Isao Edamura and his wife, Michyo Edamura are the fourteenth generation in their family to be operating a tea farm in the town of Haibara in the Shizuoka Prefecture of Japan. The Edamura family began farming in Shizuoka in the late Sengoku Era (1467-1603), just before the Edo period (1603-1867). It is thought that the Edamura family most likely came to Shizuoka by ship from the Yamaguchi Prefecture in the southern Japanese island of Honshu.
The Edamura family name is not common in Japan and only appears in the Yamaguchi and Shizuoka Prefectures. Originally, the Edamura family were fishermen. Both of these regions are located near the ocean.
For several centuries the Edamuras grew rice as did most farmers in that region. At the onset of the Meiji period (1867), the Edamura family began cultivating green tea. When the feudal system died out at the closing of the Edo period, independent farming enterprises were encouraged. The Meiji period brought increased industrialization and a thrust toward modernization. Enhanced productivity in farming for export resulted from this trend.
During the Sengoku period (1467-1603), Japan experienced many civil wars. The town of Haibara in Shizuoka became involved in this turmoil. The last battle of this period is known as the Sekigahara battle (1600), during which the local Katsumata Castle and Choko-ji Temple were destroyed. In Japan, traditionally birth and death records are kept by the local temples. When the Choko-ji Temple burned down in the battle of Sekigahara in 1600, all previous records of the Edumura family were lost. As a result, the Edamura family can only be traced to records just after 1600, though the family's oral tradition attests to their presence in the area much earlier.
For two hundred years, the Edamura family resided in a traditional Japanese home located on the family farm. In 1970, the house was demolished and a new modern home was built. Isao Edamura often misses his old home and sometimes regrets his decision to rebuild. But Mr. Edamura has managed to bring his home and farm into the 20th century and yet still retain the charm and dignity of preceding generations.
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