Feel the Island that Breathes with Toki
Many people have been involved in many activities that continue on today in order to make an "island for toki." We talked to Tsuyoshi Takano who is a central figure in running the activities of Nature Protection Committee (Shizenwo mamoru kai) in Haetsubaki and Junko Nakagawa of Toki-doki O-enkai office about their thoughts on the birds and what attracts them to the island that strives to coexist with toki.
For the Love of Toki and the Community...
Mr. Takano's role model is his father Takaharu. "My father used to tell me to let toki take its time eating since they're hungry, too. I must have been five or six, but when I said, 'come again soon,' to the toki they answered by calling back to me, 'kwaaan, kwaaan,'" He still remembers the stories his nature-loving father told him when he was a child. "My father used to tell me how around 1931, 27 tokis came and landed on our rice field behind our house, and how utterly beautiful the sight was. He said that it was like having the whole field fill up with peony blossoms. It's something I would like our future generation to be able to see." When the elder Mr. Takano returned from WWII, he noticed how much the number of toki had dwindled, and decided to let the birds feed freely on his rice fields. "Tokis were a part of our family," Mr. Takano remembers fondly. The elder Mr. Takano started caring for Kin, one of the last wild Japanese toki in 1967. "My father was torn about keeping a wild animal in captivity, but once he was committed, he continued for 20 years. He was so into it that he said the birds were dearer to him than his own kids. (laughter)"
After returning to his hometown in 1967, Mr. Takano began helping his father with toki protection and studies. Even after the death of his father, Mr. Takano has continued to be active in the toki movement. He has started a consortium for toki's return to the wild, Toki-no yasei fukki renraku kyogikai, to help various toki organizations work together out of Toki House or Toki kyoryu kaikan. Today, more than thirty organizations have joined hands and are helping each other through the consortium. Mr. Takano tells us, "The basis of all this is the study of our local culture. By all the generations working to preserve the treasures of the local culture such as Kabuki of Katano-o and puppet theater of Noura, we area able preserve our heritage and our land. The same applies to produce. The production of Toki Rice, grown with less agrochemicals or with no agrochemicals is one example."
Mr. Takano also teaches children through a project that seeks more interaction between farming areas and fishing areas. "It's important that the area prosper in a healthy way. By nurturing and keeping our culture alive, and conserving Nature with the children, Sado will flourish. I would love to hear the opinions of the people outside the island when they see Sado in this process."
With the test release of toki coming up, says Mr. Takano, "I'm overwhelmed with emotion. Of course, I'm worried, too, but I hope the island community will welcome the bird with a generous spirit."
Information board at Haetsubaki. There have been no residents in the area since 1988, but volunteers take turns protecting the area's natural habitat.
Mr. Takano is the ring leader in the restoration of this biotope in Haetsubaki. School kids and members of other organizations also help out.
So That Everyone is Glad that Tokis are Back
Junko Nakagawa of Toki-doki O-enkai is a staff member of Toki Forest Park. "Feel free to join in our activities."
Once a month, they work hard to restore and maintain the biotope in Shimizudaira.
Finished with work on the biotope. Adults and kids join forces to cut the grass and make waterways and paths.
2002 marked the year when toki's artificial breeding finally got off the ground, and work towards the release in the wild began. Toki-doki O-enkai (Toki-doki Supporters' Club) is a volunteer organization that works in a myriad avenues for the release of toki with residents at the nucleus of the organization. Currently there's about 180 members island-wide. "We prepare feeding grounds in Shimizudaira and do bird watching, and conduct study sessions once a month," says Ms. Nakagawa.
We asked Ms. Nakagawa what she thought about living together with toki. "I think it's important that everybody on the island feels that they're glad to have toki back. I hope toki will provide an impetus for a more vibrant community, like healthier agriculture, a solution for the depopulation of the area, and so on. I hope that we can all live together more organically and naturally. I'm hoping that a lot of people from outside the island would visit Toki Forest Park, the Return to the Wild Station, and Shimizudaira, and get to know Sado's nature and people." Toki-doki O-enkai welcomes anyone to participate in the activities. Anybody interested in getting to know the island of toki should contact them for more information at Toki-doki O-enkai's web site.B
A sign on the log house in Shimizudaira.