than earned. Somewhere among this campus, a proud veteran has the courage to take the next step in their life and bring their incredible character to the classroom. Maybe not so far away from him, a very special student is persevering through what society labels as a disability he/she considers their gift.

To all of you who are graduating, not only from Glendale Community College, but onto the next path of your lives, do it the way you have left here today: courageously, responsibly, bravely. Always be curious about what life can offer you, if you can fight for it, goodbye our good friends.

And to all our good friends who have walked the pathways of this campused for the first time this year, I hope you all feel welcome, and embrace this time in your life, and challenge yourself to give as much of your self as you can, because when it is your turn to put on the cap and gown, walk onto the platform, receive your degree, and shake the president of GCC’s hand. Well my friend, you well be in awe of how far you have come, and how much further you can go.

God Bless.

Arizona Football League

Congratulations you have just finished your degree and football career here at GCC and now you don’t know what you want to do.  You realize that you still love the game of football and want to continue playing, so what’s next you ask yourself.  Well gentlemen your answers are here and it is the Arizona Football League, a league for men to continue playing after their time with school is up.

The Arizona Football League (AzFL) is a competitive tackle football league that is available for those who have finished school, whether it is high school or college and want to still play the game of football.  The AzFL has been around since 1995 and has had NFL players such as Deuce Lutui of the Arizona Cardinals and Arena Football League Players Chad DeGrenier, Gerard Williams and Siaha Burley  play in their league during the professional off-seasons.

The AzFL has an application process to join the league and eventually a team. The AzFL excepts players all year long but their seasons are from the months of January to May, which includes one pre-season game, 10 regular season games, and the playoffs if your team is in the top 8 for best records.  The AzFL records every football game played and posts it on its website www.aspnradio.com to be viewed.

The AzFL is located all over Arizona so you don’t have to be stuck to one area just to play in the league.  For instance the AzFL has teams in Flagstaff, Yavapai county (Prescott area), Paradise Valley, Scottsdale, Tempe, Mesa/Chandler, Tucson (two teams), Cave Creek, Surprise/El Mirage, and Avondale/Goodyear areas.  You are also able to pick and choose what team you want to play for all the way up until December, because once the season starts you cannot switch teams.

For more information on the league and how to get involved with the teams log on to the website www.azfl.com and fill out a application.

Nori – Japan’s Most Famous Seaweed: Part I, History and Traditional Use

The Japanese Archipelago supports a diversity of marine life and abundant seafood for the people of Japan. Seaweeds* make up a significant component of their diet. Of the many types of seaweed consumed, the most common is nori, a variety of red algae (Rhodophyta, genus Porphyra). Nori is well known as the outer wrap on many types of sushi (see Photos 1 & 2). Nori also covers onigiri (rice balls) and serves as a seasoning on rice, in soups, etc. Porphyra is eaten elsewhere in Asia; in Ireland it is known as ‘laver’.

Photo 1: Tekkamaki – tuna roll sushi – served by Jaime Contreras, Musashi restaurant, Kyoto Station. This style of sushi roll originated with the creation of paper-style nori. Musashi serves their sushi on a conveyor belt, a style known as kaiten sushi.

Photo 2: Various sushi with nori wraps (from back to front and left to right): tekkamaki (tuna roll), ikura (salmon roe with cucumber garnish), yamaimo (mountain potato with quail egg), uni (sea urchin roe), tamago (chicken egg omelet), and kazunoko (herring roe).

Nori has been an important food in Japan for at least 1300 years. It was listed in the earliest book on Japanese governance, the ‘Taiho Ritsuryo’ (701 AD), as one of the products that could be used to pay taxes. At that time and for the next millennia, nori was produced in a paste-like form. Modern ‘sheet’ nori was first created in the early 18^th century, based on a form of paper making technology (Photo 3). The Asakusa District of Tokyo was the center of nori production.

Photo 3: Ami, Reiko and Marina hold up the nori sheets they made in February. These sheets need to be roasted before eating.

