LOCAL KNOWLEDGE ABOUT JAPANESE VEGETABLES AND HERBS AMONG PEOPLE OF JAPANESE DESCENT IN SOUTHWEST BRITISH COLUMBIA by Shie Tsuzuku B.Sc., Tokyo University of Agriculture, 2009 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE in The Faculty of Graduate Studies (Integrated Studies in Land and Food Systems) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) May 2013 © Shie Tsuzuku, 2013 ABSTRACT There is a long history of Japanese immigration to British Columbia (BC). Eastern food knowledge is one of the cultural contributions the Japanese community made to BC. However, there is a concern that this knowledge will be lost in the Japanese communities because many of the practitioners are elders and there is little documentation of intergenerational knowledge. The purpose of this research is to describe the traditional and modern knowledge about Japanese vegetables and herbs among Japanese home gardeners and commercial producers in Southwest BC. Traditional and modern knowledge includes aspects of production and the cultural significance of the Japanese vegetables and herbs used. The primary method of data collection was semi-structured interviews (n=12) with people of Japanese descent in the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island, BC. The interview participants grew more than 80 kinds of vegetables, herbs and fruit. It was common to integrate hand-powered tools, and natural and homemade products to manage soil, pests, disease and weeds. Based on the findings, I assessed the opportunities and challenges for growing Japanese vegetables and herbs for primary production and as conduits for cultural connections. Some Japanese vegetables, such as daikon (white radish) or komatsuna (leafy vegetable) are already successfully grown within the communities and serve as a cultural connection. Also, the community network is maintained through growing and cooking these vegetables. However, challenges include our short growing season, and labor intensiveness related to production of Japanese vegetables and herbs. This research is one step toward preserving and sharing of knowledge about Japanese vegetables and herbs, along with cultural information across generations and cultures. The result of this research is useful source for describing the local food system and will contribute an information base that should foster improved access to culturally appropriate foods. ii PREFACE This thesis is based on research conducted with the approval of the UBC Behavioral Research Ethic Board, under the certificate number H11-02019. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................... ii PREFACE ............................................................................................................ iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ...................................................................................... iv LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................ vi LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................. vii GLOSSARY ...................................................................................................... viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ....................................................................................... x DEDICATION ....................................................................................................... xi 1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................ 1 1.1 ACADEMIC AND PERSONAL INTERESTS TOWARD THIS RESEARCH PROJECT ..................................................................................... 1 1.2 OVERVIEW OF RESEARCH OBJECTIVE, DESIGN AND AUDIENCE .. 2 2 LITERATURE REVIEW OF THE JAPANESE COMMUNITY IN BC AND THE FOOD CULTURE .................................................................................................. 4 2.1 JAPANESE COMMUNITY IN BC ............................................................. 4 2.1.1 Pre-Second World War Period ........................................................... 4 2.1.2 Post-Second World War Period and Now .......................................... 6 2.2 FOOD IN JAPANESE COMMUNITY ....................................................... 8 2.3 JAPANESE FOOD TRENDS IN BC ......................................................... 9 3 PROBLEM STATEMENT, RESEARCH GOAL AND QUESTIONS .............. 10 3.1 PROBLEM DEFINITION ........................................................................ 10 3.1.1 Food Knowledge in Japanese Communities .................................... 10 3.1.2 Japanese Food and Local Food Systems ........................................ 11 3.2 GOAL ..................................................................................................... 13 3.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS ..................................................................... 15 3.4 DEFINITION OF JAPANESE VEGETABLES AND HERBS IN THIS RESEARCH ..................................................................................................... 15 4 METHODOLOGY ......................................................................................... 18 4.1 OVERVIEW OF METHODOLOGY ......................................................... 18 4.2 QUALITATIVE DATA COLLECTION ..................................................... 19 4.3 INTERVIEW CONTENTS ....................................................................... 19 4.4 PARTICIPANT RECRUITMENT ............................................................. 21 4.5 INTERVIEW PROCEDURE .................................................................... 22 4.6 VALIDATION AND CONFIRMATION ..................................................... 25 4.7 TRANSCRIPTION .................................................................................. 25 4.8 ANALYSIS.............................................................................................. 26 4.9 LANGUAGE CONSIDERATIONS .......................................................... 27 5 FINDINGS .................................................................................................... 29 5.1 OVERVIEW OF PARTICIPANT DEMOGRAPHICS ............................... 29 iv 5.2 PRODUCTION TECHNIQUES ............................................................... 30 5.2.1 Vegetables and Herbs ...................................................................... 31 5.2.2 Growing Season ............................................................................... 33 5.2.3 Seed ................................................................................................. 34 5.2.4 Pest, Disease and Weed Management ............................................ 36 5.2.5 Soil Management ............................................................................. 39 5.2.6 Off Season ....................................................................................... 46 5.3 USE OF PRODUCE ............................................................................... 46 5.3.1 Gardeners ........................................................................................ 46 5.3.2 Farmers ............................................................................................ 47 5.4 ATTITUDE AND PERSPECTIVES OF FOOD PRODUCTION ............... 49 5.4.1 Reasons for Gardening and Farming ............................................... 49 5.4.2 Where to Learn ................................................................................ 50 5.4.3 Future Plans ..................................................................................... 52 5.5 PARTICIPANT PROFILES ..................................................................... 53 5.5.1 A ‘Home Gardener’ .......................................................................... 54 5.5.2 A ‘Commercial Farmer’..................................................................... 55 5.5.3 A ‘Community Gardener’ .................................................................. 57 6 DISCUSSION ............................................................................................... 60 6.1 OPPORTUNITIES .................................................................................. 60 6.1.1 Recommended Vegetables .............................................................. 60 6.1.2 Access to Seeds and Seedlings ....................................................... 64 6.1.3 Marketing ......................................................................................... 65 6.1.4 Community Involvement ................................................................... 68 6.2 CHALLENGES ....................................................................................... 70 6.2.1 Short Growing Season ..................................................................... 71 6.2.2 Vegetables that are Challenging to Grow ......................................... 73 6.2.3 Labor Intensiveness ......................................................................... 75 6.2.4 Preservation of Food Knowledge ..................................................... 79 6.3 INTEGRATION WITH LOCAL FOOD SYSTEMS MOVEMENTS .......... 82 6.3.1 Urban Farming ................................................................................. 83 6.3.2 Community Gardens ........................................................................ 85 6.3.3 School Gardens ..............................................................................