Endangered Tradition: Plum Farmer’s are in Danger of Disappearing of Japan’s Rich Plum Culture at Roadside Stations

In fact, he has been consulted by many elderly people in Odawara who have quit making pickled plums because of the legal revision, and he regularly contacts them and visits Odawara to find people he can work with.

Some local governments are offering subsidies for capital investment in line with this legal revision, but most of the subsidies are for one-half or something like that,” he says.

Still, we are grateful, but considering the age of the farmers, more than 50% of whom are in their 70s, few are willing to spend 1.5 million yen to keep going. And given their age, it would be difficult to get a loan from the bank.

It is better to pickle local plums in the community and have them loved and eaten by everyone in the community…

Mr. Yamamoto’s current plan is to establish umeboshi (pickled plum) factories throughout Japan.

Since it does not require any major equipment, we would like to make it a jointly run processing plant by covering the investment in water and other facilities for elderly farmers who are thinking of going out of business.

Some people say they will send their plums to Wakayama so they can pickle them, but it is better to pickle local plums in the community and have them loved and eaten by everyone in that community. In the future, we plan to use crowdfunding to build manufacturing facilities throughout Japan.

Incidentally, the number of young ume farmers is increasing as more and more young people, including those who want to work with the ume farmers, are moving to the Ume Boys.

It seems that a bridge is gradually being built between the elderly who are about to give up and go out of business due to the change in the law and the young people who want to make “sour pickled plums” and grow them as their own brand.

Click here for the “Ume Boys” website.

Click here for the website of “Ume Boys,” a crowdfunding campaign for “Inheritance of additive-free pickled plums! Creating umeboshi production facilities in ume production areas across Japan! started on March 15!