For most of this history, nori was harvested from wild seaweed. Nori grows on rocks, shells and wood in shallow waters and the intertidal zone (that area of the shore that is periodically covered and uncovered by the tides). It grows best in bays near the mouth of rivers. Nori from Tokyo Bay, and particularly from the Asakusa District, was highly prized. When the capital was moved from Kyoto to Tokyo at the start of the Edo Period 1603-1868 (Tokyo was then known as Edo), the population of Tokyo grew, and much of the shoreline was reclaimed. Thus began the cultivation of nori – initially on sticks and poles sunk into the bottom of shallow waters, later on nets attached to poles, and finally into the large systems of floating nets commonly used today (see Photo 4, and Part II coming in May).

Photo 4: Bamboo poles stuck in shallow water support nets at the surface; nori grows on the nets, Toba Bay, Japan.

For more than two centuries, nori farmers put out their poles and nets as substrate in early fall to collect the nori spores (referred to as ‘seeding’, although spores are not actually seeds). The spores grow into a leaf-like ‘thallus’ (the body of a seaweed) that is harvested as nori from December to April. Unfortunately, some years produced very little nori, and farmers were unable to develop more reliable methods. This problem became worse after World War II as the waters became increasingly polluted from agricultural runoff.

A British scientist, Kathleen Drew-Baker, made a critical discovery in 1949 that revolutionized nori farming. Dr. Drew-Baker studied the life cycle of an Atlantic species, Porphyra umbilicalis. She found that nori has three distinct stages (or generations); one of these – the conchocelis stage – grows on oyster shells and similar substrate (see Photo 5). The current use of oyster shells to collect the conchocelis stage and use them to ‘seed’ nets has enabled nori farming to grow into a billion dollar industry. Dr. Drew-Baker is honored each year on April 14^th, as ‘the mother of the sea’, at a shrine on Kyushu Island, the most productive area of nori grown today (see Photo 5).

Photo 5: Life cycle of nori (Porphyra spp). The GAMETOPHYTE generation produces the familiar leaf-like ‘body’ (thallus) harvested for nori. A microscopic CARPOSPOROPHYTE generation develops on the GAMETOPHYTE generation and produces carpospores. Carpospores settle onto oyster shells and similar substrate where they develop into a filamentous ‘Conchocelis’ stage (generation). The conchocelis stage produces the conchospores that settle onto shorelines, bamboo poles and nets to produce the GAMETOPHYTE generation, i.e. nori. The conchocelis stage was originally considered a completely separate species, Conchocelis rosea, until Dr. Kathleen Drew-Baker discovered it was part of the Porphyra life cycle. Photod copyrighted and used by permission, with thanks to its creator: Lisa Chen and the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute.

Reiko and I visited modern nori farms and factories on Bouze Island last September, October and December to observe and photograph the ‘seeding’, cultivation, harvest and processing of nori. Next month I have an appointment to visit a factory that cultures the conchocelis stage. I will report on these modern methods in Nori – Part II (to be posted in May). In February, my family participated in a nori workshop at the Toba Sea-Folk Museum. We learned the traditional methods used to process freshly harvested nori into sheets, and enjoyed our 55 sheets back home in Kyoto (see Photo 6).

Photo 6: Ami, Marina and Reiko stand proudly in front of their nori sheets (on the drying racks behind them); Toba Sea-Folk Museum’s Nori Workshop.

Traditional Nori Processing

Mr. Hiraga, a curator at the Toba Sea-Folk Museum, led the workshop. He provided us with freshly cut nori from nearby Toshishima (Toshi Island) off the coast of Toba City. We used the susabi nori variety (Porphyra yezoensis), which has mostly replaced the original asakusa nori*** (Porphyra tenera). Nori begins to grow in the early fall as a simple, leaf-like structure without any midrib or veins. Harvesting begins in December. Nori is cut off of the net or stick it grows on, leaving a portion of the seaweed behind to regrow. The harvest continues into the early spring, although earlier cuttings produce higher quality nori. Before we started, our instructor gave us a quick introduction to nori and offered some fresh nori to eat (Photos 7 & 8).

