On Iyo’s hillsides overlooking Matsuyama, his father, Kameichi Fukuoka, cultivated mandarin oranges (tangerines). His family had been settled there for hundreds of years. Iyo, his birthplace, is a small town on the west coast, sixteen miles from the city of Matsuyama. Masanobu Fukuoka was born on the Japanese island of Shikoku on 2 February 1913. The following biography is excerpted from the award presentation on Augin Manila, Philippines: In 1988, Masanobu Fukuoka received The 1988 Ramon Magsaysay Award For Public Service. Fukuoka-sensei died on the third day of Obon. On the evening of the third night the ancestors go back with a sendoff of songs and fireworks. Villagers tend to the graves, families relax, visit and reminisce as children play together in the summer sun. It is when the ancestors come back to earth for three days to visit the living. Obon, after New Years, is the most important Japanese holiday. He passed away peacefully at his home a week later during the Obon festival. He had been in poor health since October 2007, and in August of 2008 he asked his doctor to discontinue treatment. He continued to farm and give lectures until just a few years before his death. Masanobu Fukuoka (1913-2008) Masanobu Fukuoka, the Japanese farmer/philosopher from Shikoku Island, and author of The One-Straw Revolution, passed away on Augat the age of 95.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |