Research & reports

練馬区, 東京都都市整備局 · 練馬区 農の風景育成地区計画 · Japan

Nerima's landscape conservation plan for Minami-Oizumi and Takamatsu under Tokyo's Agricultural Landscape Conservation District system, positioning ward allotments, experience farms, farm stands and food-education events as integrated public farmland conservation and revitalisation.

富子 中下, 大子 佐藤, 真紀 小澤, 徹子 藤田, 結加里 石山, 美智子 長濱, 洋子 大山 · Institutional Repositories DataBase (IRDB) · Japan

A self-administered questionnaire covering 27 items of daily lifestyle habits — sleep, diet, exercise, media-related habits, and family/community involvement — was given to a total of 885 children and students across the kindergarten, elementary, junior high, and special-support schools attached to a Japanese university, with results tabulated by school type and compared by grade for elementary and junior high students. More favorable habits around breakfast intake and leftover food were found at higher grade levels overall, but third-grade elementary students showed less favorable eating, sleeping, and exercise habits. Among media-related habits, internet and mobile-email use time was highest in junior high school. Habits related to family and community involvement were highest in kindergarten and declined through elementary and junior high grades, but rose with grade level in the special-support schools. The findings suggest that health education for lifestyle formation should be designed with developmental stage in mind, and that its relationship to mental health and self-esteem warrants further study.

藤井 至, 稲葉 修武, 藤田 武弘 · 農業市場研究 27巻1号 pp.12- · Japan

Based on hearings with all Nerima experience-farm operators and user surveys, this paper analyzes how publicly subsidised experience farms support farm management and community exchange, empirically showing effects on profitability, successors and local understanding.

名古屋市 · 名古屋市 農業振興基本方針 · Japan

Nagoya's basic urban agriculture policy positioning publicly operated citizen farms — Nogomi, community and Minori gardens — and resident-farmer connections as core pillars of municipal support.

マリコ ソヤ, ミチコ コバヤシ, Mariko Soya, Michiko KOBAYASHI · Institutional Repositories DataBase (IRDB) · Japan (Niiza)

In Niiza City, the development of processed local vegetables is not advanced. This research matched the needs of Niiza City with the seeds of a university, leading to the industry-government-academia collaboration for the development of a "carrot dressing" using Niiza City's certified autumn-winter carrots. Students from the Department of Food and Nutrition were involved from cultivation to prototyping and design, resulting in manufacturing in March 2017 and sales in April through collaboration with local companies.

Uchiyama Y., Fujihira Y., Matsuoka H., Kohsaka R. · Journal of Ethnic Foods · Japan

Analyzes definitions, history, and regional ties of traditional Japanese vegetables (e.g., Kyo, Kaga), using Kaga and Noto cases to show how ambiguous quality standards shape branding and brand management.

Uchiyama Y., Matsuoka H., Kohsaka R. · Journal of Ethnic Foods · Japan

Questionnaire survey in Komatsu City, Ishikawa, on public recognition of Kaga and Noto traditional vegetables, showing gender/age differences in awareness and information sources, with implications for transgenerational transmission and branding.

de St. Maurice G. · Food, Culture & Society 20(2) · Japan

Examines how Kyoto's Shishigatani heirloom squash, though considered not delicious, persists as culinary heritage through cultural embeddedness, temple rituals, and distinctive form, showing heritage value beyond flavor.

特定非営利活動法人 Co.to.hana, 金田 康孝, 西川 亮 · 国土交通省 都市と農・緑が共生するまちづくりに関する調査（平成28年度） · Japan (Osaka)

First-year MLIT-commissioned study by Co.to.hana validating usefulness and replicability of community farms on urban unused land, using Kitakagaya Minna-no-uen as the model — surveys, environmental monitoring, stakeholder interviews and an expert panel producing a start guide and dissemination roadmap.

Shimpo N. · 博士論文 (Doctoral dissertation, The University of Tokyo) · Japan

Doctoral dissertation systematically analysing the historical development of urban-type gardens and agricultural activities in Japan. Traces the emergence and evolution of diverse urban agricultural spaces—allotment gardens, community gardens and the like—forming the basis of Shimpo's later books and papers.

農林水産省, 国土交通省 · 農林水産省（都市農業振興基本法に基づく政府の基本計画・閣議決定） · Japan

The government's basic plan under the Urban Agriculture Promotion Act (2015). It places 'realising the diverse functions of urban agriculture' at the centre and sets three new policy directions: securing urban farmers, securing land for farming, and full-scale agricultural-promotion measures. It is the core plan underpinning municipalities' citizen farms, experience farms and farmland conservation nationwide.

HILLS LIFE（森ビル） · HILLS LIFE（森ビル運営メディア） · Japan

An article explaining Mori Building's rooftop rice-growing at Roppongi Hills and Ark Hills through its 'machi-iku' (town-based learning) philosophy. From a developer's viewpoint it discusses the meaning of resident- and worker-participation in rice planting and harvesting, and the link between rooftop greening / green infrastructure and community building.

Shimpo N., Saito K. · ランドスケープ研究 (Journal of the Japanese Institute of Landscape Architecture), 78(5):629-634 · Japan

A peer-reviewed literature study organising the historical development of 'urban agriculture' (allotment gardens, community gardens, etc.) from both planners' and users' perspectives. Argues that appropriate planning of urban gardening must incorporate both viewpoints.