Photo 7: Mr. Hiraga introduced the history of nori and how to process it at the Toba Sea-Folk Museum. He holds sheets of nori in his hands. The frames and mats used to make nori sheets are in front of him on the table. Behind him are large wooden tubs and strainers full of freshly cut nori, and the colanders we used to rinse the nori.

Photo 8a: The freshly harvested nori consists of two-dimensional pieces, a few cm in size. Nori in the wooden strainer, ready to be processed. There were three full strainers for three groups of students. Thus, we processed about the amount of nori shown in this photograph.

Photo 8b: The freshly harvested nori consists of two-dimensional pieces, a few cm in size. A bowl of fresh, unprocessed nori for us to sample. We ate it with ponzu sauce (soy sauce and yuzu – a type of citrus).

Photo 8c: The freshly harvested nori consists of two-dimensional pieces, a few cm in size. The same nori as in 8b with some pieces stretched out on the side of the bowl and a 15 cm ruler for scale.

 Nori processing consists of four steps:

1. Rinse fresh nori and put into a strainer
2. Chop the nori with a knife into fine pieces
3. Place chopped nori into a frame on a bamboo mat in a bucket of water to create a sheet; remove the frame, mat and sheet of nori from the water
4. Put the bamboo mat with sheet of nori onto a rack to dry in the sun

The fresh nori had been placed in three large bamboo strainers. There were five adult and four kids in the class, plus Mr. Hiraga. We used colanders to rinse the nori, and then placed it back in the large strainers (see Photos 9 & 10, and Videos 1 & 2).

Photo 9: Hiraga-san places fresh nori into a colander for Ami to rinse.

Photo 10: Marina rinses fresh nori.

It took us about 30 minutes to chop the nori. Marina and Ami were enthusiastic, after given a safety talk on how to use a knife (not much previous experience). Other kids were chopping with their parents. One couple had participated before and they used two knives at a time, a technique Reiko tried (see Photo 11 and Video 3).

Photo 11: Hiraga-san demonstrates how to chop nori. A handful of nori was placed on a cutting board and chopped repeatedly to create pieces a few mm in size.

We took the chopped nori outside to make sheets of nori. A pair of bamboo mats were placed between two wooden frames, and placed in a large tub of water (Photos 12 & 13).

Photo 12: Ami and Marina carry our chopped nori outside where they will make nori sheets.

Photo 13a: Materials used to make a sheet of nori include two wooden frames, two bamboo mats and a large tub of water. Here, two bamboo mats rest on top of a wooden frame (beneath the mats) in the water. Marina holds the second frame.

Photo 13b: Materials used to make a sheet of nori include two wooden frames, two bamboo mats and a large tub of water. Marina places the second frame on top of the two mats and lower frame, and steadies them to keep the upper mat just below the surface of the water. Next step: add chopped nori.

The frames and mats were held just below the surface of the water, while chopped nori was added on top of the mats and within the frame. The nori, mats, and frames were gently moved from side to side to create an even layer of nori, then lifted from the water and tapped twice on the side of the tub to remove excess water (see Photos 14 & 15).

Photo 14a: Chopped nori is poured into the frame to create a sheet of nori. Ami places chopped nori onto the upper bamboo mat while Marina steadies the mats and frames.

Photo 14b: Chopped nori is poured into the frame to create a sheet of nori. Ami spreads the nori.

Photo 14c: Chopped nori is poured into the frame to create a sheet of nori. Ami continues to add nori and spreads it until the entire frame is filled with a thin layer of chopped nori.

Photo 14d: Chopped nori is poured into the frame to create a sheet of nori. Ami continues to add nori and spreads it until the entire frame is filled with a thin layer of chopped nori.

Photo 15: Marina carefully lifts the frames and mats with nori from the tub, keeping them all flat. She taps them on the edge of the tub twice to remove water from the nori.

