Global significance

The long history of fruit cultivation extends to other fruit besides grapes—peaches, persimmons, and many other fruit have been cultivated here for at least 100 years.  Within Yamanashi Prefecture, the Kyoutou region has the longest history of fruit cultivation. The region has prospered through the distinctive and innovative cultivation system that it has nurtured over the centuries.

Kyoutou region is thought to be the birthplace of Japanese grape cultivation. Grapes have been grown here for at least 800 years, possibly as long as 1,300 years. Its cultivation has been possible despite the the high rainfalls thanks to the trellis cultivation method. Koshu-style trellises in combination with widely-spaced large vines is an original adaptive technology suited to grape production in Japan’s humid climate, allowing farmers to manage vine vigor and minimize problems with diseases.

The region has a rich diversity of fruit trees. Fruit tree types and varieties currently cultivated include over 10 types of fruit, predominantly grapes, peaches, plums, and persimmons, and over 300 varieties and strains. The diversity of fruit species and varieties adapted to the complex and highly variegated topographic and micro-climatic conditions of the alluvial fan mitigates typhoon and other weather risks and enables more efficient use of labor, thereby enhancing the resilience of the fruit cultivation system and making small family-run farming sustainable.

Food and livelihood security

In the Kyoutou region, fruit cultivation system that had been developed by the region as a whole has brought stability to the livelihoods of small family-run farms, contributing to the present form of fruit farming in Kyoutou region. Currently, approximately 95% of farmland is given over to orchards and vineyards employing this traditional fruit cultivation system, creating the distinctive landscape that is one of the region’s assets.

The farms in the Kyoutou region are almost all small family-run businesses. The area of arable land per farming household in the region is about 0.7ha, which is one of the smallest figures in the world. Applying the cultivation system in this way has earned the fruit of the Kyoutou region a strong reputation throughout Japan that now extends internationally. The average agricultural income per 10a of land was 145,700 yen in 2014, making it one of the highest productivity farming regions in Japan, with agricultural income 2.4 times the national average of 61,900 per 10a.

The fruit produced in the Kyoutou region is mainly destined for the table, but fruit is also processed to become products like the Korogaki dried persimmons or wine. Relative proximity to Tokyo (Edo) also made it possible to combine production with direct sales of fruit and tourist fruit farms. The time for processing the persimmons begins in early November, and becomes an important supplementary source of income for farmers at a time where there is no other income from fruit. In addition, in Kyoutou region, the use of fruit as a tourism resource (tourist fruit farms) centers on grapes is popular.

Agrobiodiversity

In the Kyoutou region, many different varieties of each fruit type (grapes, peaches, etc.) are conserved through cultivation. Over 300 fruit varieties are currently cultivated by farmers, ensuring their conservation, including 148 grape varieties, and 86 peach varieties. This diversity stands alongside the biodiversity within orchards and vineyards, and is further augmented by rich agricultural biodiversity.

The ‘Koshu’ grape variety is said to date back 800 years or 1300 years. Even today, it has a high economic value as a variety that can be used either for the table, or for wine production. ‘Koshu’ is one of the few endemic grapes cultivated in Japan. To Yamanashi Prefecture, it is a hugely important variety in terms of the history of grape cultivation, culture, and the development of technology.

Native vegetation ground cover is used for floor management in orchards and vineyards. It prevents soil erosion on sloping ground and supplies organic matter to the soil. It is also intimately connected with biodiversity, providing habitats for plants and insects in the orchards, and raising biodiversity in the surroundings as well.

Local and traditional knowledge systems

Kyoutou farmers have adapted their agricultural system to the complex topography of the alluvial fan and to the wet and humid conditions to ensure that farming provides a stable livelihood. Making good use of the knowledge and techniques developed over history and through experience, they have built and maintained the fruit cultivation system that is part of the heritage of the Kyoutou region.

-          Vineyard trellises : Koshu-style trellises

It is an innovative technique conceived for grape production under Japanese weather conditions, which are more humid and have greater rainfall during the growing season than other grape-producing regions around the world.

-         Permanent soil coverage

In contrast to clean cultivation, native vegetation ground cover keeps the soil surface covered, and that prevents the soil and nutrients from being eroded by rainfall. Cuttings add organic matter to the soil, and the grass roots provide deep aeration that helps in soil preparation, absorb excess moisture, and protect against dust, mud, and sludge.

-         X-shaped pruning method

The X-shaped pruning method was conceived in about 1950 to extend the vine at an early stage and ensure a reliable crop of high quality grapes. Pruning is used to control the vigor of the vine by adjusting the number and length of canes. When pruned and trained in an X-shape, each arm can be managed separately to ensure stable production. These characteristics were highly rated, and X-shaped pruning became a fundamental technique used throughout Japan.

-         Segi water management

The Sashide Segi irrigation canal dates back to 1688-1704 is one of over 300 water channels constructed to provide irrigation in circumstances where efficient use needs to be made of the little water available. These channels are still maintained, managed, and used by groups of farmers today.

Cultures, value systems and social organizations

In addition to the tradition of the origin of Koshu, Japan’s oldest grape variety, the Kyoutou region has many records and traditions relating to fruit trees, bearing witness to the role played by fruit farming in securing a livelihood for local people. Many of these cultural practices and traditions involving fruit trees are handed down as local heritage.

In the Kyoutou region, fruit farming is closely linked with the lives of the local people, including local culture, society, and customs. Traditional festivals and events held throughout the region involve prayers for good harvests from the fruit trees and other agricultural products. Fruit is also used regularly as gifts to shrines and temples and also as presents to people who are special to the gift-giver, and in many other ways as a result of fruit trees becoming a part of everyday life and culture.

Landscapes features

Kyoutou region farmers have adapted to the complex topography of the alluvial fan and its weather conditions to ensure that fruit farming provides a stable livelihood. Based on knowledge and techniques developed over a long history, they have built a fruit cultivation system that provides vineyard and orchard environments where a very diverse range of plant and animal species can live. The interaction of fruit cultivation and nature creates a beautiful and distinctive landscape.

Furthermore, some 75% of the land in the Kyoutou region is forested, and agricultural land accounts for only 9.8%. The amount of arable land per farm household is low, only about 0.7ha, and individual plots of land are small and irregularly shaped, so farmers have constructed stone walls to enable more efficient use of sloping land in the small, irregularly shaped plots. Tracts of land on the alluvial fan have stones of various sizes deposited by flooding or by landslides.