国土交通省 都市局 · 国土交通省 委託調査報告書 · Japan

MLIT commissioned survey on Setagaya's productive-greenbelt designation, landscape-farmland districts, citizen farms and agricultural parks as models of urban farmland preservation and public-participation farming under public support.

環境省 · 環境省 グッドライフアワード · Japan

The official write-up of 'Kitakagaya Minna no Uen' (run by NPO Co.to.hana) as a winner of the Ministry of the Environment's 2nd Good Life Award, describing how residents and experts jointly turned vacant land into a garden fostering intergenerational exchange through farming.

卓也 林 · Institutional Repositories DataBase (IRDB) · Japan (Inagi City)

This study examined the management characteristics of direct farm sales outlets and the role of agriculture in urban areas, using pear farmers in Inagi City, Tokyo, as an example. Field surveys confirmed a decrease in pear picking activities and a high ratio of direct sales and home delivery. While familiarity with agriculture has increased due to farmers' cooperation in agricultural experience learning and the establishment of many community gardens, a limitation was identified: to convey the value of urban agriculture to those with low interest, the enhancement of pear picking, allowing easy interaction with farmers on farmland, is required.

Akira Yuzawa · Journal of Architecture and Planning (Transactions of AIJ) · Japan

This study examined user characteristics and effects of allotment gardens, focusing on "the community farm YUI" in Japan. It found that the main applicants were men aged 50 or older, and key factors in choosing an allotment garden were use charge, distance from home, and agricultural guidance. The identified effects of allotment gardens included providing a purpose for living, fostering agricultural understanding, and promoting exchange among participants.

Katakami T. · 観光研究 (Journal of the Japan Institute of Tourism Research) · Japan

Using Yamato traditional vegetables, examines the process by which place-specific food culture becomes a tourism resource, stressing the role of key persons creatively managing how the culture is supplied to others.

Jyuichi Yamazaki, Takayuki UCHIHIRA · JOURNAL OF RURAL PLANNING ASSOCIATION · Japan (Amagasaki-City)

This study considered the role of urban farmland and the possibility of its maintenance and practical use from the viewpoint of living environment formation and community improvement, through an analysis of a citizen questionnaire conducted in February 2006 in the Sonoda district of Amagasaki-city. The paper particularly focused on male participation in civic agriculture planning awareness and the possibility of civic support for farmland maintenance.

· 法令（e-Gov法令検索・417AC1000000063） · Japan

The 2005 framework law promoting shokuiku (food and nutrition education) as a national movement. It assigns duties to national and local government, mandates the basic plan, and explicitly promotes hands-on agricultural experience — the policy basis for school gardens and experience farms.

Takashi Watanabe, Makoto Yokohari, Ryuto Matsuzawa · Journal of the City Planning Institute of Japan · Japan (Tokyo)

This study clarified farmers' responses to agricultural activities involving urban residents in Tokyo. The findings showed that over half of the farmers engaged in agricultural activities in cooperation with urban residents, and those enthusiastic about such activities tended to excel in farm management. Furthermore, municipalities within the target area were categorized into three types based on the proportion of farmers conducting agricultural activities with urban residents.

Yasunari Miyake, Yasuo Matsumoto · JOURNAL OF RURAL PLANNING ASSOCIATION · Japan

This study clarified the features of an allotment garden set up within an agricultural park in Anjo City, Japan, comparing it with a general allotment garden to examine its added value and associated issues. Two distinguishing features — location within an admission-fee agricultural park, and function as a place to learn crop-growing methods — were found to shape users' usage patterns and evaluation of the garden. The analysis found the garden's educational function was reinforced compared with what is typically achieved at general allotment gardens, and it points to a need for a maintenance plan suited to these features.

智 藤田, Satoshi FUJITA · Institutional Repositories DataBase (IRDB) · Japan

At Keisen Women's College farm in Japan, the potential of using Low-Input Sustainable Horticulture (LISH) and vegetable gardening as environmental education materials was investigated over 15 years, starting in 1984. The study found that 16 different vegetable varieties could be grown organically, but cucumbers, other fruit/vegetables, and Cruciferae were virtually impossible to grow organically. However, damage could be reduced for some varieties through specific cultivation methods, and the vegetable garden was found to maintain beauty even in cold seasons and provide a suitable hands-on learning experience for environment and food.

Isami Kinoshita · Journal of The Japanese Institute of Landscape Architecture · Japan

This study analyzed residents' awareness of edible plant cultivation on their properties and the formation of edible landscapes in public spaces, in relation to childhood experiences and memories. The findings showed that childhood experiences influenced the formation of edible landscapes on private properties, which held multiple meanings, but the attribution of meaning to edible landscapes in public spaces was weak, highlighting resident involvement as a challenge.

Isami Kinoshita, Jin Yoshikawa · Journal of the City Planning Institute of Japan · Japan

This study identified the meaning and role of edible landscapes in urban residential areas by comparing three districts in Japan: Nezu, Taishido, and Kokubunji-shinmachi. Through observation, interviews, and questionnaires, five common meanings and roles were found, including providing fresh food, fostering memories, promoting communication, preserving folk customs, and encouraging ecological thinking despite maintenance challenges.