Tokorozawa City, Japan
The Tokorozawa City area, once a wilderness on the Musashino Plateau, includes Nakatomi and Shimotomi in Tokorozawa City and Kamitomi in Miyoshi Town, which are collectively known as ‘Santome.’ Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu, who became lord of the Kawagoe Domain in 1694, promoted the development of new agricultural land in the area.
These farms were divided into strips of land, each with a house, farmland, and woodland that occupied 30% of those lands, assigned to farmers from various regions. Farmers practised a cyclic farming method, using fallen leaves as compost for arable land and maintaining thickets with crop waste. This traditional method enhances soil quality, boosts agricultural production, and supports zero emissions.
Known as ‘Musashino Fallen Leaf Compost Farming,’ it was designated a World Agricultural Heritage Site on July 6, 2023. This 300-year-old tradition highlights Japan’s pioneering role in the realisation of a circular economy and 30by30.
