Akaigawa Village
Yosuke Akagi

The dream of a little boy to become a farmer came true. He then took a further step in pursuit of becoming “the best farmer in Japan” and decided to specialize in asparagus farming. Yosuke Akagi’s asparaguses are ranked first-class, lining up in luxury grocery and department stores. He told us about his business philosophy which aims at higher level by self-denial.

To Become the Best Asparagus Farmer in Japan

“I am aiming to be the top asparagus farmer in Japan,” Akagi continues, “but consumers will decide that. So I try never to think my asparaguses are ‘delicious’.”
When he was still an elementary school student he moved with his family from Sapporo to Akaigawamura. He went back to Sapporo when he was a high school student then to Tokyo to start working. “I could really appreciate this village the way it was because I left the village once.” Unlike the produce such as tomatoes, there is no established cultivation method or specialist for asparaguses. “That’s why I thought I might be able to become number one in this field.” Such idea drove Akagi to devote himself into asparagus farming.
Seventy percent of the asparaguses Akagi produces are white. Those are seldom sold in the local market because majority of them are sold to Tokyo and all over Hokkaido. But we can still enjoy them in Akaigawa-mura, at a café called Korpokkur-mura. Goku-buto Asupara Set (lit. Extremely Fat Asparagus Plate is a menu item that is so popular that customers come all the way from Tokyo to eat it. The rich sweetness spreads in the mouth as we bite into the tender asparaguses filled with nourishment of the earth. It is so satisfying that it can be called as a main dish.
Currently there are 14 members working at his farm and café. As Akagi thinks stimulating local employment is extremely important, he once printed recruitment flyers by himself stating his passion for asparagus making and distributed them to all 500 houses in the village. The feedback was great as it increased the number of application including of a 25-year-old young man who sympathized with Akagi’s philosophy.
“The asparaguses I make never convince me enough. It is important not to be content with the current state but to be able to deny it. You always must do your best and at the same time think about where and how you can improve.”
Akagi balances the condition of the soil for the produce while maintaining it to be environmentally friendly. That is a natural thing to do for Akagi because he thinks, “the farmland is not mine but it’s ours, the locals’.” I want to hand it down in its best condition for the next generation or for young farmer entrepreneurs. Also, farm houses are parts of a village landscape so it is only natural to keep the soil in good condition.”
It is his twelfth year in producing asparaguses. He loves asparaguses so much that he built an asparagus-shaped chimney when he built his house. “This village is the remaining countryside which is now rare. I love Akaigawa-mura like nothing else. I would love to tell the beauty of the village through my asparaguses,” said Akagi with a sparkling childlike smile on a softly backlit deep-tanned face.

Interviewed in April, 2017
Writer : Hideko Takahashi / Photographer : Hiroyuki Tamura