YAMAKI JOZO GROUP
YAMAKI JOZO GROUP has offered safe, natural, healthy foods for over 100 years based on the group’s unchanging corporate philosophy “Preserving Nature for the Next Generation.”
Our commitment to ensure “safety from soil to table” starts from producing organic or sustainable crops which are all traceable in Japan. With its original high safety standard, YAMAKI JOZO only uses rare but quality ingredients which are ①Traceable Ingredients, ② Ingredients grown in Japan, ③ Organic or Sustainable (minimal use of chemical fertilizers or herbicides). YAMAKI JOZO owns the organic farmers’ group “MAMETARO” to achieve this ideal environment. MAMETARO’s representative is the Suka Family, well-known pioneer organic farmers and mentors in Japan, whith over 60 years of natural farming experience.
YAMAKI JOZO CO., LTD.
Manufacturing Miso, Soy Sauce, Pickles, Tofu, Yuba, Soy Milk, Soy-based Desserts, Mountain Spring Water, etc.
YAMAKI CO., LTD.
Sales & Distributions of products
MAMETARO
Organic Farmers group producing organic ingredients for YAMAKI Group.
Following the agricultural method of “natural farming” (shizen nouhou), which fully demonstrates the original power of the soil.
“Preserving Nature for the Next Generation” Mametaro is an agricultural corporation that is a part of the Yamaki Jozo Group. Mametaro is an agricultural group represented by Toshiharu Suka, that has been practicing natural farming for two generations, over 60 years. Because of these long years without pesticides or chemical fertilizers, the soil on the Suka fields is alive.
It used to be that the rice fields were teaming with small insects and crustaceans who carried out all kinds of beneficial activities. Today, they are rare. These tadpole shrimp, will never be found in rice fields that use pesticides.
According to Toshiharu Suka, the representative of Mametaro, who manages the Suka family fields “Our fields are full of life, so strong, vital vegetable can be produced. Even if you leave our carrots for a long time, they will not go bad. Once pulled from the soil, our carrots will try to survive by themselves: shedding their leaves as they dry and then by putting out tiny white runner threads. We receive vitamins and minerals from vegetables – it’s not just nutrition, but more like the power to live.”
Healthy with Plenty of “live power” vegetables
The natural farming method currently practiced by Mametaro is something that evolved under the stewardship of Toshiharu Suka, from what his farther, Kazuo, had originally developed. When Kazuo entered the path of natural farming, his body was sick and he had been abandoned by doctors. At the time, he thought, “The only way to regain a healthy body is to fix it with food.” And through this food he overcame his disease. This experience and his strong beliefs push him to work hard every day to grow the best vegetables: “I want many customers to become healthy through eating our vegetables.”
The crops produced by Mametaro are not only used as raw materials for soy sauce, miso, tofu, pickles, sweets, etc., which are produced at Yamaki Jozo and Toan Tofu, but are also served to ordinary customers at our lunch spots: Shisuian and Kojian.
At Mametaro, we sincerely wish for the good health of all our customers, and we are working hard to continue to provide vegetables that are fully packed with the power to live.
Organic and Natural Farming
Mametaro, under the stewardship of Toshiharu Suka, grows 40 types of domestic organic crops (rice, wheat, soybeans, vegetables, etc.) Such a large variety of crops is unusual when practicing organic cultivation, but with the help of his family, seasonal crops are shipped continually throughout the year.
People unfamiliar with the details of organic agriculture might question if crops can be successfully produced without pesticides, chemical fertilizers, and herbicides. The answer is emphatically “Yes, you can.”
The key points for organic farming according to Toshiharu Suka
● First, make the soil. It sounds obvious, but it is very difficult to both do this and also take care of growing, harvesting, and shipping the crops. However, if you have good soil, the crops will grow naturally using their own vitality, “You are merely the steward,” according to Suka. “Good soil” here does not mean simply nutrient-rich soil. Suka’s “good soil” refers to soil that has a good balance of nutrients. A well-balanced land makes it easy for microorganisms and small creatures to breed, which in turn, circulate in nature and grow good soil. Such soil is soft and easy for plants to take root. In soft soil, plants are able to grow their roots vigorously using their own power, so are full of vitality and grow deliciously. There is no need for excess nutrients or fertilizer. The nutrients will disrupt the soil balance. Also, the use of pesticides and herbicides disrupts the ecosystem in the soil, making it a poorly balanced soil. Our goal is to always help the soil in our fields to return, as much as possible, to “virgin soil,” and as such are making soil where vegetables grow vigorously.
● Next, plant crops appropriate to the locale and in the correct season. Vegetables harvested at the right time for cultivation according to the climatic conditions of the land will be delicious. But according to Suka, “best time” does not only refer to appropriate seasonality. Organic farming does not use pesticides, chemical fertilizers, or herbicides in principle, so if you follow a general timing method, the imprecise nature of this method will risk plant disease and pest damage. Suka has developed an optimal period plan for sowing seeds based on many years of experience and meticulous cultivation records. Even if cultivated on the same land, the climatic conditions are slightly different from year to year, it is possible to identify the most suitable date for planting. This greatly reduces the damage of diseases and pests and produces delicious and well-shaped vegetables.
The Agricultural Production Corporation’s name, “Mametaro”, comes from the character for “bean” (here, soybean) and one other. The second character refers to having been involved in organic cultivation for many years, And that growing organically requires being a legitimate, honorable person. Suka visits his fields daily, traveling a total of 40km per day between the fields, checking the status of the crops to ensure they will be shipped in the best condition.
If you taste exceptional Mametaro vegetables, you will know the wonder of this dedication and passion.