Finally, the upper frame was lifted off and the upper bamboo mat with its sheet of nori was placed on a scaffold to dry in the sun (see Photos 16 & 17 and Video 4). The lower frame and mat were re-used; a fresh mat was placed on top, followed by the top frame, and more nori was added to make the next sheet.

Photo 16a: Once the sheet of nori is safely out of the water, the upper frame is removed.

Photo 16b: After the upper frame is removed, the upper bamboo mat with sheet of nori is taken to the drying rack. The lower mat and wooden frames will be re-used to make more sheets.

Photo 17: Reiko places the fresh sheet of nori on the drying rack.

We made 55 sheets in about two hours. We all rinsed and chopped. Marina and Ami made the sheets and Reiko hung them up to dry. Historically, nori farmers would begin this process at 2:00 AM to prepare a large batch of nori and hang it up at sunrise so it would be dry that night. We left our nori at the museum to dry. It was brought inside over night and put out again the next morning. It was fully dry that afternoon, then sent to us by mail (Photo 18).

Photo 18: Our dried nori arrived by mail a few days after the workshop. The sheets were somewhat irregular in shape and thickness, but otherwise looked similar to store-bought nori.

Before eating, dried nori needs to be roasted – an open flame or skillet works; factory roasters are used today. We heated up a cast iron skillet and placed a sheet onto the pan for a few seconds on each part of the sheet. The color changes from a very dark red or purple (almost black) to green (see Photos 19 & 20 and Video 5).

Photo 19: Sheet nori is roasted before eating. It cooks in a few seconds over an open flame or in a hot skillet, as shown here.

Photo 20: Roasted (left) and unroasted (right) sheets of nori.

Freshly roasted nori is crunchy and delicious. It can be used to roll up fish and seasoned rice into a sushi roll (or other type of sushi, e.g. Photos 1 & 2). At home, people often break a sheet into smaller pieces for seasoning, or to wrap up rice and other food. Onigiri is a type of rice ball, usually with some added fish, plum, or kelp, and a nori wrapper. It can be made and eaten at the table, or packed for lunch (see Photos 21 & 22 and Video 6). Our girls enjoy making and eating onigiri!

Photo 21: People often use sheet nori in pieces: halves, quarters, eighths, etc. To make smaller pieces, fold a sheet in half with a sharp crease and pull apart at the crease. Fold again for smaller pieces.

Photo 22a: Ami and Marina make and eat onigiri. Each girl has a plate of three rice balls mixed with salmon flakes and a plate of nori sheets ripped in half.

Photo 22b: Ami and Marina make and eat onigiri. Ami places a rice ball onto a half-sheet of nori.

Photo 22c: Ami and Marina make and eat onigiri. She wraps the nori around the rice.

Photo 22d: Ami and Marina enjoy eating their onigiri.

Coming next: Earth Day Part II – a report on the day’s event at the Miyako Ecology Center, followed by Nori Part II, Modern Cultivation

* ‘Seaweeds’ is a term used for three diverse groups of plant-like organisms. Like plants, they use the sun’s energy to convert water and carbon dioxide into sugars and oxygen (i.e. photosynthesis). They differ from true plants (Kingdom Plantae) in their evolutionary history and structure. Their different photosynthetic pigments give rise to the common names for these three groups: greens (Chlorophyta), reds (Rhodophyta) and browns (Phaeophyta). The term ‘algae’ is a broader term that includes these multicellular seaweeds, as well as other unicellular organisms. For another example of seaweeds used in Japan see my earlier post on wakame.

*** Asakusa nori was the original nori grown in Tokyo Bay, named after the Asakusa District of Tokyo. It has a reputation of exceptional quality, but no longer grows well due to warmer water and pollution. Almost all of the nori grown commercially in Japan today is the susabi nori variety. Wild asakusa nori is reputed to exist in a few refuges in Tokyo Bay and in nearby Ise Bay, but the locations are kept secret. Asakusa nori is available online; a package of 72 sheets costs $300.