Three women practitioners engaging in satoyama and satoumi-based activities discussed their thoughts during a panel discussion at the Japan Times Satoyama Consortium symposium in Tokyo on May 16.
The term satoyama has evolved to refer to caring for, and capitalizing on, natural resources in rural communities, while satoumi is the cultivation of the sea by area residents.
The speakers were Chie Ishino of Ishino Suisan, a fishery company in Kure, Hiroshima Prefecture; Chika Tsubouchi from the Ghibli-Hagi Oshima Sendanmaru fishing fleet in Hagi, Yamaguchi Prefecture; and Naoko Oshima from Youbi Co., a wooden furniture and architecture company in Nishiawakura, Okayama Prefecture.